Oil stocks higher but FTSE 100 under pressure
London shares have made a subdued start to the week, with the FTSE 100 index down 13.73 points to 7680.54 and the FTSE 250 index off 22.46 points to 19,101.68.
Oil and gas stocks were among those on the front foot after prime minister Rishi Sunak pledged a wave of new North Sea licences in order to secure future UK energy reserves.
Shares in Harbour Energy and Ithaca Energy both rose 2% in the FTSE 250 index.
Among top flight stocks, BT shares fell 1.2p to 122.95p following the appointment of Allison Kirkby as chief executive. Education publisher Pearson initially rallied 3% on the back of half-year results before shares later retreated towards their opening mark.
AIM-listed Harland & Woolf jumped 8% or 0.9p to 12.3p after announcing it had received a letter of intent for a major vessel refurbishment project at its Belfast dry dock with a potential contract value of up £70 million.
Capita names Amazon’s Adolfo Hernandez as new CEO
Outsourcing group Capita has named Adolfo Hernandez as its new chief executive, who will replace Jon Lewis.
Lewis will step down toward the end of the year and will stay on at the company until July next year to ensure a smooth transition. He delayed his retirement last year after Capita was hit by a cyber attack.
Hernandez will join Capita from Amazon Web Services, where he is currently vice president, global telecommunications.
Capita administers a range of essential services for a range of institutions including the NHS and the military, as well as the Congestion Charge and the Ultra Low Emission Zone in London.
Lewis said: “It has been a privilege to lead the turnaround of Capita over the past five years. I remain fully committed to delivering the Group’s strategy and enabling a smooth transition to Adolfo as the new CEO over the coming months.
“I remain indebted to the 50,000 colleagues across Capita for their hard work, commitment and professionalism during my time as CEO.
Hernandez said: “I am very excited to be joining Capita. The Group is in strong financial health and well positioned for accelerated revenue growth in both its public service and customer experience markets, with a healthy pipeline of future opportunities.
Marshalls to cut 250 jobs as lack of new builds hits sales
Landscaping business Marshalls will cut around 250 jobs as a slowdown in housebuilding has led to a slowdown in demand for its services.
The business will shut its factory in Carluke in Scotland, after like-for-like revenue fell by 13% for the first six months of the year. It is expected that the closure will save Marshalls £9 million.
The job cuts will come on top of 150 layoffs announced last year.
It said this was due to “persistent weakness” in new build housing and home renovations. It expects this weakness to continue as high interest rates continue to discourage house building.
“Whilst previously anticipating a recovery in market conditions in the second half of the year, the board is now of the view that an improvement in the second half performance is unlikely given the macro-economic backdrop,” the group said.
In recent months, new builds have fallen at rates only seen during the pandemic and the aftermath of the global financial crisis, as fast-rising interest rates discourage new starts.
Brent Crude at $84 after strongest month in over a year
An improved demand outlook and China’s recent pledge to boost stimulus means oil prices are on track for their biggest monthly gain since January 2022.
Brent Crude futures today stood at $84 a barrel, having surged 12% in July and by more than 17% when including the last week of June.
Supply cuts by major producers Saudi Arabia and Russia have also impacted the price, which fell as far as $70 a barrel in June from around $100 last August.
On Friday, Brent Crude rose for a fifth week in a row after recording a gain of 0.9%.
Wall Street run continues, FTSE 100 seen lower
Hopes of a soft landing for the US economy meant Wall Street markets closed higher for the third week in a row on Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 all posted their highest weekly closes since January 2022.
Key events in the US this week include the closely-watched non farm payrolls report on Friday, as well as earnings figures from Apple and Amazon.
In the UK, traders are braced for the Bank of England to announce an interest rate hike of 0.25% on Thursday with a chance of a 0.5% move.
CMC Markets expects the FTSE 100 index to open today’s session 30 points lower at 7,664.
