SSE gets green light, Page on track
London open
Ahead of the opening bell, traders were expecting the FTSE 100 to fall five points, after finishing at 7,237.59 the day before.
Stocks to watch
The merger between SSE and Npower has been provisionally cleared by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority. SSE chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies welcomed the decision, adding that the creation of a “new, independent energy and services retailer has potential to deliver real benefits for customers and the market as a whole”.
British American Tobacco chief marketing officer Andrew Gray will step down from the cigarette maker after a 32-year career. He will be replaced by Kingsley Wheaton, currently regional director for the Americas and sub Saharan Africa, who has been with the FTSE 100 company for 22 years and a member of the management board for seven.
PageGroup expects its full year operating profit to be marginally ahead of consensus after notching its highest quarterly growth rate in seven years. Group gross profit growth hit 19.7% in the third quarter or 17.2% at reported currency rates.
Newspaper round-up
Britain’s public finances are among the weakest in the world following the 2008 financial crash, according to a fresh assessment of government assets and liabilities by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Washington-based lender said a health check on the wealth of 31 nations found almost £1tn had been wiped off the wealth of the UK’s public sector – equivalent to 50% of GDP – putting it in the second weakest position, with only Portugal in a worse state. - Guardian
Theresa May is preparing to bind her cabinet into further compromises to her Brexit blueprint before European leaders meet next week. The prime minister will hold an extended discussion on Brexit at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the eve of her trip to Brussels, where she hopes to outline a compromise deal on the Irish border. - The Times
ITV has put its headquarters on London’s South Bank up for sale, scrapping plans to move back in after a now-shelved five-year redevelopment programme. The broadcaster has already vacated the building, which it has inhabited for more than 40 years, and now plans to stay put in what were meant to be temporary offices in Holborn, another area of the capital. - Telegraph
US close
Wall Street trading ended on a mixed note on Tuesday as bond yields resumed their march higher.
At the close, the Dow Jones was 0.21% lower at 26,430.57 and the S&P 500 was 0.14% weaker while the Nasdaq was 0.03% firmer at 7,738.02.
Meanwhile, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was dropped to 3.208% after moving above the 3.25% threshold for the first time since late April 2011.