Shoppers carry bags from a Primark clothing store in Birmingham, U.K. - Darren Staples /Bloomberg
Shares in the cannabis research firm backed by Snoop Dogg jumped by as much as 50pc on its market debut, as investors lapped up the chance to invest in the emerging industry.
Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies, which is developing pain-relief medicines based on cannabis compounds, spiked in early trading on Friday, after shares were admitted to the London Stock Exchange.
The company's share price hit 7.50p before later dropping to around 4.875p, just slightly below the listing price.
Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies (OCT), whose shareholders also include tobacco giant Imperial Brands, said it had raised £16.5m in a placing - cash which will go towards its efforts to commercialise a cannabis-related drug for use in pain-relief within the next six years.
Flutter Entertainment, the Irish bookmaking holding company created by the merger of Paddy Power and Betfair, climbed to £129.30 from the previous close of £126.70.
At the opposite end of the index was Kingfisher, which spent the day dragging on the index.
The B&Q owner fell to as much as 354.40p and finished the day 4.5pc down from the previous close, after the company reported product shortages are expected to last for six months and investors wondered how businesses that boomed during lockdown could maintain momentum.
British Land shares were also lower ahead of their release of full year numbers next week. Analysts expect them to show 82pc of rent had been collection for FY21.
The FTSE 100 traded flat for most of the day on Friday, despite new data showing the UK economy is enjoying an 'unprecedented growth spurt' as it emerges from lockdown.
Having dipped below the 7,000 mark in the morning, London's main index was down 1.75pc to close at 7,018.05 in a choppy week where the index hit a one week high and a six-day low in the space of only 24 hours.
The pound rose to $1.42 at one point on Friday, as the Office for National Statistics said retail sales surged 9.2pc in April - double the rate economists expected.
Eventually it closed up 0.02pc versus the US dollar, $1.418 and was up 0.03pc against the euro at €1.162.
Bitcoin clawed its way back to $40,000 after this week's cryptocurrency clash sparked by regulation fears in China.
The coin managed to hold the $40,000 level for most of London trading until late afternoon China's Vice Premier Liu He reiterated the government's intention to crackdown on Bitcoin mining and trading, sending the currency skidding to $36,756.24, down 8pc just after London closed.
05:02 PM
Wrapping up
That is all from today - here are some of our top stories:
Expert analysis: A subdued market closes for the week
Danni Hewson, AJ Bell financial analyst comments on the close of London markets:
It's a fairly straight forward equation. Stop the world, close it down to prevent the spread of coronavirus and the economy grinds to a halt, restart it, give it a push, and watch it speed away.
The latest flash PMIs reflect the different stages of the journey different nations are at. The US and the UK have enjoyed record performance, the eurozone is accelerating nicely while Japan has stalled once again as it’s sucked under another Covid wave.
The trouble with all this good news is that it’s not just good news and investors are struggling to keep up with all the twists and turns, the messages behind the message. Demand is a fine thing, until supply is disrupted, job vacancies desirable until a skills shortage forces unnatural wage growth.
In response markets have been decidedly volatile. In London the FTSE 100 ended down slightly at 7,018 and the FTSE 250 up by the same margin (0.03pc) at 22,399.
04:27 PM
FTSE closes down 1.74pc
The FTSE has closed at 7,018.05, down 1.74pc, in a subdued end to a choppy week despite optimistic private sector output and retail sales data published today.
03:50 PM
Apple CEO takes the stand in antitrust trial
Apple CEO Tim Cook walks through the Ronald V. Dellums building, Friday, May 21, 2021, in Oakland, Calif - Noah Berger
Apple chief executive Tim Cook has taken the witness stand to defend the tech giant against allegations made by online game maker Epic Games which says Apple's app store is a monopoly that the company abuses.
Cook is expected to spend over two hours making what are expected to be his most extensive public remarks on the App Store, which anchors Apple's $53.8bn services business.
