Serco reports flat first-half profits
London open
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open 42 points higher than Tuesday’s close of 6,520.98.
Stocks to watch
Profits in the first half of the year at Serco were flat compared to the previous year but "a little better" than predicted, though management have not altered their expectations for the full year. A trading update from the 250 company indicated that, despite helpful currency movements, revenues will be down roughly 15% to not less than £1.7bn, with trading profits flat at not less than £45m.
Pub group Greene King reported record retail revenue in its full-year results, although profit fell as a result of lower like-for-like sales and the impact of the disposal of 275 pubs to Hawthorn Leisure. Retail revenue for the 52 weeks to 3 May 2015 came in at £1bn, up from £963m last year, while total group revenue came in at £1.32bn from £1.3bn in 2014.
In the press
Greece has officially defaulted on its €1.6bn debt repayment to the IMF, making it the first ever developed economy not to pay back the IMF, The Telegraph reports.
Ocado boss Tim Steiner has said the online grocer is in “advanced” and “very detailed” discussions with international retailers about selling the use of its technology, and is also mulling the future of its contract with Waitrose, according to The Telegraph.
The Airports Commission has backed plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport, claiming that it could generate up to £147bn for the economy over 60 years and 70,000 new jobs by 2050, the Financial Times writes.
US close
US stocks inched higher on Tuesday, as markets hit the eye of the Greek financial storm, in the wake of steep sell-offs.
At close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 21 points higher at 17,618, while the S&P 500 was up 5 points to 2,063 and the Nasdaq gained 28 points to 4,987.
Early US gains, which were driven by reports that Athens may be considering a last-minute offer by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, were distinctly more modest by the closing bell, while European markets extended losses on the uncertainty.