- FTSE 100 up 11 points at 8298
- New Chancellor Rachel Reeves gives speech about government accounts
- Pearson slides despite reiterating guidance
4.07pm: NatWest retail offer canned, Spoons founder sells chunk
New chancellor Rachel Reeves said she is abandoning the previous government's plans to sell the remaining taxpayer-owned shares in NatWest via a retail offer.
In the March Budget, previous chancellor Jeremy Hunt had announced plans for a retail offer this summer, but Rishi Sunak's decision to call a snap general election put this on pause.
Elsewhere, JD Wetherspoon PLC founder and chairman, Tim Martin, netted himself close to £10 million after selling shares in the budget pub chain.
Martin sold around 1.3 million shares in the company at around 739p each on Friday, for a total of £9.58 million.
Shares in the pub group dropped 2.6% today.
4.04pm: Foosie gives up almost all gains
Meanwhile, as the Chancellor was speaking, the FTSE 100 continued the retreat it began just over an hour ago.
Having been up over 70 points or over 0.9% earlier today, the London benchmark is now just 12 points higher than where it finished last week, a gain of less than 0.2%.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 is down 83 points or 0.4% at 21,439.53.
3.55pm: Budget in October
The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has confirmed she will hold the new government's first Budget on October 30.
It will involve making "difficult decisions" across spending, welfare and tax, she says.
Final budgets for this year and next year will be announced alongside the budget.
3.45pm: Public sector pay
Moving on to public sector pay, Reeves says the previous government did not tell pay review bodies what pay settlements would be affordable, and that she will accept the independent pay review recommendations "in full".
Rachel Reeves says details of these awards will be published today, but they will cost an extra £9 billion that had not been funded under the previous government's Budget.
With industrial action from the NHS costing the economy £1.7 billion last year, Chancellor Reeves confirms the government has agreed an offer with junior doctors.
She says government departments are being asked to find £3 billion of savings to help meet these pay recommendations.
3.40pm: Reeves speech
Rachel Reeves is up and speaking in the House of Commons, in her first speech as the new Chancellor of the Exchequer.
She says that on her first day at the Treasury, officials told her that the day-to-day spending announced by her Tory predecessor Jeremy Hunt in the spring Budget in March "wasn't even close" to the actual expected spending this year, with the total pressures on departmental spending amounting to £35 billion pounds.
Taking into account the reserve and other factors, "this means we have inherited a projected overspend £22 billion".
"A £22 billion hole in the public accounts now, not in the future.
"If left unaddressed it would mean a 25% increase in the Budget deficit this year."
Reeves says she will address this with measures worth £5.5 billion this year, and more than £8 billion next year.
3.20pm: Junior doctors get pay rise offer
One piece of government news that has emerged before the Chancellor's speech is that junior doctors’ leaders have agreed a new pay deal.
This could lead to their wages rising by 22.3% over two years, media are reporting.
The British Medical Association’s junior doctors committee has accepted an offer of an average rise of 22.3% over 2023-24 and 2024-25, the newspaper says.
This will be put to a vote by tens of thousands of members, who have been calling for a 35% pay increase, based on their pay having fallen by more than a quarter over the past 15 years in real terms due to below-inflation rises.
3.12pm: Dollar stronger across the board
The dollar up 0.23% against the pound at 1.2832 and up 0.4% versus the euro at 1.0811.
Against the yen things are relatively quiet this morning after the Japanese currency sank to a multi-decade low against the dollar earlier this month, before rebounding on surprise Bank of Japan intervention.
The USD could weaken in this "crucial" week for markets, says Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index, where we have significant data releases and central bank meetings combined with lots of major company earnings reports.
"The EUR/USD forecast is not entirely bearish yet even if you take into account the loss of momentum in Eurozone data in recent months.
"Due to declining US bond yields and increasing expectations of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, we could see a more meaningful downtrend in the dollar this week.
"This, in turn, could help alleviate some pressure on the EUR/USD arising from a weakening Eurozone economy."
Before the Fed decision and NFP jobs on Wednesday and Friday, Razaqzada says inflation data from Germany on Tuesday and the Eurozone the next morning "could influence the euro’s direction in the event of a surprise from expectations".
"In particular, it will be the German CPI data that will likely have the biggest influence on the euro’s direction given the size of the German economy. Unless this or the Eurozone CPI collapses (the latter is only expected to moderate to 2.8% y/y from 2.9% previously), then the downside should be limited for the single currency."
