Marks sales fall, ITV sees softer ads
London open
Traders were expecting the FTSE 100 to climb 28 points higher to 7,070 on Wednesday morning.
Stocks to watch
Marks & Spencer said it was leaving "no stone unturned" in its efforts to restructure the business to thrive in the new retail environment where sales 3.1% in the first half of the year but underlying profits were higher. The retailer's food like-for-like sales fell 2.9% amid tough competition in the supermarket sector, while clothing and home sales shrank 1.1%.
Capita on Wednesday said it had been re-selected by Westminster City Council to manage the authority’s revenues and benefits services for another seven years, with the option to extend for three, in a deal worth around £65m over 10 years. The contract, awarded following a competitive tender, will see Capita continue to collect council tax and national non-domestic rates, manage housing benefits, and deliver business improvement levy services and associated customer management support.
ITV has seen some softening in advertising revenues at the start of the fourth quarter due to Brexit uncertainty and now expects total advertising to be broadly flat over the full year. For the first nine months of the year the broadcaster reported 6% growth in external revenues, with total advertising up 2%, driven by 43% growth in online revenues, and 10% growth in total ITV Studios revenues.
Newspaper round-up
Donald Trump claimed “tremendous success” despite his party losing control of the House of Representatives in midterm elections last night after mixed results saw Republicans strengthen their grip on the Senate. The results were hailed as a turning point by Democrats in elections billed as a verdict on the first two years of Mr Trump’s divisive presidency but fell short of a “blue wave” of sweeping victories. - The Times
The star fund manager Neil Woodford faces a grilling at the High Court over his role in the failed boardroom coup attempt at Stobart Group earlier this year. Mr Woodford, 58, has been named as a witness for Andrew Tinkler, the former Stobart chief executive who was sacked as an executive director and then tried to unseat the company’s chairman Iain Ferguson. - Telegraph
The worst environmental disaster in Brazil’s history has triggered one of the biggest legal claims ever filed in a British court. The Anglo-Australian mining company BHP Billiton is being sued for about £5bn by Brazilian victims of the Samarco dam collapse in Mariana three years ago.
US close
Wall Street stocks ended higher on Tuesday ahead of US mid-term election results.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.68% at 25,635.01, while the S&P 500 had gained 0.63% to 2,755.45 and the Nasdaq closed 0.64% firmer at 7,375.96.
The Dow Jones ended 170 points higher as investors closely watched mid-term election results throughout the day, where analysts expect the Democrats to take the House, while the Republican Party is expected to maintain its single-seat majority in the Senate.