(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN

The FTSE 100 is tipped to open around 42 points lower (-0.4%) than Tuesday's close of 10,529.39.
STOCKS TO WATCH

Barratt Redrow has launched a new share buyback programme as part of a new £400m capital return in FY27, following a "solid performance" over the financial year to 28 June, with profits in line with market expectations. Total home completions for the year came in at the upper end of guidance at 17,667 (17,200 to 17,800), with further growth targeted for the current financial year (17,700 to 18,200).

Retailer B&M reported a 2% rise in first-quarter revenue as a strong performance in France offset a 2.3% decline in UK like-for-like sales. The lower UK sales were attributed to a slower start to garden and outdoor sales compared with last year, when unusually early warm and dry weather drove 10.9% LFL sales growth, B&M said in a trading statement on Thursday.

NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP

Heating oil customers whose deliveries were cancelled when the war in the Middle East caused a price surge are to receive compensation of up to £350 each following an investigation by the UK competition watchdog. As the crisis unfolded, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was investigating heating oil suppliers after complaints that existing orders were being scrapped, with customers offered new deliveries at a significantly higher price. - Guardian

Labour must stop "simply writing a cheque" for health and disability benefit claimants and will provide more job support instead, the work and pensions secretary has said. Pat McFadden said the government was preparing to launch a renewed effort at welfare reform with a focus on encouraging more people with health conditions to get into work and off benefits. - Guardian

Andy Burnham is to be warned about the darkening outlook for Britain's economy next week on his first day as prime minister. Mr Burnham will be briefed by senior Treasury officials when he takes up the role on Monday that the UK's finances will be worse than expected during his first months in office. - Telegraph

Britain's energy grid boss dismissed claims that blackout risks were covered up just hours before he launched an investigation into the allegations, The Telegraph can reveal. Fintan Slye, the chief executive of the National Energy System Operator (Neso), is said to have called the claims false during a call open to all employees on Monday morning. - Telegraph

The boss of the world's largest technology investor said humans will be displaced as "the highest life form on Earth" as artificial intelligence accelerates towards superintelligence, fundamentally reshaping the global economy in the process. Masayoshi Son, chief executive of SoftBank, said that global AI infrastructure would require $5 trillion in annual investment by 2040 to support the shift away from human labour. He predicted that the technology could account for as much as 20 per cent of global output. - The Times

US CLOSE

Major indices were in the green at the close on Tuesday, with traders balancing rising US-Iran tensions against June inflation data and a fresh batch of bank earnings.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.02% at 52,508.27, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.38% to 7,543.59, and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.90% firmer at 26,107.01.

The annual rate of US consumer inflation slowed substantially in June, according to data out on Tuesday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as increases in gasoline prices eased following last month's ceasefire deal between the US and Iran. The headline year-on-year change in the consumer price index fell to 3.5% last month from the three-year high of 4.2% in May.

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