2.39pm: US mixed but tech and small caps higher
A mixed start for Wall Street, but mostly higher.
The Dow Jones is the only one of the major indices slipping early into red, down 0.24%.
The S&P 500 is up 0.23%, the Nasdaq Composite is up 0.61% and the Russell 2000 has leapt up 1.67%.
Tesla is a notable riser, up almost 5%.
When US is up, it seems to mean the money is flowing straight from the FTSE indices, which are both well off their earlier highs of the day, with the Footsie up 0.5% and the FTSE 250 now only just above flat.
???? Tesla +5% $TSLA pic.twitter.com/KHASUUqQni
— Axi (@axi_official) July 29, 2024
2.19pm: HS2 numbers
Accounts from the company building the HS2 railway line have revealed almost £2.2 billion in costs linked to former government’s decision to abandon the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the route last October.
This included £1.1 billion in costs incurred during the early part of this leg, plus a further £1 billion in accounting charges related to the a reduction in expected future income.
The annual numbers show a salary of £0.6 million was paid to HS2's chief executive, Mark Thurston, including a £34,345 bonus, before he resigned.
A Cabinet Office minister also said the HS2 rail route is to be re-examined as part of wider moves by the government to save billions of pounds, with the possibility it could end several miles from Euston station in the centre of the city.
2.04pm: Big week for the UK economy
This will be a big week for the UK economy, says Neil Shearing, chief economist at Capital Economics, nodding to today's speech from the Chancellor in just over an hour and a half, and the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee rates meeting on Thursday.
"Only a few months ago it had seemed that this would be the meeting at which policymakers might start to cut interest rates.
"However, a combination of stronger activity data and stubbornly persistent services inflation means that the first cut is now more likely to come at September‘s meeting," he says, though he is among many that think the MPC is likely to start laying the groundwork at this week’s meeting.
"With this in mind, the split votes on the MPC will be critical."
On Reeves' first statement to the House of Commons since taking office, he says this will "provide some idea of the government’s priorities when it comes to economic policy", with the new team at the Treasury having "been laying on the gloom pretty thick since the election", including this weekend's leaks about a £20 billion 'back hole' in the accounts.
"It is clear that the government will have to run a tight fiscal ship," Shearing says, with public debt running at 99.5% of GDP, the highest since 1962.
Accordingly, a key part of Reeves’ speech will be the rules that she chooses to anchor tax and spending, he adds, which are currently "a mess".
With the primary fiscal rule stipulating that public debt should be falling as a share of national output between the fourth and fifth year of the forecast horizon of the Office for Budget Responsibility, the UK’s fiscal watchdog.
"This is madness. Not only is the choice of a four-to-five year horizon arbitrary but forecasts this far out are notoriously uncertain.
"Anchoring fiscal policy like this not only makes little sense but can also force the government into changing its fiscal plans in response to small changes to the forecasts for variables such as economic growth, inflation and interest rates."
But he says massive changes may be "too big a change for a Chancellor keen to burnish her fiscal credentials" (even if she is an ex BoE staffer).
1.26pm: How European earnings season is going so far
European companies have mostly missed second-quarter revenue estimates due to weak Chinese demand, but cost-cutting meant that earnings remained stable.
Ahead of a busy week where more than 150 of the UK and Europe's largest listed companies are set to report results, analysts at Panmure Liberum note that, so far, overall revenue surprises were 2.6% below forecasts, while earnings exceeded estimates by 4.7%.
"European companies are missing top line estimates in Q2 due to persistent weak demand, particularly from China, which has become more apparent in consumer and resources sectors," writes Susana Cruz.
This week 36% of the index market cap report, including heavyweights in the consumer space (L’Oréal), energy (Shell and BP), banks (HSBC) and industrials (Schneider Electric, Airbus and Safran).
Cruz suggests investors keep in mind that cost-cutting strategies have been put in place by Shell and BP, while HSBC is reportedly slowing down hiring and encouraging staff to control expenses.
12.58pm: US stock futures point higher
London is still at the forefront of markets in Europe into the early afternoon, with Stateside futures signalling that gains are in store for US markets.
Futures for the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 are up 0.7% and 0.5%, while Dow Jones futures are up 0.4%. Topping the lot are Russell 2000 futures, with the small and mid-cap index predicted to climb 0.8%.
The FTSE 100 meanwhile is up 0.8%, while the DAX in Frankfurt and IBEX 35 in Madrid are the best performers in Europe, both up just over 0.3%, while the wider Euro Stoxx 600 is up 1.24%.
