Must read: FTSE 100, Rightmove, Kering, China GDP, B&M

GLOBAL MARKETS

The FTSE 100 has opened the week on a positive note with defence and financial stocks leading the charge - Babcock International Group (LSE:BAB), Rolls-Royce Holdings (LSE:RR.), Standard Chartered (LSE:STAN) and Prudential (LSE:PRU) are at the top of the basket. Meanwhile at the other end, Fresnillo is down over 3%.

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According to Rightmove, UK average asking prices rose by 0.3% in the month to 11 October, up from a decline of 0.1% year-on-year but below the long-run average of 1.1%. Rightmove said this autumn’s bounce in property prices has been smaller than usual.

Kering SA (EURONEXT:KER) shares are trading up ~5% after Gucci’s parent company agreed to sell its beauty unit to L’Oreal in a 4 billion euro restructuring deal as CEO Luca de Meo looks to take major strides to revamp the business. Shares in Kering have had an impressive run off the lows in the second quarter.

Overnight, China’s Q3 GDP hit 4.8% year-on-year, down from 5.2% in the second quarter, touching the weakest pace in a year as its ongoing property malaise and Trump’s trade war weigh on the world’s second largest economy. In Japan, the Nikkei closed at a record high as Japan inches closer to deciding on its next prime minister.

US futures are pointing to a higher open ahead of a busy week with the delayed release of US inflation figures as well as a slew of Q3 earnings including Tesla and Netflix. Signs of credit stress could be another theme for investors this week after two regional US banks said they were exposed to millions of dollars of bad loans last week.

B&M

B&M European Value Retail SA (LSE:BME) has downgraded its current financial year (2026) core profit range from between £510 million and £560 million to between £470 million and £520 million. Its adjusted EBITDA forecast has also been cut from £198 million to £191 million. CFO Mike Schmidt, who has been at the helm since 2022, will step down.

Today’s update comes in light of an accounting error, which has resulted in approximately £7 million in overseas freight costs incorrectly recognised in cost of goods sold, stemming from an ‘underlying system issue’ which has since been resolved. B&M said the financial impact to its outlook is ‘material’.

This is a rather regrettable accounting blunder. It is something every company wishes to avoid but inevitably mistakes happen from time to time. Unfortunately, in these situations, heads will roll, and Schmidt has had to take the hit, losing his job with the CFO succession search underway, creating C-suite uncertainty for B&M at a time when the company is in desperate need of strong leadership.

Today’s developments add to a long list of challenges for CEO Tjeerd Jegen who only took over in June. He has already been facing an uphill battle against weak sales, sluggish profitability, wage cost pressures, a declining share price and uncertainty ahead of the Budget. Jegen is spearheading the company’s ‘Back to B&M Basics’ rescue strategy, although it isn’t expected to be a quick fix with results anticipated in around 12-18 months.

Shares have already had a very tough time this year, down around 39% year-to-date until Friday’s close with another ~16% wiped off its share price today. There are likely to be some price target downgrades from the analyst community following today’s update too. Investors will be paying attention to B&M’s interim results on 13th November for more information.