Good morning from London where the FTSE 100 is down so far after Saudi Arabia announced further oil production cuts in a bid to support crude prices.
Higher oil prices lift the price of virtually everything else, and so are bad for business – particularly when inflation has already been ravaging people’s purchasing power.
In equities, housebuilder Barratt started the day in the red after cutting its dividend and scrapping a planned buyback following a fall in interim profits.
WH Smith was another early faller, as year-on-year growth in revenue and reassurances that trading will be in line with expectations failed to convince its investors.
Starting the day on a positive note was Halfords though, which rose on reports of higher market share across the board as trading remained strong during the year so far.
Also in the green was Wagamamas owner Restaurant Group, which returned first-half profitability, helped along by a resurgence in airport use.
And finally with the small caps, Concurrent Technologies (AIM:CNC) announced the acquisition of defence supplier Philips Aerospace, achieving a goal of gaining US-manufacturing capability.