- FTSE100 index down 0.2% at 7,545, STOXX 50 up 0.3% at 3,962.
- Headlines from Ukraine continue to grab attention, helping oil prices to advance 0.5%.
- Wall Street closed higher last night, with Nasdaq leading the way, +1.9% compared to a 0.3% gain for the Dow Jones.
- $2bn of Russian superyachts now detained in Europe.
- Wincanton posts positive trading update.
- Go Ahead looks to the next billion journeys.
Commenting on today’s market news, Steve Clayton, HL Select fund manager said:
All in all it is a pretty quiet start for markets today. News from Ukraine continues to appal, but there does not seem to have been any decisive developments overnight. But the rewards for being an Oligarch look to be shrinking, with Bloomberg reporting that over a dozen Russian-owned superyachts have now been impounded in Europe, including the Phillipe Starck designed Sailing Yacht A, the largest sail powered yacht ever built, owned by coal and chemicals magnate, Andrey Melnichenko and now tied up in Trieste, Italy.
Wincanton reported that they have steered their way through the challenges of driver shortages and soaring fuel prices. Their efulfillment division, supporting online commerce, saw growth jump by over 50% in the last three months, whilst their shared warehousing platform, OneVAST warehouse, signed up a 330,000sq ft deal to store PPE on behalf of the Government. The shares ticked up 1% in response.
Go Ahead Group, the erstwhile operator of SouthEastern trains is looking to put the past behind it, setting out its plans for future operations. Go Ahead are aiming to cut carbon faster and turn around underperforming franchises in the Group as they look to deliver their next billion customer journeys. Go-Ahead are targeting a return to profits of £150m over the medium term and a dividend of at least 50p per share in the current year. Shareholders will be looking for consistency here – Go-Ahead’s recent execution has been poor, with the Government stripping them of the SouthEastern franchise after Go-Ahead misreported performance and held on to funds that should have been returned to the Treasury. The shares responded enthusiastically, jumping 5.5% in early trading.
