Sales rise at Coats, profits soar at easyJet
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 23 points lower on Tuesday, having closed down 0.19% at 7,000.19 on Monday.
Stocks to watch
Thread maker Coats said group sales for the four months to end October grew 3% on a constant exchange rate basis, with increasing momentum in the industrial division, which was up 9%. On an organic basis, group sales were flat with industrial up 5% and continuing to perform strongly. Coats said full year trading results would be in line with expectations.
Building materials group CRH updated the market on its trading for the nine months ended 30 September on Tuesday, reporting a nine-month EBITDA of €2.5bn, which was 8% ahead of 2017 or 2% higher on a like-for-like basis. The FTSE 100 company said it saw continued underlying growth in the Americas, despite adverse weather conditions in certain markets, as momentum remained positive in Europe, and demand improved in Asia. Total 2018 EBITDA was expected to be approximately €3.35bn.
EasyJet's profits soared more than 41% in the past 12 months but it sees potential for greater growth by expanding its holidays business. The budget airline reported headline profit before tax for year ending 30 September of £578m as revenues grew 17% to £5.9bn.
Newspaper round-up
Online shopping and food retailers are forecast to be the winners this Christmas as consumers keep a tight rein on spending on clothing, homewares and other non-food items. Total retail spending is expected to rise 4% in December, compared with the same month in 2017, to reach nearly £48bn excluding VAT, according to data from the market research firm Mintel. – Guardian
A cross-bench group of MPs is gaining traction in its fight for a financial services tribunal that would bring misbehaving banks to justice, ahead of a key meeting with the chancellor this week. Tory MP and co-chair of the all party parliamentary group (APPG) on fair business banking, Kevin Hollinrake, is expected to meet Philip Hammond on Wednesday to exert more pressure on behalf of small business customers who say they have been wronged by UK lenders. TSB presented Hollinrake’s proposals last week by submitting a letter of support for the tribunal. – Guardian
A mining company is to announce a listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) tomorrow as it looks to put a copper project in Botswana into production. MOD Resources, which is currently traded on the Australian Stock Exchange, hopes to complete its entry onto the main market of the LSE by next week. – Telegraph
Star fund manager Neil Woodford has been accused of “dereliction of duty” after refusing to meet Stobart chairman Iain Ferguson and backing a campaign for him to be ousted. The asset manager, one of Stobart’s biggest investors, faced scrutiny in the High Court as a bitter court case between the FTSE 250 company and its former chief executive moved into a second week. – Telegraph
The world’s biggest car industry alliance is in turmoil after the arrest of its chief executive in Japan on suspicion of tax evasion and misuse of corporate funds. Carlos Ghosn, who has been the driving force behind the global partnership between Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi, was detained by prosecutors over allegations that he had hidden millions of pounds of revenue from the Japanese tax office. – The Times
New regulations for the technology industry are “inevitable”, the chief executive of Apple has warned, after a series of scandals that have rocked the sector over the past year. Tim Cook, head of the world’s most valuable company, said that he had come to the conclusion that the “free market is not working” and that politicians would need to step in and regulate the industry. – The Times
US close
Wall Street recorded some heavy losses across the board on Monday, with news of Apple's production cuts and Netflix's afternoon fall to a nine-month low hitting both the Dow Industrials and the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.56% to 25,017.44, while the S&P 500 had lost 1.66% to close at 2,690.73 and the Nasdaq Composite saw the session out an alarming 3.03% weaker at 7,028.48.
Both Apple and Alphabet entered into bear-market territory throughout the session as tech stocks got hammered, leading to a broader market selloff. The Technology Select Sector of the S&P 500 finished down 3.8%.
Elsewhere, relations between the US and China were in focus again as Donald Trump said on Friday that he may not impose further tariffs on Chinese goods. However, over the weekend, US Vice President Mike Pence said at the Asia Pacific summit that there would be no end to US levies on $250bn of Chinese goods unless China changes its ways.
Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG, said US-China relations "remain just as icy as ever, despite recent hopes of an impending trade deal between the two sides".
"Unfortunately, there are precious few signs of a shift in tone from either sides, and with issues such as IP theft remaining a topic that seems to have no solution (due to Chinese rejection that it occurs), some issues seem destined to remain a roadblock to future progress," he said.