Epic has waged a public relations and legal campaign, arguing that Apple acts anticompetitively by only allowing apps it approves on the world's one billion iPhones and forcing developers to use Apple's in-app payment system, which charges commissions of up to 30pc on sales.
The antitrust trial takes place at a federal courthouse in Oakland, California and arrives as Apple faces a chorus of criticism from other app makers including music service Spotify.
Cook drank from a steel thermos while waiting in the courtroom gallery before being sworn in at 8.16am Pacific Time.
03:29 PM
Bitcoin falls again after China's Vice Premier promises mining and trading crackdown
An engineer on a ladder inspects racks of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining devices and power units at the BitCluster cryptocurrency mining farm in Norilsk, Russia - Andrey Rudakov /Bloomberg
Bitcoin has dropped again below $40,000 this afternoon, after China's Vice Premier Liu He said his government will crack down on the virtual currency's mining and trading activities.
The world's largest and most popular cryptocurrency last traded down almost 10pc at $37,839 after holding the $40,000 level for most of the Asian and London sessions.
China's Financial Stability and Development Committee, which is chaired by Liu, said today it will resolutely prevent and control financial risks, and singled out bitcoin as the asset it needs to regulate more.
His remarks came days after China banned financial institutions and payment companies from providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions, and warned investors against speculative crypto trading, according to three industry bodies.
Rival cryptocurrency ether also came under pressure, falling 14.66pc to $2,493.
03:02 PM
Shares in Snoop Dogg backed cannabis firm jump 50pc on debut
Shares in the cannabis research firm backed by Snoop Dogg jumped by as much as 50pc on its market debut, as investors lapped up the chance to invest in the emerging industry, writes Hannah Boland.
Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies, which is developing pain-relief medicines based on cannabis compounds, spiked in early trading on Friday, after shares were admitted to the London Stock Exchange.
The company's share price hit 7.50p before later dropping to around 4.875p, just slightly below the listing price.
Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies (OCT), whose shareholders also include tobacco giant Imperial Brands, said it had raised £16.5m in a placing - cash which will go towards its efforts to commercialise a cannabis-related drug for use in pain-relief within the next six years.
London has emerged as a hub for listings in the sector, following the Financial Conduct Authority's move to issue guidance last autumn, giving the green light for medicinal cannabis-related businesses to float in London.
OCT is working on drugs which resemble cannabinoids, and do not actually rely on compounds from cannabis plants, expecting these to come up against fewer regulatory hurdles. It is also working on cannabinoid derivatives.
Neil Mahapatra, co-founder and executive chairman of the company, said: "OCT has a pipeline of cannabinoid-based drugs candidates, with potential to address the unmet needs of the £42.5bn global addressable pain market."
Medicinal cannabis has been legal in the UK since 2018. However, research from last summer revealed there had been no NHS prescriptions for full-extract cannabis oil since that time.
02:43 PM
Expert reaction: A choppy week for European stocks
Michael Hewson, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets, comments:
European stocks have continued to edge higher after a roller coaster week which saw the FTSE100 hit a one week high and a six-day low in the space of 24 hours, while the DAX hit a record high at the start of the week, before a 3.5pc round trip to the downside and back.
In comparison, today's price action has been more subdued as more positive economic data feeds into a narrative of optimism as looser restrictions prompt improvements in economic activity throughout April and May.
The FTSE100 has once again underperformed today though it does look like we will finish the week above 7,000.
Today’s flash PMIs for May from Germany and France saw decent increases in the services components, while the UK numbers also pointed to a Q2 economic rebound that continues to gain traction.
The latest UK composite PMI hit a record high, along with prices paid, showing that while prices are looking a little on the hot side, they aren’t for now acting as a brake on the reopening trade.
02:36 PM
Mike Ashley eyes Hugo Boss takeover
Shares in Hugo Boss jumped on Friday amid speculation that billionaire Mike Ashley's Frasers Group will make a swoop for the German fashion house, reports Laura Onita.