Top riser in the pan-European index is Philips, vaulting up over 10% after reporting second-quarter results far exceeding analysts' expectations.
The Dutch medical device maker hailed a return to positive order intake, which it said was primarily driven by North America, and grew profit margins by cutting costs.
Focusing back home, the big speech from Rachel Reeves is expected to begin at 3.30pm, House of Commons officials have confirmed.
12.22am: Manufacturing decline, Evri hiring
Rounding up some of the other stories from this morning and the weekend,
Britain has dropped out of the top ten rankings for manufacturing for the first time ever, new research from the industry has calculated.
In the most recent standings, Britain slipped to 12th place, down from eighth in the year prior, manufacturing industry body Make UK found, with Mexico and Russia overtaking us.
Parcel delivery outfit Evri is aiming to hire 9,000 more staff in a bid to deal with increases in demand for parcels and its battle with Royal Mail, less than a week after it agreed to be bought out.
The company said demand levels had surpassed those seen during the pandemic, driven by the growth of smaller merchants, fast-growing Asian sellers like Shein and Temu, and second-hand sales from platforms such as Vinted.
And if you missed it on Friday, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced changes to the UK's prospectus regime as part of a broader effort to boost the UK’s capital markets, alongside listing rules rejig announced recently.
Aiming to slash the amount of paperwork required from listed companies when raising funds, prospectus documents will not be needed for secondary share sales unless these exceed 75% of their existing shares, jumping from the previous 20% threshold.
The FCA is also reintroducing the practice of ‘bundling’ payments for research and trade execution, a move intended to provide asset managers with greater flexibility in funding investment research, with the unbundling scheme having been partly blamed for a decline in research on UK-listed companies over the last decade.
12.10am: Anglo, GSK, Apple, Disney
Anglo American PLC (LSE:AAL) is facing calls from one of its top investors to close the Woodsmith potash mine in North Yorkshire, due to concerns over its financial viability.
Dawid Heyl, portfolio manager at Ninety One, which holds a 1.5% stake in Anglo American worth approximately £500 million, has voiced doubts about the profitability of the project.
GSK PLC (LSE:GSK, NYSE:GSK) has reached another confidential settlement in Illinois as part of the drug giant's long-running Zantac litigation.
The UK pharma giant stressed it did not admit any liability in this settlement. The case will now be dismissed.
Upcoming AI features from Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, ETR:APC), branded as Apple Intelligence, will be delayed and won't be available with the initial launch of the new iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 in September, according to reports from the US.
Instead, these features are expected to roll out in updates by October. This delay allows Apple more time to resolve bugs and improve stability.
Another US company story and the new Deadpool and Wolverine superhero combo has provided a boost for Walt Disney Co's (NYSE:DIS) Marvel Cinematic Universe after it brought in some US$205 million in North American theatres during its opening weekend.
Reaching a spot in the top ten openings of all time, the third part of the comedy superhero franchise has also taken the title for the top weekend for an R-rated film, beating the original Deadpool’s US$132 million.
11.58am: FTSE risers and fallers
Oil supermajors Shell and BP, plus several others from the Footsie top ten largest companies are helping lift the index this morning.
After falling almost 7% over the past week, oil prices seem to have steadied, with Brent crude at just under $81, which provided a "welcome boost" to the London benchmark, says analyst Dan Coatsworth at AJ Bell.
"Oil prices had been on a downward trend since early July, so finding price stability has offered some reassurance.
"Shell and BP will update the market this week, and both have already got bad news out of the way with recent earnings previews that detailed multi-billion-dollar write-downs."
Another riser is HSBC, which also reports this week, with AstraZeneca and British American Tobacco are both up over 1.5% after reporting results last week.
AZ this morning provided an encouraging update on a new combination treatment for treating chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
Coatsworth also highlights Reckitt, which has slumped to their lowest in over a decade on negative read across from a court case in the US.
"Reckitt’s shares have been severely depressed since March as the market worries about the scale of any potential liabilities if the company loses legal battles around the safety of its baby formula," he says,
"The more setbacks for either baby formula maker, the more complicated it becomes for Reckitt to sell its nutrition arm. Reckitt last week indicated it might be up for sale, saying it was considering all options for the business.
"Any potential buyer could be put off by the possibility of liabilities from the court cases, meaning the pressure is growing for Reckitt to find a way to ringfence a large amount of money in case it loses big time in the court battles."
