FTSE 100 Live 08 May: Shares rise again to another record, Boohoo losses grow, Wetherspoons sales up

Fast fashion firm Boohoo left the City in doubt about its recovery plan this morning, as losses ballooned to £160 million and sales slid by double digits across all regions.

The online retailer, which also owns Debenhams and the PrettyLittleThing brand, reported a £160 million loss for the year to 29 February, up 70% on last year.

Revenue was down 17% to £1.46 billion, which the business said came "as group performance continued to be impacted by a difficult macroeconomic environment".

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Yorkshire Building Society has renamed a range of savings accounts to make them more “customer friendly” by spelling out more clearly what they do.

The new names are the Easy Access Saver, Easy Access Isa, the Everyday Saver and the Everyday Isa.

The Society said the changes to its easy access deals aim to support customers in choosing accounts to meet their needs.

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BP shares are under fresh pressure after yesterday’s poor reaction to first quarter results, falling another 2% or 10.65p to 493p.

Today’s decline, which follows Brent Crude’s latest price retreat to $82 a barrel, has come despite the support of UBS analysts.

They reiterated a 600p price target amid confidence in BP’s 2025 earnings targets.

The City bank is also a fan of British Gas owner Centrica, arguing the energy supplier’s shares should be trading at 170p. The widely-held stock improved 1.4p to 132.5p.

Other FTSE 100 risers included easyJet, which put back 9.8p to 520p, as the airline sector recouped losses seen yesterday. British Airways owner IAG added 5p to 182.4p.

Informa, the host of London Tech Week and owner of academic publisher Taylor & Francis, also enjoyed a strong session.

Its shares jumped 21p to 852.4p following a 50% increase in this year’s buyback programme to £500 million, a decision fuelled by recent trading at the upper end of guidance.

The fallers board featured Rio Tinto, Antofagasta and Glencore, while telecoms stocks BT Group and Vodafone retreated 1.3p to 104.1p and 0.8p to 67.1p respectively.

The FTSE 100 index peaked at fresh record of 8353 before settling 0.3% or 28.34 points higher at 8342.01.

Brussels-listed brewing behemoth AB Inbev showed that it was able to shrug off the conservative boycott of its Bud Light in the US, as its overall beer volumes beat forecasts.

That trend held in its main markets in North America.

Nonetheless, volumes fell there overall, albeit not by as much as predicted. They were down by over 9% in the US in the first quarter.

The year-long boycott followed a social media promotion campaign featuring transgender woman Dylan Mulvaney in a move designed to make the brand more inclusive.

The backlash was supported by prominent far-Right politicians.

Analysts said today the impact of the boycott was easing.

Shares in the world’s biggest beer maker, which also makes Corona and Stella Artois, were up almost 5% in Brussels.

A small Oxford-based biotech company today became the latest firm to quit the London Stock Exchange after complaining that its shares were being undervalued.

Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company which develops cannabinoid medicines said the decision to delist was taken following a strategic review into how to best promote the growth of the business.

It follows the exit of a number of other British biotechs in recent weeks after Manchester-based C4X left in March and Cheshire-based RedX departed in April.

CEO Clarissa Sowemimo-Coker said: "The UK capital markets are facing particularly challenging times and many biopharma businesses like ours are re-evaluating whether it is the right home for them. 

“These market conditions compromise our ability to deliver on our core mission - bringing help to people living with debilitating conditions. We anticipate that as an unlisted company, a far larger pool of capital may be available to us, and therefore it is right for us to make this change."

Oxford Cannabinoid shares fell 63% to 0.13p following the announcement. The stock is down 90% over the past year.

Take a look at the latest snapshot as the FTSE rises above the 8350 mark

Sweden’s Riksbank has become the latest western central bank to cut interest rates, as it reduced its base rate to 3.75%.

It says it expects to cut twice more this year.

Economists believed a cut was more likely than not, but far from certain.

The move follows the Swiss National Bank, which in March became the first to cut after the 2022-23 cycle of tightening. The reductions will boost hopes that the European Central Bank and Bank of England can cut rates soon.

The FTSE 100 index set a fresh record of 8350 in early dealings today, extending the run that’s lifted London’s top flight by about 8% this year.

Top performers in today’s session included the business information group Informa, which rose 3% or 25.6p to 857p after upping its buyback programme alongside improved guidance for annual results.

British Gas firm Centrica also put on 2p to 133.1p after UBS analysts switched to a “Buy” recommendation with 170p target price.

BP shares remain under pressure, slipping another 10.1p to 493.5p after yesterday’s first quarter results and a further drop in oil prices.

Miners Rio Tinto and Glencore also retreated but their performances failed to prevent the FTSE 100 index settling 35.27 points higher at 8348.94.

The FTSE 250 index held firm, up 17.25 points at 20,430.33, amid positive reactions to updates by financial services business OSB Group and the pub chain JD Wetherspoon.

Direct Line Insurance fell 2.8p to 185.9p on the back of its quarterly results.

The Great British Pub is back, says no less an authority than the founder and chairman of JD Wetherspoon.

Tim Martin, now Sir Tim, says sales have recovered from the gloomy pandemic days and that profits for the year will be at the top of City expectations.

In a statement to the City today he said: “ Traditional ales, which were very slow in the aftermath of the lockdowns, are increasing momentum, with Abbot Ale, Ruddles Bitter and Doom Bar showing good growth, as indeed are ales from the many small and micro brewers with which we trade. The gods of fashion have smiled upon Guinness, previously consumed by blokes my age, but now widely adopted by younger generations.”

The ebullient Martin added: “Sales of Lavazza coffee are also increasing. Free refills are thought to be responsible for spontaneous exhibitions of breakdancing among retired customers.”

His remarks come days after Heineken said it would spend nearly £40 million on re-opening 62 pubs and sprucing up other “tired” locals. The lager maker owns 2400 pubs through its Star pubs arm.

Direct Line revealed that adverse weather led to payouts of £33 million in the first quarter, but said it was “confident” it would reach its £100 million cost savings target.

The plan was put in place as the Bromley-based firm fended off a £3.1 billion bid from Belgium’s Ageas.

The approach followed a turbulent 2023 for Direct Line, which issued a profit warning and axed its dividend in January that year. It led to the sudden departure of its chief executive, Penny James.

Her permanent replacement, Adam Winslow, said today:

“I am confident that with the new leadership team in place, we can deliver run-rate annualised cost savings of at least £100 million by the end of 2025 and a net insurance margin, normalised for weather, of 13% in 2026.”

Gross written premiums were up 15% year-on-year, with what the FTSE 250 company called “strong growth in Motor, Home and Commercial” lines.

Its Motor volumes were lower due to “continued repricing” of its book in that part of the business.

Rising costs of car repairs and delays in supply chains have hit the industry over the last couple of years and contributed to Direct Line’s 2023 turbulence.