FTSE 100 cuts losses; Wall Street to see mixed open

• FTSE 100 down 9 points
• Mixed open for US stocks
• Morrisons expects profits to rise this year

12.45pm: Wall Street to see mixed open

The Footsie cut some losses again and was down 9 points to 6,716 at midday.

Meanwhile, sterling added 0.1% to US$1.3952.

On the other side of the pond, the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 are expected to open higher while the Nasdaq is forecast to start the day barely in the red after recovering from the losses taken earlier this month.

The US House of Representatives passed the largest fiscal stimulus package in US history, with US$1.9 trillion allocated in support for Americans.

“Given the sheer size of the bill and the American public’s willingness to spend (retail sales surged after the previous check), it’s highly likely that the US consumer will help the economy on its way to a faster recovery,” said Sophie Griffiths, analyst at OANDA.

“While bond yields and inflation concerns have eased today there is little doubt that they will remain on the market’s radar.”

“US core inflation rose just 0.1% month-on-month in February, below expectations, while core CPI rose 1.3% on an annual basis, also falling short of forecasts. The data put to rest (at least for now) runaway inflation expectations, which had been mounting.”

11.45am: Morrisons books £290mln extra costs related to COVID-19

FTSE 100 kept declining at lunchtime and slipped 25 points to 6,700.

(), which has recently been relegated from the index, saw full-year profits halving after including £290mln of COVID-19 charges for safety measures, staff absences and extra distribution costs.

Profit before tax and exceptionals plunged 51% to £201mln, while the grocer also repaid £230mln of waived government business rates relief.

READ: Morrisons expects profits to rise as trading returns to normal

The supermarket chain expects profits in the new year to rise as trading returns to normal, with fewer direct COVID-19 costs and restrictions such as café closures.

It will also benefit from the rollout on Amazon.com Inc () and in McColl’s Retail Group PLC () convenience stores.

10.45am: Bond yields weigh on banks

The Footsie turned red in late morning and dropped 17 points to 6,708.

Banks were weighing on the index as bond yields lose ground, with () down 3% to 480.25p, Barclays plc () shedding 2% to 171.19p and plc () and plc () dipping 1% to 40.42p and 186.2p respectively.

But the largest faller was PLC (), declining 5% to 424.7p after Investec downgraded it to ‘sell’.

READ: HSBC to invest up to US$1 trillion to help customers decarbonise

The bank also unveiled a special resolution on climate change that will see it providing between US$750bn and US$1 trillion in financing and investment to help its customers decarbonise.

It will involve phasing out the financing of coal-fired power and thermal coal mining by 2040 while it will also carry out analysis on customers by industry sector, beginning in 2021 with Oil & Gas and Power & Utilities.

9.45am: John Lewis warns of more permanent closures

FTSE 100 trimmed its gains in mid-morning and was up only 5 points to 6,731, while sterling was flat at US$1.3935.

said it does not expect to reopen all its shops at the end of lockdown, with final decisions to be taken at the end of the month following discussions with landlords.

The Waitrose owner said all it stores “need to be exciting places to shop, more reflective of the tastes and interests of local customers”, so it will further invest in the locations deemed more profitable.

READ: John Lewis Partnership slumps to first-ever annual loss

It also reported its first ever annual loss, amounting to £517mln in the year to the end of January compared to a profit of £146mln the year before.

The Partnership booked £648mln of exceptional costs, most of which related to the write-down in the valuation of its retail estates, while revenue rose to £10.8bn from £10.2bn the year…