She writes:
The stock rose almost 7pc in Frankfurt, valuing the fashion company at €3.2bn (£2.7bn).
The rise followed a report by a German publication that the Sports Direct tycoon was considering a takeover bid for the entire firm for more than €3.2bn.
Frasers is already an investor and has been buying up more shares in Hugo Boss in recent months as it seeks to "elevate" his existing brands and sell more luxury goods.
Here's some more detail on the US's positive open today.
Energy, materials and industrial shares pushed the S&P 500 higher, while Treasury yields dropped - usually a sign of recovery as investors pile money back into stocks rather than the low returns of government bonds.
Analysts said the global economic recovery and the risk of inflation remain the two biggest factors shaping markets today.
Bloomberg has the details below:
Stocks have been volatile this week, with speculative ardor cooling as minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting flagged the possibility of a debate at some point on scaling back stimulus measures. Still, better-than-forecast jobless claims data on Thursday buoyed sentiment.
“We believe there is still an upside story to be told,” said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management. “Beneficiaries of reflation, like financials and energy, still have ‘catch up’ potential, while the relative near-term case for mega-cap tech is less clear.”
02:00 PM
Wall Street opens in the green
Wall Street bull
Wall Street opened higher this afternoon as global markets rose on growing evidence of an economic recovery as Covid restrictions ease.
The Dow climbed 0.9pc higher while the S&P 500 posted a 0.6pc climb. The tech-heavy Nasdaq eked out a 0.3pc rise after a bumpy couple of weeks of trading, with markets hit by fears of rising inflation as demand returns around the world.
Europe was also in the green this afternoon, with Frankfurt stocks up 0.5pc and Paris 0.7pc higher. The FTSE 100, however, was flat despite a jump in retail sales as the UK economy surged as its third lockdown came to an end.
The EU was bolstered by data showing eurozone business activity is growing at its fastest rate in three years, as Europe's economy steadily reopens from months of Covid-19 restrictions.
IHS Markit's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) index said eurozone activity rose from 53.8 in April to a strong 56.9 in May, well above the 50-point level that indicates growth.
The group also revealed that Britain's activity enjoyed record growth in May, jumping to 62.0 thanks to strength in manufacturing and services.
"European bourses are moving broadly higher, extending strong gains from the previous session as optimism surrounding the economic outlook brightens," said analyst Sophie Griffiths at trading firm OANDA.
01:38 PM
M&S profits expected to sink
Weak clothing sales are expected to drive the decline - JOHN SIBLEY /Reuters
Marks & Spencer may not be celebrating today's jump in retail sales, with the retailer expected to report a 36pc plunge in profit when it updates the market next week.
The clothing and food giant is set to record a £43m pre-tax profit for the year to March on Wednesday, down from £67m the previous year.
The closure of its clothing and homeware stores meant this division suffered a 34pc drop in sales during multiple lockdowns, with analysts blaming this for the retailer's troubles.
PA has the details:
Analysts at Barclays have said the financial year is "likely to have been a poor one from the point of view of the raw numbers" but that a small pre-tax profit will still have seemed a "decent outcome" at the height of the pandemic.They added: "Moreover, the company has arguably had some positive achievements in the last year - with the Ocado switchover having gone well, with clothing and home sales transitioning online relatively smoothly, and with the cost structure being tackled."Of course, the share price has also bounced materially from its lows, so we now need some reassurance that sales trends are starting to recover and some greater confidence about the direction of profits and cash in the year ahead."The retailer's recovery strategy also saw it announce a management shake-up earlier this week.Katie Bickerstaffe and Stuart Machin will become joint chief operating officers to help lead the company's revival.Investors will be keen to hear about how stores have performed since they reopened on April 12.
01:14 PM
Analysis: April's retail sales
Our chief City commentator Ben Marlow has been writing about the above-expectations growth in retail sales:
The task of repairing Britain’s Covid-ravaged economy will be massive but all the signs are that it is primed for take-off with growth returning in March, the jobs market stabilising, and cash-rich households leading the way.
