FTSE 100 fell by 92 points to 7,059 in early trading as inflation made all the headlines again.
UK inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.1%, largely driven by April’s rise in the energy price cap and higher food prices.
JD Sports announced a record-breaking year for profit, more than doubling last year’s results. A strong performance in the UK and US helped the numbers though it was wary over future impact of the income squeeze.
Meta, Microsoft and other tech giants have formed a group to develop industry standards for the metaverse. However, Apple has so far been excluded from the group.
Berkeley Group shares continued to fall despite the housebuilder beating profit forecasts and upping its future guidance due to its "unrivalled" land holdings in London and South East. No estimate was given for fixing fire safety issues, with the company saying it will carry out assessments.
Anglo Pacific could see a 75% rise in revenues from coking coal mine Kestrel after new royalty tiers were announced by the Queensland government. The royalty increase will take effect from 1 July.
Learning Technologies said last year’s strong trading has continued into the first half of 2022. The digital learning and talent mapping specialist added it is confident of making further significant progress.
Roquefort Therapeutics described its £4mln acquisition of biotechnology group Oncogeni as "transformational and value enhancing". Oncogeni is focused on two pioneering areas of cancer research.