7.40am: Fiscal statement could be delayed
Prime minister Rishi Sunak is considering delaying Monday's fiscal statement, as the decision on whether it would be revealed on the scheduled date of October 31 remains up in the air.
The statement could also potentially be pushed back by a couple of days so it is presented before November 3, when the Bank of England is set to announce its plans for further interest rate hikes.
Sunak is expected to meet with chancellor Jeremy Hunt today to discuss his proposals to increase taxes and squeeze public spending.
7.22am: Barclays Q3 pre-tax profits hit £2bn but bad debts rise
Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) reported third quarter pre-tax profits of £2bn, better than expected, driven by a 17% increase in income at its UK business.
Attributable profit of £1.5bn compared to £1.4bn last year while return on total equity (ROTE) improved to 12.5% from 11.4%.
The FTSE-100 listed lender said group income rose 9% to £6.0bn which included a £0.5bn charge related to the over-issuance of securities.
Bad debt provisions were £0.4bn, up from £0.1bn last year reflecting the “deteriorating macroeconomic forecast” but the banking giant said business failures remain below historical levels.
Total group operating expenses were £3.6bn, unchanged from last year, which includes a provision reduction of £0.5bn in relation to the over-issuance of securities (Q321: £0.1bn charge).
The bank’s common equity Tier 1 ratio of 13.8% in line with the bank’s targeted range of 13-14%.
Barclays said it was targeting a RoTE of greater than 10% in 2022.
Costs for the full year are expected to remain at previous guidance of £16.7bn with a reduction in litigation charges offset by forex headwinds.
C S Venkatakrishnan, group chief executive, said: "We delivered another quarter of strong returns, and achieved income growth in each of our three businesses1, with a 17% increase in Group income.”
“We are ready to provide support for customers and clients facing an uncertain economic environment and higher cost pressures.”
7.00am: FTSE 100 seen slightly lower
FTSE 100 set to open lower this morning after falls after shares in Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) were sold off in after-hours business in the US taking the shine off another strong day for US markets.
Spread betting companies are calling London’s blue chip index down by around 19 points..
US markets forged ahead once more driven by falling Treasury yields and hopes that the aggressive rate rising stance of the Federal Reserve might soften in light of a series of soft US economic data.
At the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 338 points at 31,837, the S&P 500 advanced 62 points to 3,859 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 247 poiints to 11,199.
Investors are also awaiting confirmation that the fiscal statement will still take place on 31 October with speculation that it may be delayed.
The banking reporting season continues with Barclays PLC (LSE:BARC) the latest high street lender to report numbers today as well.