21st Jul 2025 06:53
(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 is set to open lower on Monday, following a report showing profit warnings have more than doubled in the retail sector and the average UK property price slipping at the fastest rate in more than twenty years in July.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open down 2.4 points at 8,989.72 on Monday. The index of London large-caps closed up 19.48 points, 0.2%, at 8,992.12 on Friday.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3421 early Monday, down from USD1.3444 at the London equities close on Friday.
The euro traded at USD1.1632 early Monday, lower than USD1.1656 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted down at JPY148.30 versus JPY148.48.
The average UK property price showed its largest monthly decrease in "more than twenty years" in July, Rightmove reported on Monday.
The average price of property coming to the market for sale declined by 1.2% or GBP4,531 to GBP373,709 in July. London was "the biggest regional driver of new seller asking price falls" with a 1.5% monthly drop, led by a 2.1% fall from the Inner London region.
The online property portal operator also said the number of sales being agreed was "5% higher than at this time last year", while average new seller asking prices rose by 0.1%.
Meanwhile, profit alerts among UK retailers more than doubled in the second quarter as consumers reined in their spending and firms faced soaring wage costs, according to a report.
The latest report from EY-Parthenon also revealed that overall profit warnings among UK-listed firms jumped by a fifth year-on-year in the second quarter, with a record proportion citing policy changes and geopolitical uncertainty as the leading factor.
The data showed that seven UK-listed retailers, including supermarkets, cut profit guidance between April and June.
The UK's retail sector has come under significant pressure since last autumn's government budget move to hike national insurance contributions and the minimum wage, both taking effect in April.
But EY said the high street was also facing tough consumer spending challenges, with shoppers cutting back and focusing on value.
HSBC on Friday said it has agreed to sell its portfolio of French home and "certain other" retail loans to a consortium comprising Rothesay Life and CCF Group.
HSBC, a London-based universal bank and FTSE 100 constituent, signed a memorandum of understanding through its HSBC Continental Europe subsidiary with Rothesay Life, the UK's largest pensions insurance specialist, and French banking group CCF.
In the first quarter of 2025, HSBC recognised a EUR1.2 billion pretax fair value loss through other comprehensive income on the portfolio, and a EUR100 million fair value gain in the income statement on related interest rate hedge charges. This fair value loss on the portfolio resulted in an approximately 0.2 percentage point reduction in HSBC's common equity tier one ratio, which stood at 14.7% on March 31.
If completed in the fourth quarter as expected, HSBC said the transaction will recycle the loss recognised in other comprehensive income to the income statement with no further impact on the CET1 ratio.
The Financial Times on Saturday reported HSBC is struggling to find a suitable candidate to replace Chair Mark Tucker, as the bank has not been able to find enough suitable candidates for its final shortlist among over 100 names that were originally considered for the position.
HSBC had considered executives from Zurich Insurance Group AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Lloyd's of London, but candidates were unavailable or had declined, the FT cited people familiar with the matter.
HSBC has not ruled out appointing one of its current board members as chair if it cannot find a suitable replacement.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 0.3%, the S&P 500 marginally lower and the Nasdaq Composite gaining 0.1%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.41%, narrowing from 4.42%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted unchanged at 4.99%.
In Asia on Monday, the Shanghai Composite improved 0.6%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was 0.3% higher. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney faded 1.1%. Japanese markets were closed for Marine Day.
Gold was quoted up at USD3,368.26 an ounce early Monday, against USD3,352.48 on Friday.
Brent oil was trading at USD69.53 a barrel early Monday, higher than USD69.41 late Friday.
The system for regulating water companies should be overhauled and replaced with one body for England and one body for Wales, a landmark review of the sector has advised.
The much-anticipated final report from the Independent Water Commission, led by former Bank of England deputy governor Jon Cunliffe, outlined 88 recommendations to the UK and Welsh governments to turn around the ailing industry.
The report, published on Monday morning, recommended abolishing Ofwat, which oversees how much water companies in England and Wales can charge for services, as well as the Drinking Water Inspectorate, DWI, which ensures that public water supplies are safe.
In Monday's corporate calendar, Mony Group releases half-year results.
Ryanair already published first-quarter figures.
The Dublin-based carrier said post-tax profit more than doubled in the first quarter to EUR820 million from EUR360 million a year ago. This was helped by stronger fares during the Easter travel season, as the low-cost airline reiterated its cautious outlook for the rest of the year.
Ryanair attributed the fare increase to the timing of the Easter holiday in April, weak prior-year comparisons, and stronger-than-expected close-in pricing. Operating profit more than doubled to EUR913.3 million from EUR365.7 million.
"It remains too early to provide meaningful financial 2026 profit after tax guidance," said Chief Executive Officer Michael O'Leary. "We do, however, cautiously expect to recover almost all of last year's 7% fare decline, which should lead to reasonable net profit growth."
By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
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