The Bank of England expects the biggest surge in household spending since the late 1980s under Margaret Thatcher. The big question is how much of the savings stockpile will actually be spent, or will cautious middle-class consumers see it as capital to be held onto or invested more wisely?
April’s retail extravaganza suggests a willingness to splash out and this should pick up steam as the vaccination rate filters down into the young, giving them more confidence to go out and spend in the shops, restaurants and pubs, which bodes well for the second quarter when spending inevitably shifts to hospitality.
This extract comes from our City Intelligence newsletter. You can sign up for the newsletter here or below to receive incisive analysis of the day's biggest corporate story.
01:09 PM
Virgin Media and Liberty Global join forces
The owner of Virgin Media has joined forces with a digital investor to cash in on the infrastructure underpinning driverless cars and robotic manufacturing, reports Ben Woods.
Liberty Global has struck up a partnership with Digital Colony to create a new organisation that can capitalise on the rising demand for data centres.
The roll-out of faster 5G mobile connectivity is ushering in technological innovations such as autonomous vehicles and smart cities, which create huge pools of data.
That change will boost the need for so-called "edge computing", a series of supporting systems that allow data to be transferred more quickly where people live and work.
The new operation -AtlasEdge- will target cloud computing giants, video streaming platforms and companies behind services such as 5G, video gaming and edge computing.
Liberty Global plans to carve out the land and leases of its data centres into AtlasEdge to help unlock the value in its digital real estate.
Mike Fries, the chief executive of Liberty Global, said:
Combining Liberty Global’s technical real estate and track record in building successful, sustainable businesses with Digital Colony’s expertise in digital infrastructure investment creates an exciting platform for growth that will deliver long-term value.
The proposed joint venture presents significant growth opportunities as we look to build this business into a leading European edge data centre operator.
01:00 PM
Gold Heads for third weekly gain on inflation fears
An employee holds one-hundred gram gold bars at Gold Investments Ltd. bullion dealers - Chris Ratcliffe /Bloomberg
Gold headed for a third straight weekly gain as the dollar continued to trend down, with investors weighing up both signs of inflation and economic recovery.
Bloomberg has more details:
Bullion is trading near the highest level in more than four months amid rising inflation expectations, static Treasury yields and concerns over the resurgence of coronavirus cases in some countries.
Holdings in exchange-traded funds backed by the precious metal have resumed an uptrend. On Friday, it edged lower as the dollar strengthened slightly.
“Higher U.S. inflation and lower government bonds yields have lifted gold back to USD 1,870/oz,” UBS AG analysts including Wayne Gordon wrote in a note.
“Still, we expect fading inflation surprises, higher U.S. government bond yields, rising vaccination pace to reduce uncertainty and the U.S. dollar to peak.”
The bank kept it’s end of year forecast for gold unchanged at $1,600 an ounce.
Spot gold added 0.3pc to $1,883.64 an ounce by 1:25pm in London. Prices climbed to $1,890.13 on Wednesday, the highest since January 8 and are up 2.2pc this week.
Silver rose, while platinum and palladium edged lower. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index edged higher after dropping 0.4pc on Thursday.
12:48 PM
Mayfair to take maternitywear brand Seraphine public
Cecile Reinaud, the founder of maternity-wear brand, Seraphine - Seraphine
Maternitywear label Seraphine is planning to debut on the London stock market in an attempt to boost the brand's visibility, according to Sky News.
Mayfair Equity Partners, which bought Seraphine in December, is almost ready to appoint advisers to explore an IPO, the report said.
Sources speaking to Sky say Mayfair believes taking the brand public will be an effective way to boot its profile.
Mayfair's founders used to work at Lloyds Development Capital, a private equity firm which acquired a stake in drinks brand Fevertree in 2013. Less than a year later, LDC took Fevertree public with some suggesting the tonic maker's shares and publicity surged as a result.
