FTSE 100 Live: London’s blue-chip stocks called higher, US payrolls in focus later Proactive uses images sourced from Shutterstock
Barratt Redrow has reported a steady first half, with performance broadly in line with its pre-Budget update to keep its full-year outlook unchanged.
Adjusted profit before tax fell 13.6% to £199.9 million. Net cash stood at £173.9 million.
For the full year, profits are expected to be within the current range of estimates of £558-617 million, with the full outturn dependent on sales activity through the spring selling season.
Based on the current forward sold position of 11,168 homes at a value of £3.4 billion, and solid reservation activity, completed sales of 17,200-17,800 are expected, in line with previous guidance.
There’s some UK macro data this morning, on consumer card spending, via Barclaycard, which has found that spending increased 0.8% in January – considerably less than the latest inflation rate, whcih stands north of 3%.
Essential spending fell for the sixth month, down 1.1%, while discretionary spending grew 1.6%, led by the strong performance of online retail over the January sales period, and a boost for both streaming and entertainment, driven by the cold and wet weather.
Online retail spend growth (excluding groceries) reached 5.7%, with its share of overall retail spending reaching its highest level since January 2022, at 59.2%.
Clothing spending rose 3.1%, health and beauty 8.0% and online marketplaces 4.8%. Entertainment was a standout, up 8.3%, while digital subscriptions jumped 9.3% as viewers tuned into shows such as Heated Rivalry and Stranger Things.
Jack Meaning, chief UK economist at Barclays said: “Improving consumer confidence is absolutely key to the UK’s economic outlook in 2026.
“With that in mind, the stabilisation in this month’s survey is an encouraging step in the right direction. With inflation set to fall quickly in the coming months, interest rates on course to ease and some early signs of resilience in wider activity, the scene is set for confidence to pick up, supporting growth in spending as the year goes on.”
The FTSE 100 has been called higher on Wednesday, as corporate results season continues in London but traders will focus more on economic data from across the Atlantic later.
London’s blue-chip share index has been predicted to gain 21 points on the futures market, after closing 32 points worse off the day before at 10,353.84 at the close.
Over in the US overnight, the Dow Jones notched its third consecutive record close while other major indexes slipped.