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"The FTSE100 was up in early trading following overnight gains on Wall Street and in Asia, with all eyes on a string of transatlantic economic news and US non-farm payrolls ahead of the Fed's interest-rate call next week. In the UK, industrial, manufacturing production will be watched, along with construction output and the goods trade balance,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“BT bounded to the top of the blue-chip board after it reached a deal over Openreach, which runs Britain’s broadband infrastructure, with industry regulator Ofcom. Openreach will now become a distinct, legally separate company with its own board, within the BT Group. The regulator now expects to see a better service from Openreach which must now consult with its customers, such as Sky and TalkTalk, over major investments. BT’s shares were up by more than 5.1% in early trading.
“Pub group JD Wetherspoon's like-for-like sales rose in the 26 weeks to 22 January but the group continues to warn about the danger to the industry posed by the tax disparity with supermarkets. Chancellor Philip Hammond gave pubs tax relief of around £1000 in Wednesday’s Budget but Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has pointed out this will be dwarfed by tax and regulatory increases. Wetherspoon's shares were down by over 1.3%.
“Insurance group esure was the FTSE250’s biggest riser following strong growth in premiums, policies and profit for the year to the end of December. Premiums are ahead of expectations and the demerger of its price comparison site Gocompare.com has allowed both businesses to thrive and reach their full potential. esure’s shares were up by more than 7.9%.”
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