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“The FTSE100 was virtually flat in early trading and it failed to match the strong gains on Wall Street overnight and in Asia this morning,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Heating and plumbing group Ferguson led the blue-chip board in early trading following strong full-year results and the launch of a £500m share buyback. The UK market remains pretty weak but Ferguson has been buoyed by favourable US residential and commercial markets, which account for the majority of its revenue. Trading margins improved and a weaker pound boosted revenues and profits. Ferguson’s shares were up by more than 3.1%.
“Bakery food-on-the-go retailer Greggs had a good third quarter with like-for-like sales up by 5%. Food ingredient cost pressures remain a significant headwind but the rate of increase should begin to ease towards the end of the year. Greggs is on track to have a net increase of around100 shops this year and has completed 120 out of 130 shop refurbishments. The group’s shares were up by just over 1% in early trading.
“Revolution Bars edged down in early trading following a fall in full-year profit after sales growth slowed and costs spiked. September was particularly disappointing, largely due to wet and cool weather compared to record temperatures a year ago. The group is the target of a potential takeover battle with Deltic Group still considering whether to make a cash offer to rival Stonegate's offer of 203p per share. The group’s shares were down by 0.95%.”
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