12:30 PM
Bad weather creates new wind power record, says National Grid
You don't need us to tell you it's windy (take care out there!). But we do have news – our provisional data indicates a 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱! 🌬️⚡️
— National Grid ESO (@NationalGridESO) May 21, 2021
12:26 PM
Chinese millionaires to double in four years, says HSBC
Shoppers pass through an affluent shopping district in Beijing - Ng Han Guan /AP
The number of millionaires in China will more than double in the next four years and the country's middle class will be boosted by almost half, according to HSBC.
The bank estimated the number of people with 10m yuan (£1m) in investable assets will surge from 2m now to 5m in 2025.
In a note HSBC said it also expected China's middle class, which contains roughly 340m people based on the narrowest definition, to grow more than 45pc to more than 500m in the same period.
12:05 PM
Europe's most valuable unlisted start-up considers London IPO
The boss of Europe's most valuable unlisted start-up said he is considering London for a possible IPO and has been meeting with representatives from the UK government who are keen to attract high-profile tech listings.
Sebastian Siemiatkowski of "buy now pay later" business Klarna told the Financial Times that Brexit gives London an opportunity to strengthen its position as a global financial centre by attracting more fintechs.
"As Brexit has happened, it gives London an opportunity to write even better regulations for the financial sector. That is going to benefit London standing outside of the EU... People expected all the banks will move away [from the UK]; I think it's the opposite," he said in the interview.
Swedish Klarna was valued at $31bn (£21.8bn) in March. However Siemiatkowski said while he was considering an IPO, markets were "extremely overheated" and he expected them to suffer a fall this autumn.
11:49 AM
ING: Economy in 'better place' than after first wave
Snapchat beats big tech in race to augmented reality glasses
Snapchat has beaten Apple and Facebook to the punch by revealing a working pair of augmented reality glasses, reports Matthew Field.
Its new Spectacles will allow users to see virtual images over the real world through their lenses, opening them up for developers of games and effects.
It is not the first Big Tech firm to launch smart glasses. Google developed its Google Glass eyeglasses, a pair of spectacles with a heads up display, first launched in 2013. They have found some use among businesses although they failed to achieve popularity.
For now, the new Spectacles will just be available to developers to start building apps and products that work with them. The early versions only have 30 minutes of battery life.
Snapchat chief executive Evan Spiegel said the new lenses could "realistically ground digital objects in the physical world".
Brent crude on track for biggest weekly drop since March
Brent crude futures in London rose near $66 a barrel today but oil prices were still on track for a 4.1pc weekly decline - the biggest weekly drop since March.
The price has been hit by the Iran nuclear talks taking place in Vienna, which according to EU officials and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani are close to ending years-long sanctions.
Iranian output has been rising this year and was about 2.4m barrels a day last month, according to estimates.
The lifting of sanctions is expected to mean Iran will ramp up its supplies. Before sanctions set in, the country was producing about 3.8m barrels a day of crude.
“The market is a bit surprised at how quickly they could come to a deal,” Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING Groep NV, told Bloomberg.
There’s “potential that additional barrels come to the market much quicker than many in the market were initially expecting.”
10:48 AM
TGI Fridays to float in London
TGI Fridays - Chris Ison /PA
TGI Fridays owner has announced plans to float the restaurant chain on the London stock market later this year.
Electra Private Equity, which bought the brand in 2014, said it plans to float it on the FTSE main market in the third quarter.
Today the company said the restaurant business had been recently valued at £145.2m but is planning to target a higher float price as the hospitality sector is expected to rebound this summer.
Sales at the eight TGI restaurants in Scotland have risen 14pc for three weeks since reopening in April, compared with the same period in 2019.
In England, sales grew 76pc in the first three days after reopening, compared to the same days in 2019, it added.
10:35 AM
Car dealer Cinch raises £1bn
Used car dealer Cinch said today it has raised £1bn in one of the largest-ever private equity injections into a UK_based company.
