Morrisons, esure and Tate & Lyle

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“Blue-chips confounded forecasts and opened on the front foot following falls on Wall Street after the US Federal Reserve kept rates on hold overnight and the latest acrimonious exchanges by US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Halloween proved to be much more of a treat than a trick for supermarket giant Morrisons with sales up 20% on a year ago and helping to lift like-for-like sales by1.6% in the third quarter. Morrisons’ like-for-like sales have now been positive for a year but food input costs were up over 10% in September which will put pressure on prices while the major supermarkets continue to fend off the impact of discounters Aldi and Lidl.

“Insurance group’s esure’s shares plunged after it completed the demerger of its price comparison site Gocompare.com. The businesses will now focus on their distinct strategies, with Gocompare.com operating as a leading UK price and product comparison website and esure as a major provider of motor and home insurance. esure’s shares were down by more than 27.9% in early trading.

Tate & Lyle topped the FTSE250 list in early trading after raising its full-year profit forecasts. The group has been buoyed by sterling’s weakness and strong demand for soft drinks in the US.”

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