11.37am: Buy the FTSE 250, says JPMorgan
Some of the demand for UK stocks this morning might be from clients of JPMorgan, which put out a note expressing their new-found appreciation for the UK stocks, helped by an "improved political backdrop" and dividend yield of 4.1% that is the highest among large developed markets.
Equity strategists at the US investment bank previously had a preference over the past two and a half years for UK large caps over small caps, but have reversed this in recent weeks.
Today they emphasise their new 'overweight' stance on the more domestically focused FTSE 250 over the larger and more international names of the FTSE 100 view, liking UK consumer-facing companies in particular, also real estate and housebuilders.
The preference for mid-cap domestic names is partly as the pound is firmer, but also supported by the 250's "meaningful past underperformance, cheaper valuations, likely start of BoE rate cuts, stronger domestic activity momentum".
But this is not reflected in the FTSE 250 this morning, actually, as the FTSE 100 is up 0.9% and the FTSE 250 is up 0.4%.
Top mid-cap risers today are Bridgepoint, Me Group, Cranswick and CMC Markets, while fallers are led by Energean, NB Private Equity, Man Group and HgCapital.
11.23am: UK retail sector remains uncertain
UK retail sales volumes fell at a faster pace in the year to July, the latest CBI Distributive Trades Survey has found.
Some firms attributed the decline to poor weather conditions and market uncertainty.
Sales are set to contract again next month, the survey respondents suggested.
Retailers cut back on orders for the fifteenth consecutive month, with the decline in orders set to continue at a broadly similar pace in August.
10.50am: Mortgage rates not expected to fall much further
More thoughts on the BoE mortgage and credit data, this time from Peter Arnold, EY's chief UK economic, as mortgage demand was shown to have remained broadly stable since February, with the impact of a gradual uptick in quoted mortgage rates largely offset by recovering household finances and confidence.
"With swap rates having drifted down in July, and some lenders lowering mortgage rates in response, approvals may edge up modestly in the coming months," he says.
"But with market pricing already factoring in a gradual loosening of monetary policy over the coming year, the EY ITEM Club doesn't expect mortgage rates to fall much further.
"And with affordability still very stretched, the chances of a strong recovery in activity look low. The EY ITEM Club also expects net mortgage lending to level off over the next few months as the lagged effects of the recent stabilisation in approvals feed through to gross lending."
While net unsecured lending fell in June, Arnold says it was encouragingly that gross lending was broadly flat, with the decline in net lending reflecting a fall in repayments, which can be very volatile from month-to-month.
"As real incomes and consumer confidence continue to improve, the EY ITEM Club expects households to gradually adopt a less cautious attitude towards taking on credit.
"This expectation is a key factor behind the EY ITEM Club’s forecast of consumer-led growth in 2024 and 2025."
10.34am: Mortgage market crossing fingers for BoE cut this week
The BoE lending and borrowing data earlier suggests that many households are waiting in the wings for better borrowing conditions, which could be prompted by the Bank's monetary policy committee meeting this Thursday, or if not then, almost certainly the September meeting.
"UK net mortgage approvals – an indicator of future borrowing – remained largely unchanged in June compared to May despite hopes of a summer interest rate cut ramping up, something expected to spur more buyers, particularly those waiting in the wings for better borrowing conditions, to dive into the market," says Alice Haine, personal finance analyst at Bestinvest.
While interest rates have remained on pause at a 16-year high of 5.25% since August last year, net mortgage lending still more than doubled in June.
Haine noted that banks and building societies have been trimming mortgage rates in recent weeks, with sub-4% fixed mortgage rates returning to the market as hopes increase that a summer rate cut will ease the borrowing crunch even further.
"A UK rate reduction would deliver instant relief for new borrowers and those on trackers, but it won’t soften the struggle for mortgage holders locked into fixed rate deals with some time left to run," Haine notes.
"Borrowers with a long-term fix taken out before or during the early stages of the BoE’s rate-hiking cycle are also facing a jump in their repayments when they eventually come to refinance unless they have paid down a large chunk of their outstanding balance."
While mortgage arrears on the rise, Haine said a sign of better times ahead was not evident in the effective rate on newly drawn mortgages, which rose three basis points to 4.82% in June, while there was a four basis point rate increase for the outstanding stock of mortgages to 3.65%, as more people rolled off cheap fixed rate deals secured before the BoE’s rapid rate-hiking cycle began.
