Currys lifts annual earnings guidance, Trump unveils package of global tariffs
By Josh White
Date: Thursday 03 Apr 2025
(Sharecast News) - London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 79 points lower on Thursday, having closed down 0.3% on Wednesday at 8,608.48.
Stocks to watch
UK electrical retailer Currys on Thursday lifted annual earnings guidance after "robust" trading since the start of the year. Group adjusted profit before tax is now expected to be around £160m, compared to previous guidance of £145-155m, Currys said.
Real estate investment group Primary Health Properties has made a £1.5bn takeover proposal for Assura, the developer and manager of GP and primary care buildings. Under the cash and shares proposal, Assura shareholders will receive 0.3848 new PHP shares and 9.08p in cash, implying a value of 46.2p per Assura share - a 23.5% premium to its closing share price on the day before the offer period commenced.
Workspace Group announced the appointment of Jessica Berney as its head of portfolio management and a member of the executive committee on Thursday, effective 1 July. She was joining from Schroders Capital, where she spent 13 years as fund manager for UK strategic partnerships. Berney also previously held a senior role at Invista Real Estate, managing multiple funds and retail sector investments.
Newspaper round-up
Rachel Reeves has defended the £40bn in tax increases in autumn's budget as businesses brace for their impact, saying NHS waiting lists would now be higher if she had not taken action. Employers are set for a £25bn increase in national insurance contributions (NICs), which comes into force on 6 April, at the same time as consumers are being hit by a slew of increases in bills for everything from utilities to car tax. - Guardian
The former chief executive of Barclays Jes Staley took a "chance" in lying to the UK regulator about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein amid fears that being truthful could end his career and fuel potential lawsuits by victims of the jailed child sex offender, a court has heard. The allegations were made by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) during closing statements for the high-profile case at the upper tribunal in London on Wednesday. - Guardian
Aston Martins and Scotch whisky are likely to become more expensive in the US under Donald Trump. Car manufacturing and the food and drink industry are among the UK sectors most impacted by the US president's wave of new tariffs. All export billions of pounds worth of goods to the US every year, which will now be subject to 10pc import taxes. - Telegraph
British families will be £400 worse off on average this year as Rachel Reeves's tax rises combine with soaring bills to hammer living standards, top economists have warned. The Resolution Foundation think tank said benefits will also increase by less than the cost of living - leading to a "triple blow" to household finances. It said the long-running freeze to income tax thresholds, introduced under the Conservatives and sustained under Labour, is forcing more workers into paying tax and pushing others into higher brackets. - Telegraph
The former owners of the Telegraph Media Group have sold the superyacht named after the Barclay twins' late mother as they continue to sell off assets to repay debts across their corporate empire. The cash-strapped Barclay family have sold the Lady Beatrice to the financier Peter Dubens for an undisclosed amount after putting it up for sale 17 months ago at €22 million. - The Times
US close
Major indices closed higher on Wednesday as investors braced for Donald Trump's so-called 'Liberation Day' tariff announcements after the close.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.56% at 42,225.32, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.67% to 5,670.97 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.87% firmer at 17,601.05.
The Dow closed 235.36 points higher on Wednesday, easily reversing modest losses recorded in the previous session.
Today's primary focus was undoubtedly Donald Trump's long-awaited tariff announcement after the close, with the US president inking what he called a "historic executive order instituting reciprocal tariffs on countries throughout the world."
"Reciprocal. That means they do it to us and we do it to them. Very simple. Can't get any simpler than that," said Trump, who branded his tariffs as America's "declaration of economic independence".
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