(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN

The FTSE 100 was expected to open 63.1 points lower ahead of the bell on Thursday, after wrapping up the previous session 0.13% firmer at 10,515.01.


STOCKS TO WATCH

Utilities provider SSE reported a small decline in annual profits but adjusted earnings at the upper end of guidance, delivering an upbeat outlook following a record year for capital investment. SSE said it had made a strong operational performance during the 12 months to 31 March, while a "resilient business mix" meant it had seen no immediate impact from current macroeconomic volatility, as it held on to near and medium-term profit growth targets for FY27 and FY30.

Computacenter said it has bought Government Acquisitions, a value-added reseller focused on the US federal government market, for up to $92m. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, GAI reported gross invoiced income of around $390m in 2025 and adjusted underlying earnings of approximately $8m.

Metal flow engineering firm Vesuvius said on Thursday that trading over the first four months of the year was slightly ahead of 2025 on a constant‑currency basis, leading the group to maintain its full‑year guidance as it expects to report a stronger second-half performance. Vesuvius also updated its FX‑translation guidance, noting that re‑translated FY25 revenue would have been £1.80bn versus £1.81bn reported, with trading profit at £146.9m versus £151.1m.

NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP

Britain is "sleepwalking into a food crisis" caused by extreme weather, inflation and the impacts of the Iran war - and the government is failing to take the threat seriously, food experts have said. Farmers are facing severe strain from the current heatwave following a dry spring, with many crops likely to yield less as temperatures rise beyond their tolerance. Livestock are also suffering heat stress and there is a rising risk of wildfires. Economic losses are likely to be measured in the hundreds of millions of pounds. - Guardian

US importers are expected to receive $85bn in tariff refunds after the supreme court struck down Donald Trump's tariffs in February, according to US Customs and Border Protection, the agency that collects tariffs. Importers and shippers have so far been refunded $20bn, according to court documents filed on Tuesday, with about $65bn more on the way. After months of uncertainty and higher costs, American businesses largely welcomed the supreme court's ruling that Trump overstepped his authority in enacting sweeping tariffs, including a baseline 10% tariff on all imports. It was the first time the highest court overruled Trump's policies in his second term. - Guardian

The Netherlands has blocked a US takeover of a Dutch tech company on national security grounds after warnings the deal would put the country in Donald Trump's "stranglehold". Willemijn Aerdts, the Dutch digital secretary, said she had blocked IT giant Kyndryl's €100m (£87m) takeover of Solvinity, which runs the Netherlands' digital ID scheme, citing a potential risk to the public interest. - Telegraph

A billionaire French dynasty that owns a major stake in Universal Music has urged the company to reject a proposed $64bn (£48bn) takeover bid from Bill Ackman, the hedge fund chief. Cyrille Bolloré, the son of industrialist Vincent Bolloré and chief executive of the family's holding company, said the offer undervalued the record label and did not fit in with its long-term strategy. - Telegraph

Workers in Samsung's semiconductor division are in line to receive bonuses worth more than $400,000 after the company's union struck a breakthrough deal to ensure they receive a portion of the windfall from the artificial intelligence boom. The deal also ensures that Samsung has averted an 18-day strike, which could have been heavily disruptive to the global AI industry, given the company's huge semiconductor business. - The Times

US CLOSE

US stocks finished marginally higher on Wednesday after swinging between gains and losses for most of the session, as investors watched developments in the Middle East with bated breath.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.36% at 50,644.28, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.02% to 7,520.36 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.07% firmer at 26,674.73.







Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

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