FTSE 100 tanked at the open with investors spooked by the US interest hike last night and a string of profit warnings by retailers. The Bank of England delivers its latest rate update later this morning and ahead of that the index was down 100 points at 7,173.
ASOS led the fallers after it cut its full-year profit guidance to reflect the impact of inflation on consumer behaviour. The online fashion group also said it has appointed José Antonio Ramos Calamonte, who joined the company last year to lead commerce, as its new chief executive.
Boohoo was another heavy faller as it said revenue dropped 8% in the three months to the end of May as inflation impacted costs in "its supply chain and international competitive proposition." The online retailer stuck to its outlook for the year, nevertheless.
Making it a trio of retail profit warnings, Halfords Group saw its shares slump in early deals after it gave decidedly shaky profits guidance. The retailer said it expects underlying profit before tax in the year to the end of March 2023 will be within the range of £65m to £75m against a consensus of £86.5mlm previously.
On amore a reassuring note, Halma PLC (LSE:HLMA) (Halma PLC (LSE:HLMA)) posted a 19th consecutive year of record profit as it announced its chief executive officer is to step down. The safety, health and environmental-technology group said annual adjusted pre-tax profit rose 14%.
Among the small caps, Arecor Therapeutics signed an exclusive formulation study collaboration with a top-five, but unnamed. global pharmaceutical company. Arecor will use its formulation technology platform to develop high-concentration liquid formulations of the pharma’s products.
Bens Creek has upgraded reserves for its coal properties in West Virginia and Kentucky, US. The properties contain an estimated in-place reserve base of about 92.7mln tons according to the new estimate.