FTSE 100 Live Tuesday
- Sainsbury's hails strong trading
- House prices lower in June
- Ofgem backs £24bn energy plan
Market update: Sainsbury's fades despite grocery boost, builders weaken
09:47 , Graeme EvansStrong grocery sales failed to keep Sainsbury’s in positive territory today as the supermarket’s shares lagged other retailers in a lacklustre FTSE 100 index.
Shares initially rose 2% after the chain said a like-for-like sales improvement of 4.7% for the first quarter to 21 June kept it on course to meet full-year guidance.
Market share growth meant grocery sales lifted 5% on a total basis, while Argos bounced 4.4% against a soft comparison the previous year.
Chief executive Simon Roberts said: “We're delivering our strongest ever customer offer and many more people are choosing us for their main grocery shop.”
UBS reiterated its Buy recommendation with a slightly higher price target of 310p after it said the grocery sales performance came in above estimates.
Having entered today’s session on the back of a 25% rise since mid-April, the shares gave up their initial gains to later stand 1.6p lower at 288.2p.
That compared with a rise of 3.8p to 405.1p for Tesco and 2p gain to 356.5p for Marks & Spencer.
Other risers included National Grid and SSE - up 17p to 1078.5p and 20.5p to 1851.5p respectively - after Ofgem gave the go-ahead to an initial £24 billion of investment to upgrade UK energy infrastructure.
Vodafone also lifted 1.2p to 79p and copper miner Antofagasta by 44p to 1853.5p but the FTSE 100 index opened the third quarter 5.12 points lower at 8755.84.
London’s top flight rose by 7.2% in the first half of the year but suffered today on the back of jitters ahead of the 9 July deadline for US tariff deals.
On the fallers board, builders and lenders were under pressure after Nationwide reported a 0.8% month-on-month decline in the UK’s average house price.
Barratt Redrow dipped 8p to 447.9p, Taylor Wimpey lost 1.35p to 117.4p and NatWest faded 6.8p to 504.6p.
The FTSE 250 index edged 5.75 points higher at 21,632 as Ocado added 5p to 231.9p and B&M European Value Retail put on 5.5p to 276.9p.
Ofgem backs £24bn investment, energy bills to rise
09:13 , Graeme EvansBritain’s energy watchdog has given the go-ahead to an initial £24 billion of investment to upgrade UK energy infrastructure.
Ofgem’s draft verdict on price controls for energy network firms including SSE and National Grid approves more than £15 billion to be spent on gas transmission and distribution networks in the five years to 2031.
However, Ofgem revealed households are set to see bills surge by £104 by 2031 to cover the cost of the extra investment. The regulator said this will include £30 for gas networks and £74 for the electricity grid.
Sainsbury's rallies on update, FTSE 100 in positive territory
08:30 , Graeme EvansThe FTSE 100 index is 18.90 points higher at 8779.86, with Sainsbury’s up 5.2p to 295p after reporting first quarter like-for-like sales growth of 4.7%.
Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Aarin Chiekrie said: “Trading, so far, has been promising, and while it’s still early in the group’s financial year, signs of an all-out price war among the major supermarkets hasn’t materialised.
“If that remains the case through the rest of the year, the current profit guidance looks a touch conservative, so there could be some positive surprises for investors who are willing to remain patient.”
Tesco shares also improved 4.1p to 405.4p and Marks & Spencer lifted 4.6p to 359p.
On the fallers board, Standard Chartered weakened 17.5p to 1189.5p and Barratt Redrow eased 4.8p to 451.1p.
Annual house price growth softens - Nationwide
07:58 , Graeme EvansThe UK’s average house price declined by 0.8% month-on-month in June, building society Nationwide said today.
The softening is likely to have been caused by weaker demand following the increase in stamp duty at the start of April.
Nationwide said annual house price growth slowed to 2.1% in June, down from 3.5% in May. The average price now stands at £271,619.
Chief economist Robert Gardner said: “We still expect activity to pick up as the summer progresses, despite ongoing economic uncertainties in the global economy, since underlying conditions for potential homebuyers in the UK remain supportive.”
S&P 500 index ends “tumultuous” quarter on a high
07:51 , Graeme EvansThe S&P 500 index and Nasdaq closed at fresh record highs last night, having posted gains of 10.6% and 17.7% respectively across the second quarter.
The benchmarks have been driven by optimism over trade deals and US interest rate cuts, although their first-half performances are still the weakest since 2022.
IG expects Wall Street to open slightly lower today: “investors remain wary as President Trump pushes for his $3.3 trillion tax-cut and spending bill to pass before the July 4 holiday, amid warnings of looming tariff hikes on July 9.
Meanwhile, the dollar has weakened further after posting its worst first-half performance against a basket of major currencies since 1973.
Deutsche Bank said: “Q2 was one of the most tumultuous of recent years, although you wouldn’t know it if you just looked at the performance of most assets. ”
Sainsbury's backs £1bn profit target, lifts market share
07:11 , Graeme EvansSainsbury’s today reiterated full-year profit guidance after reporting like-for-like sales growth of 4.7% for the first quarter to 21 June.
The supermarket chain and Argos owner said it expects to continue to grow grocery volumes ahead of the market.
It remains on track to deliver retail underlying operating profit of around £1 billion and free cash flow of more than £500 million.
Chief executive Simon Roberts highlighted the group’s highest market share in almost a decade.
He added: “We're delivering our strongest ever customer offer and many more people are choosing us for their main grocery shop.”
Index flat after S&P 500 record, Brent Crude lower
07:02 , Graeme EvansThe FTSE 100 index closed last night down 37.95 points or 0.4% at 8760.96, leaving London’s top flight 7.2% higher for the first six months of the year.
IG Index futures are pointing to a flat start to today’s session, despite another positive performance by Wall Street markets last night.
The S&P 500 index set a fresh record high after lifting another 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average improved 0.6%.
In today’s Asia trading, the Nikkei 225 fell 1% after President Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on Japan. The Hang Seng index reversed by 0.9%.
Brent Crude is 0.3% lower at $66.49 a barrel amid expectations that OPEC+ members will increase production quotas at their meeting later this week.