Investors included a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Neuberger Berman client funds and funds advised by Soros Fund Management.
Constellation Automotive Group, which owns Cinch, said the funds would help the business grow in the UK as well as Europe.
10:11 AM
Bank of England aims for greener corporate bond portfolio
The Bank of England set out plans on Friday to make its £20bn ($28.4bn) of holdings of sterling corporate bonds better aligned with government goals to achieve net zero carbon emissions.
Bloomberg has more details:
However, the central bank will not embark on an immediate sell-off of bonds issued by businesses that have high carbon emissions, such as power utilities and oil companies when it begins the re-balancing process later this year.
"Divestment is a powerful tool, and should remain squarely in the toolkit. But it should be used as a credible threat to reinforce incentives, not an indiscriminate 'quick fix'," BoE executive director for markets Andrew Hauser said in a speech hosted by Bloomberg.
The central bank said it would set targets for the overall emissions of its corporate bond holdings, invest in 'green' corporate bonds as they became available, and require bond issuers to publish their emissions.
The BoE said it would seek to rebalance its bond holdings towards issuers with a stronger climate performance and restrict investment in bonds issued by businesses whose activities were widely regarded as inconsistent with lower carbon emissions.
Issuers whose emissions are currently high would need to set out a credible path to reduce emissions or risk no longer being eligible for bond purchases.
The BoE will focus on the path of a company's emissions as well as the outright level.
10:03 AM
Money round-up
Here's the daily round-up of the best from The Telegraph's money team:
Questor Income Portfolio: Regional Reit's 6.7pc increase in this week’s quarterly payment signals returning confidence
09:40 AM
Property transactions slow in April
Placards from various estates agents advertising properties To Let , For Sale and Sold on March 03, 2021 in Stoke-on-Trent, England - Nathan Stirk /Getty Images Europe
Property transactions began to cool in April after peaking ahead of the original stamp duty holiday deadline in March, reports Rachel Mortimer.
The latest official data from HM Revenue & Customs recorded 111,260 residential sales last month, the biggest April figure since 2007 and almost 198pc higher than the same month in 2020.
Transactions cooled following their peak of 173,410 in March, with sales falling by more than 35pc in April.
The market in March was gripped by a frenzy as buyers scrambled to complete ahead of the initial stamp duty deadline. The tax break was then extended until June, meaning high sales volume continued into April.
Yesterday the Office for National Statistics reported house prices had grown at their fastest rate in almost 14 years in March, at an annual rate of 10.2pc.
09:16 AM
Expert comment: PMI data
Rhys Herbert, senior economist at Lloyds Bank, said:
The economy continues to build momentum as lockdown restrictions ease, and the anticipation of this week’s changes help to further boost the headline figure. So, the signs are that we’re in the early stages of a strong rebound.
Job creation is also now picking up, with some businesses even struggling with recruitment. When viewed against the backdrop of previous concerns that unemployment may rise sharply when the government’s furlough finally ends, that’s a sign that firms are acting on their restored optimism and are building up capacity to meet demand.
However, skills shortages could begin to add to the other inflationary pressures that are building. Supply chain issues have been a pinch point for months, particularly for manufacturers experiencing parts shortages and freight disruption.
Add rising commodity prices and backlogs to the mix, and there are concerns brewing that inflation could begin to drag on output.
08:51 AM
Price pressures
A lot of attention is going to gravitate towards the cost pressures within the private sector that the UK PMI picked up on.
Manufacturers flagged shortages of raw materials and high shipping costs, while service providers highlighted increased staff salaries.
Although that led to the strongest inflation rate on record as measured by output prices charged, Markit, like the Bank of England, expects those price pressures to fade.
💥 flash UK #PMI composite #output index rose to a record high of 62.0 in May (compared to 56.9 in the euro area)
The UK private sector has signalled its fastest output growth for more than two decades, according to data from IHS Markit, although services fell slightly below economists' expectations.
