Good morning from London where the FTSE 100 is up once again this morning – the pattern so far this week has been gains in the morning being wiped out in the afternoon but only time will tell if Wednesday has the same trajectory in store.
The index remains close to last week’s nine-month lows. In terms of the list itself, Marks & Spencer are set for a sensational return to the top-100, as benchmark provider FTSE Russell released preliminary data on September’s changes. Housebuilder Persimmon will be among those to fall off, with many struggling to buy new property.
Construction and engineering group Costain are reporting flat revenue but higher profits at the half-year stage, giving it an interesting dilemma as to whether to restore its dividend.
Consumer goods firm Reckitt Benckiser shares are up this morning after announcing they’ve acquired the services of Nike’s chief financial officer Shannon Eisenhardt. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has been slapped with a £5.4 million fine by Ofgem after failing to prevent its energy traders from discussing the market on WhatsApp. The practice is common in energy trading as it makes it harder for regulators to see the messages.
And finally in small caps, chemical specialist Graft Polymer soared after announcing a manufacturing agreement with an Israeli pharma company for some of its blood clotting products. That’s all for this morning.