Proactive Investors -
- Blue chips 35 points higher at 7,856
- Inflation slightly lower
- ASOS (LON:ASOS) revenues plummet
Oil lower despite IMF warning over Middle East conflict
Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday, seemingly unfazed by warnings from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that conflict in the Middle East could send costs soaring.
Benchmark Brent Crude fell 0.4% to US$89.74 a barrel on Wednesday, having spiked late last week as traders braced for Iran’s attack against Israel.
Though prices have indeed since receded, the IMF warned on Tuesday evening that escalations in the MIddle East could reverse this and fuel inflation globally.
“We are very concerned about developments in the Middle East,” IMF financial counsellor Tobias Adrian added.
“In such a scenario that leads to upward pressure on inflation [...] higher interest rates could come back into play.”
Just Eat sees fewer orders in first quarter
Just Eat Takeaway (LON:JETJ) has reported a fall in orders over the first three months of the year.
Total orders came in 6% lower at €214.2 million (£182.6 million), Just Eat reported on Wednesday.
This came on the back of a fall in all regions except for the UK and Ireland, where orders grew 1% to €60.3 million.
Gross transaction value increased in the UK and Ireland too, by 7% to €1.7 billion.
However, including a 10% drop in Just Eat’s North American business, gross transaction values fell by 2% to €6.5 billion... Read more
Shares fell 5.7% to 1,128p.
The morning so far
March’s inflation print was front and centre this morning. It came in slightly hotter than expected at 3.2% against market forecasts of 3.1%, though this still makes for the lowest year-on-year rate since August 2021.
Annual core inflation (which is a better indicator of consumer income pressures) slowed to 4.2% in March, the lowest since December 2021 and down from 4.5% in February.
Stocks appeared to shrug the data off completely, with the FTSE 100 index opening slightly lower (albeit at a bruisingly low bar from yesterday’s 145-point fall) before inching into the green as opening trades progressed.
On the company news front, ASOS PLC saw group sales fall 18% year on year in the 26 weeks to 3 March, with top-line revenues coming in slightly above £1.5 billion.
The group’s £4.6 million of adjusted earnings (EBITDA) in the first half of 2023 flipped to adjusted losses to the tune of £16.3 million this year.
It could have been worse, seemed to be the market response; ASOS stock jumped 11%, though it still remains 50% lower year on year.
Ladbrokes owner Entain (LON:ENT) reported a fall in UK and Irish revenues over the first quarter due to tougher gambling restrictions.
UK online net gaming revenue slipped 9% while retail revenue fell 6% over the three months to March, Entain reported on Wednesday.
“We continue to experience the effects of our regulatory implementation,” the firm said. Shares added 1.9% to 821p in opening exchanges.
As of 8.47am, the FTSE 100 blue-chip index was trading 12 points higher at 7,832.