"If a rate cut materialises this week, mortgage demand may ramp up from here as more people look to take advantage of improving lending conditions. Many buyers have been waiting patiently for borrowing costs to ease further before making a move, so that first rate cut set against the backdrop of a more stable political landscape could provide the impetus to get going on those plans,” says Haine.
10.10am: BoE mortgage approvals drop slightly
The Bank of England's money & credit report out a short while ago revealed net mortgage debt was £2.7 billion in June, up from £1.3 billion in May.
Net mortgage approvals for house purchases fell modestly to just below 60,000 in June, while approvals for remortgaging decreased from 29,300 to 27,500 over the same period.
Consumer credit came in at £1.16 billion, down from £1.49 billion, slightly more than expected.
9.57am: Infrastructure impact from Chancellor speech
Noting the weekend press reports with leaks about the likely contents of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves speech today, analysts at Peel Hunt flag the likely sector impacts.
The Treasury's new plans are expected to include the cancellation of some road and rail projects to address a "£20 billion black hole" in government finances.
The projects cited in some articles that could be paused or cancelled are the Stonehenge A303 road project, which the analysts note are largely for overseas contractors, though Costain Group PLC (LSE:COST) has been awarded a delivery partner role, new hospitals which could affect various contractors, and the Euston HS2 leg, again Costain and some overseas contractors.
"There had already been some speculation that highways spending was likely to come under pressure alongside some rail projects to address HS2 spending.
"However, for this to be such a prominent feature of rhetoric may curb some near-term enthusiasm for the wider sector."
As for how material these delays or cancellations could be, the analysts believe it is "likely to imply that the UK Infrastructure market will be flat rather than demonstrate slight growth".
"For the larger contractors, there remain structural drivers to market share, not least the ability to drive savings for the government. We remain positive on the sector, supported by the diversification and quality of earnings."
The Tories left Britain's finances in their worst state since the Second World War.
This Labour Government will take tough decisions to deliver the long-term solutions that will make you better off. pic.twitter.com/YDO4CyDLbH
— The Labour Party (@UKLabour) July 29, 2024
9.25am: FTSE sitting the pace
The Footsie is setting the pace in Europe this morning, up 70 points or 0.84% to its highest since mid-May.
Germany's Dax and Italy's FTSE MIB are both up 0.2%, bettered by the 0.4% gain for Spain's IBEX 35.
France's CAC 40 is down 0.3%, due to falls for Hermes, Pernod Ricard and Stellantis.
The continent-spanning Euro Stoxx 600 is up 1.04%.
8.55am: Corporate confidence grows post-election
Finance chiefs of major UK companies have gained in confidence in prospects for their businesses since Labour's win in the general election earlier this month.
This is the headline finding from Deloitte's regular CFO survey, which showed corporate risk appetite increasing the most in over four years, with perceptions of external uncertainty also falling to the lowest level in more than eight.
Business confidence among finance leaders had been rising for three consecutive quarters before this latest poll, and continued to grow after the election.
It all contributed to expectations for corporate revenue growth climbing to the highest level in two-and-a-half years, the survey found.
Ahead of Rachel Reeves's big Commons speech later today, CFOs want the new government to prioritise industrial policy and planning reform to boost growth and productivity.
8.38am: Entain and Pearson fall after trading updates
Shares in Entain are down 1.9% after its US trading update this morning, which showed BetMGM, its 50% owned joint venture, brought in $1 billion worth of revenues in the first half of 2024, representing a 6% year-over-year increase, but is going to continue making losses for a while.
BetMGM venture has captured 22% of the iGaming market share, the report says, with a launch in North Carolina in July meaning it now operates in 29 North American markets.
First-half adjusted losses coming to US$123 million and are projected to continue in the second half due to the “expectation of greater than planned marketing investment in iGaming” in the following six months.
Elsewhere, Pearson PLC (LSE:PSON) is down 4.4% after revealing an underwhelming sales performance in the first half, with top-line revenues falling 6.6% to £1.75 billion.
However, adjusted operating profit remained unchanged at £250 million and adjusted earnings per share were steady at 25.6p.
The education provider’s new chief executive Omar Abbosh has been on an efficiency drive since he took over in January, positioning artificial intelligence as key to his plans.
Pearson had previously guided to revenue growth weighted to the second half and despite the decline in the first-half is sticking to its guns by keeping full-year guidance unchanged.
Overall, the FTSE 100 is maintaining its gains so far, up 52 points or 0.63%.
8.23am: Reckitt shares wrecked by legal read-across
So Reckitt Benckiser shares have tumbled after a litigation decision in the US against Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) on Friday, where investors are reading across to the potential impact on the FTSE-listed company.