UK Flash PMIs:
Composite PMI (May) 62.0 vs. Exp. 62.0 (Prev. 60.7)
Manufacturing PMI (May) 66.1 vs. Exp. 60.5 (Prev. 60.9)
Services PMI (May) 61.8 vs. Exp. 62.0 (Prev. 61.0)
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit, commented:
The UK is enjoying an unprecedented growth spurt as the economy reopens. Factory orders are surging at a record pace as global demand for goods continues to revive, and the service sector is reporting near-record growth as the opening up of the economy allows more businesses to trade.
The strongest upturns in demand were reported for hotels, restaurants and other consumer-facing services, though improvements were reported across the board in all sectors.
Even with a near-record burst of hiring, the survey saw the largest ever reported rise in backlogs of uncompleted work and a severe worsening of supply chain delays as companies struggled to meet the surge in demand.
A direct consequence of demand running ahead of supply was a steep rise in prices, hinting strongly that consumer price inflation has much further to rise after lifting to 1.5pc in April.
However, the inflationary spike could prove temporary, as many of the price hikes have reflected surcharges on shipping and other shortage-related issues emanating from the pandemic. As these constraints ease, price pressures should abate, but there remains a great deal of uncertainty as to how long it will take for global business and trade to return to normal functioning, especially if new virus variants appear.
08:36 AM
UK PMI data signals fastest expansion in business activity for two decades
UK flash PMI data signalled the fastest expansion in business activity in over 20 years. Looser pandemic restrictions fuelled an uptick in new work and employment. Meanwhile, inflationary pressures continued to build amid rising material prices. Read more: https://t.co/cg9bRKCYABpic.twitter.com/1hIYnoUkHc
Trucker shortages pose 'extreme barrier' to pandemic recovery, says Logistics UK
A truck driver eats breakfast at a truck stop off the M20 motorway which leads to the Port of Dover, near Ashford in Ken, south east England - JUSTIN TALLIS /AFP
Almost a third of UK logistics companies expect to face trucker shortages this year and a 10th say recruitment issues will pose an “extreme barrier” to the recovery of their business from the pandemic, according to lobby group Logistics UK.
The group is calling on the government to provide interest-free loans or grants to train more drivers to fill trucking jobs.
Some 110 trained truck drivers claimed unemployment benefits in January, down 27pc from a year ago.
Data from job search engine Adzuna show online advertisements for transport, logistics and warehouse jobs in February were 15pc above the same period last year.
08:15 AM
B&Q owner shares drop 3.7pc
B&Q diy hardware store inTrostre retail park, Llanelli, Wales - Photofusion /Universal Images Group Editorial
Shares in B&Q owner Kingfisher were trailing in the FTSE 100, down 3.7pc this morning.
Traders were responding to the DIY retailer's annual 7.2pc sales rise it reported yesterday, with analysts suggesting the company could struggle to maintain Britons' enthusiasm for home improvements as the rest of the economy reopens.
"As more people leave furlough schmes and return to full time working once more, the DIY craze is likely to wane a little, although a buoyant house market is likely to keep our passion for decoration relatively high," said Hargreaves Lansdown's Susannah Streeter.
07:52 AM
Banks drag FTSE below 7,000
The FTSE 100 has fallen below 7,000 points this morning, as weakness in banks countered a bigger-than-expected jump in retail sales.
The index slid down 0.33pc, with banks including HSBC Holdings, NatWest Group, Prudential Plc and Standard Chartered among the biggest drags.
Miners including Anglo American Plc, Glencore Plc and Rio Tinto all fell between 0.2pc and 0.6pc.
The domestically focussed mid-cap FTSE 250 index was also in the red, down 0.19pc.
Retail sales surged by 9.2pc in April, when non-essential shops reopened after months of closure due to coronavirus restrictions, their biggest jump since a previous reopening in June, official data showed.
