Standard Chartered reports better-than-expected profit, Pearson group sales rise
By Josh White
Date: Friday 02 May 2025
(Sharecast News) - London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 59 points higher on Friday, having closed up 0.02% on Thursday at 8,496.80.
Stocks to watch
Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered reported better-than-expected first-quarter profit, driven by strong growth in its wealth management but also warned of the impact of US President Donald Trump's trade war. Pre-tax profit for the three months to March came in at $2.10bn, up from $1.91bn and the $1.905bn consensus average. Net interest income rose 3% to $1.6bn while the wealth management division increased operating income by 28%.
Pearson reported a 1% increase in underlying first-quarter group sales on Friday, and confirmed it was on track to meet its full-year guidance, with stronger growth anticipated in the second half. The FTSE 100 education publisher said all business units performed in line with expectations, including a 6% rise in higher education sales. It said it was advancing its strategic goals through product innovation, contract wins, a brand relaunch, and the launch of a £350m share buyback programme.
Newspaper round-up
Staff at the Co-op have been ordered to keep their cameras on during remote meetings to verify attendees while Marks & Spencer has halted all recruitment as the companies tackle cyber attacks. Both retailers have had to shut down parts of their IT systems after hackers infiltrated their networks with alleged ransomware attacks. Harrods, the luxury London department store, became the third household name to confirm it had fallen victim to cyber criminals on Thursday. - The Times
A stablecoin launched by Donald Trump's World Liberty Financial cryptocurrency venture is being used by an Abu Dhabi investment firm for its $2bn investment in crypto exchange Binance, one of World Liberty's co-founders said on Thursday. World Liberty, which aims to allow people to access financial services without intermediaries like banks, said in March it would launch USD1, a dollar-pegged stablecoin backed by US treasuries, dollars and other cash equivalents. - Guardian
Investors piled record amounts into European exchange-traded investment funds at the start of 2025 as capital flowed out of US assets, fresh data suggests. US President Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs on imports from around the world has seen investors reposition their exposure away from the country. During the opening three months of the year, the European ETF market saw inflows of $93billion of net new assets as Trump threatened and later imposed tariffs on trade partners, according to figures from Invesco. - Daily Mail
The incoming boss of National Grid has raised concerns about the pace of net zero and said that oil will be needed for decades. Zoë Yujnovich, who will take up the role of National Grid chief executive in November, previously warned that the journey to net zero "must be achieved whilst providing a stable and reliable supply of energy". - Daily Telegraph
US close
Major indices closed higher on Thursday as investors cheered quarterly earnings beats from tech giants Meta Platforms and Microsoft.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.21% at 40,752.96, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.86% to 5,617.17 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.78% firmer at 17,757.22.
The Dow closed 83.60 points higher on Thursday, extending gains recorded in the previous session despite news that gross domestic product had fallen at an annualised pace of 0.3% in Q1 to mark the first quarter of negative growth since Q122.
Meta Platforms traded higher on the back of stronger-than-expected Q1 revenues, while Microsoft shares were also in the green thanks to top and bottom-line beats in its fiscal Q3, as well as strong results from its Azure cloud business and some upbeat guidance.
Pharmacy chain operator CVS Health hiked its FY profit guidance as its improving Medicare unit helped drive a better-than-expected quarterly showing, while drugmaker Eli Lilly cut its FY earnings guidance on the back of research charges and disappointing weight-loss drug sales, and fast food giant McDonald's missed quarterly sales estimates as it recorded its largest drop in customer numbers since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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