Abbott was ordered to pay almost $500 million over allegations that it hid the risks around its premature-infant formula feed, with the case alleging that the formula risks causing a potentially fatal bowel disease.
A jury in St. Louis awarded $95 million in compensation for the family bringing the case and $400 million in punitive damages, according lawyers.
Analysts at Jefferies said the decision "is likely to depress sentiment on the risk for both cited defendants" Reckitt and Abbott in these claims.
8.12am: FTSE 100 gets off to strong start
The FTSE 100 has got out on the right side of the bed this morning, up 45 points in the first few minutes of trading, rising 0.5% to 8,330.
Top risers are Prudential and other life insurers, plus Segro and other property developers.
A big faller, down 9.3% is Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (LSE:RKT), though I'm not sure what the new news is yet.
Pearson PLC (LSE:PSON) is down 4.8% after its half-year results, even though it said it remained on track to deliver on full-year expectations and reiterated guidance out to 2025.
7.59am: Chancellor's major speech expected
One of the big business stories over the weekend, for those not watching the Olympics or the cricket (I had a great day at Edgbaston, personally), was that Rachel Reeves will give a major speech in the House of Commons today where she will give her initial review of the nation's finances.
Leaks to newspapers and other major media suggested the new Chancellor of the Exchequer will say a Treasury audit has found the last government went £20 billion "over budget", requiring spending cuts and higher taxes.
Cuts to spending will include the cancellation of some road and rail projects, while higher taxes are expected on capital gains or inheritance taxes, with other tax reliefs cut.
Reeves will accuse the previous government of "covering up" shortfalls in departmental budgets.
She is also expected to announce the date of the spending review and the budget in October.
7.50am: Cranswick sales less meaty as prices ease
Cranswick PLC (LSE:CWK), the FTSE 250-listed chicken and pig producer, has reported "strong" trading in the first quarter of its new financial year, though growth is slower than last year.
Reported revenue in the 13 weeks to 29 June grew 6.7% on the same period last year, with like-for-like revenue growth of 6.4%.
Last year as a whole saw 11.9% growth or 11.6% on a LFL basis, with 14.7% growth in the first quarter.
Cranswick said growth was driven by strong sales volumes that reflected new business wins and a return to promotional activity by its supermarket customers, as has been indicated in recent industry reports.
Easing input costs have been reflected in selling prices, signalling less benefit to the company from price increases as last year, with pricing in the Far East and EU reduced, though the company said "there are early signs that Far East prices are starting to firm".
7.33am: Entain US update
Entain PLC (LSE:ENT), the owner of Ladbrokes and Sportingbet, has put out an first-half update on its US joint venture, BetMGM, where it reports "accelerating momentum" but emphasises that this is an "investment year", which is a signal to investors not to expect any or much profit.
Net revenue from operations of $1.0 billion, was up 6% versus prior year, with the second quarter up 9% from 3% in the first.
As for underlying profit, EBITDA is "consistent with expectations of 2024 being an investment year, supporting customer acquisition and enhanced player experience initiatives", the FTSE 100 company says.
Or in numbers terms, there was an EBITDA loss of $123 million for the first half.
7.15am: FTSE 100 to hit ground running
The FTSE 100 is expected to hit the ground running on Monday ahead of a blockbuster week for global markets and after the weekend reports that Chancellor of the Exchequer is expected to set out sizeable cuts to public spending, tax rises and delays to several infrastructure construction projects in a speech later today.
Futures for the London benchmark are pointing to a gain of 30 points, adding to the almost 125 added last week, which ended at 8,280.5.
There are plenty of big companies reporting on both sides of the Atlantic this week, including four of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ US tech giants, plus in London the likes of Shell, BP, Barclays, HSBC, Rolls-Royce and GSK.
Today we have Pearson, Entain and Cranswick to whet investors' appetites.
There are also a number of potentially significant economic data updates, with a Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday and the Bank of England a day after, climaxing with the US jobs report on Friday.
The largest impact on markets will probably be the earnings from Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Meta, says Deutsche Bank’s strategist Jim Reid.
“They cover around 19.7% of the S&P 500 on their own so will have a huge influence on sentiment. The Mag-7 is down -12.04% from its peak 2 and a half weeks ago with the Russell 2000 outperforming by around 25pp over this period which shows the extreme rotation that has been occurring over this period.
“So their results will be a huge driver with some nerves after Tesla and Alphabet disappointed last week.”