Britain's biggest seller of building materials, Travis Perkins, rose 1.7pc after selling its plumbing and heating business to an affiliate of investment firm H.I.G. Capital for £325m ($461m).
07:44 AM
FTSE is down 0.27pc
The FTSE 100 is down 0.27pc in early trading, trading at around 7,000 points.
07:39 AM
Food store sales drop 0.9pc
Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown, comments on why food store sales have dropped while other sales, such as fuel, are rising:
With hospitality reopening after the Easter break, it sucked grocery spend away from supermarkets and into the tills of restaurants, cafes and bars.
Food store sales volumes declined by 0.9pc in April 2021 following three consecutive months of growth since December 2020.
But food store sales remain considerably higher than their pre-pandemic level, with sales in April 2021 8.6pc higher than in February 2020.
07:19 AM
Retail sales by sector
Danni Hewson, financial analyst at AJ Bell, comments:
Clothing sales surged by 69.4pc and non-clothing 25.3pc in April compared to the previous month.
Petrol sales were also given a boost as workers began to drift back into offices and the opportunity for socialising and indulging was presented. So far so good for physical retail, and online sales were down 5.6pc when compared with the previous month.
But a more accurate picture emerges when we compare this month’s sales figures with those of April 2019. In that period online retailers have enjoyed the largest growth, up a whopping 56pc and fuel sales are 13.3pc down compared with two years ago, demonstrating that homeworking is still a big part of our working lives.
Overall, retail sales were considerably above their pre-pandemic levels (10.6pc) but novelty and savings will undoubtedly have played a part in this month’s rise and this trajectory is unlikely to continue as consumers get more opportunities to spend their cash elsewhere.
07:06 AM
Expert reaction: Retail sales surge 9.2pc
Aled Patchett, head of retail and consumer goods at Lloyds Bank, reacts:
April was always likely to see a further surge in sales as stores re-opened for the first time in months – with fashion retailers the ultimate beneficiaries of beer gardens re-opening and the ‘rule of six’ night out returning.
The high street will be hopeful that the re-emergence of indoor hospitality this week continues to bring shoppers back out in force to accelerate its recovery into the summer.
That said, optimism remains cautious, particularly given the presence of new emerging variants which could see shoppers return to the online habits that have become so dominant over the past 12 months – something that may have happened anyway once the novelty of the bricks and mortar experience wore off.
Independent retailers will also be wary of the need to establish new rent agreements with landlords, given the upcoming eviction moratorium deadline next month, with many likely to be balancing new turnover-based approaches with the need to address deferred payments from the past year.
06:52 AM
Bricks and mortar regains ground
Perhaps unsurprisingly, bricks-and-mortar stores were the main winners from the reopening on April 12. The ONS reports that all sectors reported a decline in the proportion of sales made online during the month.
It says: "The total proportion of sales online decreased to 30.0pc in April 2021, down from 34.7pc in March 2021."
All retail sectors reported a fall in their proportions of online sales this month.
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) May 21, 2021
06:44 AM
Retail sales jump
Retail sales volumes were 42.4pc higher in April 2021 than in April 2020, during the first national lockdown, the ONS reports.
However it warns that "base effects" make this an inaccurate comparison, so prefers to measure it against February 2020, before the pandemic. "
Total retail sales levels for both the amount spent and quantity bought were up 9.9pc and 10.6pc respectively compared with their pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic February 2020 levels," it says.
06:19 AM
Retail boost for the economy
Good morning. Sterling has climbed to $1.4199 after fresh data showed retail sales jumped 9.2pc in April compared to March.
The better than expected jump in trading followed the reopening of non-essential shops on April 12.
Compared with April last year - during the first national lockdown - sales were up 43pc, the Office for National Statistics said. Sales were also 9.9pc higher than the last month of trading before Covid-19 hit.
Asian markets fluctuated on Friday as investors battled to track a rally on Wall Street. In early Asian trade, Tokyo, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei and Jakarta were up, though Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul and Manila dipped.
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