Berkeley Q1 demand still robust, Weir wins record £100m order
London open
The FTSE 100 was called to open nine points lower at 7,262.
Stocks to watch
House builder Berkeley said first quarter market conditions in London and the South East had remained robust although Brexit worries and high transaction costs were constraining the wider market.
Mining engineer Weir Group said it had won a £100m order to provide crushing and pump equipment to the Iron Bridge magnetite project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Newspaper round-up
Major oil and gas companies have invested $50bn (£40.6bn) in fossil fuel projects that undermine global efforts to avert a runaway climate crisis, according to a report. Since the start of last year, fossil fuel companies have spent billions on high-cost plans to extract oil and gas from tar sands, deepwater fields and the Arctic despite the risks to the climate and shareholder returns. – Guardian
London’s economy has outstripped all other English regions with a 19% surge in growth since 2012, highlighting the divide between the capital and the rest of England. The Office for National Statistics underlined the city’s disproportionate economic heft in its first set of regional GDP figures for England and Wales, which showed the north-east with the slowest growth over the same period at 5.9%. – Guardian
“Mike Ashley, shame, shame, shame on you,” animal welfare protesters chanted outside the sportswear tycoon’s latest offering to the world of retail. The opening of Flannels’ four-storey emporium on Oxford Street was supposed to proclaim to the fashion world that Sports Direct could be trusted to sell luxury brands to discerning customers. However, it was far from smooth, as security shut down the London store in the face of a mob. The shop, originally scheduled to open in June was “fashionably late”, according to Flannels’ Instagram. Exacting Italian architects were blamed for insisting on four types of flooring that required the building to be re-engineered to make it flat enough for clothes rails. – The Times
The chief executive of Boden is to leave as it posted a rise in sales but warned that weaker trading and investments will weigh on future profits. The fashion retailer aimed at the middle classes was founded in 1991 by Eton-educated Johnnie Boden, who started the brand with a sketch of eight outfits from his kitchen table. – The Times
US close
Wall Street stocks closed sharply higher on Thursday after China's Commerce Ministry revealed that Beijing's top trade negotiator, Liu He, had spoken with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.41% at 26,728.15, while the S&P 500 was 1.30% ahead at 2,976.00 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.75% firmer at 8,116.83.