European markets are in a waiting position as investors await the triggering of Article 50.
The British Prime Minister will pen a letter to the European President Donald Tusk and it’s expected to be scrutinized by both London and Brussels. This event will officially kick start the Brexit negotiations which will take a minimum of two years. The focus on this event is also due to the lack of other market drivers this Tuesday.
On the corporate front, one of the biggest gainers today is Wolseley. Shares in the plumbing goods supplier jumped nearly 8% after the company reported a big rise in profits. Group trading profit rose 25% to £515m for the six months to 31 January. The group makes about 84% of its profit in the US and has decided to change its name to Ferguson, which is its main US brand.
And on the losing side is Ladbrokes Coral which fell after announcing an overall pre-tax loss of £204.3 million last year – this despite a 22 percent increase in its 2016 operating profit.
Britain’s biggest supermarket Tesco will pay a fine of £129m to avoid prosecution for overstating its profits in 2014. Tesco has also agreed with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to spend £85m on compensating investors who bought shares or bonds between 29 August and 19 September that year.
--- Written by Katie Pilbeam, DailyFX
