Being a Friday – and with Christmas fast approaching, too – the corporate calendar is somewhat depressed. However, in the wake of last night’s hugely significant UK election and what should now act as a green light when it comes to Brexit, we’ll cast the net a little wider today.
On the Pound
Sterling soared last night in the wake of the exit polls. Although a modest reversion has been recorded from overnight highs on GBP/USD and corresponding lows on EUR/GBP, so far these moves have been measured and the broad assumption appears to be that the prospect of progress should be positive for the UK economy, at least in the short to medium term.
On the FTSE-100
Just after 7am, spread betters were quoting the London benchmark index to open around 7310, which would be in the region of 35 points or 0.5% up on last night’s close. That may seem like a muted response but bearing in mind the fact that the FTSE-100 is buoyed by a weaker Pound, once this is taken into account it seems clear that the election news is being give a positive reception – at least in futures markets.
At a company level: Hollywood Bowl
Back with our regular news, leisure brand Hollywood Bowl LON:BOWL has published full year results this morning. Revenues are up 7.8%, pre-tax profits have risen 15.3%, debt is down by almost a quarter and investors are being rewarded with a 12.7% increase in the dividend. Whilst the company does cite Brexit uncertainty as having had a number of low-level impacts on the business, they do not believe it poses a material risk to operations. Last night’s election result has the potential to provide a little more optimism that disposable incomes may remain higher for longer, too.
