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James Halstead (almost) has the floor to itself

Last updated: 06:05 01 Dec 2017 GMT, First published: 17:05 30 Nov 2017 GMT

Floor covering fitter

A quiet day is in prospect on Friday but the AGM statement from floor coverings specialist James Halstead PLC (LON:JHD) might spark some interest.

The shares received a small lift from the changes to stamp duty announced in last week’s Budget, but it is obviously too soon to tell whether that has had any impact on trading.

When last we heard from the family-owned business, at the beginning of October, the company said recent UK trading had been strong, bouncing back from a year in which two of the larger distributor chains had run down stocks.

“In addition, both our anti podean and French colleagues reported record sales in the first two months,” revealed Geoffrey Halstead, who has now stood down as chairman of the company.

Announcem ents expected

Economic data: UK manufacturing PMI; US construction spending; US ISM manufacturing

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