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Lloyds sticks with £1.95bn motor finance provision, SSE delivers 'strong operational performance'
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Thursday 02 Apr 2026
(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN
The FTSE 100 was expected to open 86.2 points lower ahead of the bell on Thursday, after wrapping up the previous session 188.34 points higher at 10,364.79.
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Lloyds Bank said on Thursday said it would stick with its £1.95bn compensation provision for the motor finance miss-selling scandal after assessing the regulator's final ruling. However, the lender warned there were still a number of uncertainties, including response rates, operational costs and any litigation. "The ultimate outcome may also differ dependent upon potential actions by various parties, including legal proceedings and complaints. The group remains committed to ensuring customers receive appropriate and timely redress," it added.
Energy firm SSE said on Thursday that it had continued to deliver a "strong operational performance" in the year ended 31 March, supported by progress across its major investment programmes and steady trading in its core businesses. For the full year, SSE now expects adjusted earnings per share to come in between 147p and 152p, reflecting ongoing delivery against its five‑year £33bn investment plan.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
The UK will convene 35 countries - excluding the US - to explore ways to reopen the strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping route for oil and gas that has been blocked by Iran. Keir Starmer, the prime minister, said the next phase of discussions in the joint British and French efforts to secure the waterway would be held on Thursday, with Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, alongside international leaders. - Guardian
Energy traders say online betting platforms are directly driving the global oil market as they increasingly rely on anonymous prediction markets to determine multimillion-dollar trades. Market experts have said that datafeeds from prediction platforms such as Polymarket are being used to create the algorithms that influence trading in the global Brent crude futures market. The "widespread" use of Polymarket in oil futures trading has emerged amid concerns that anonymous account holders may be using insider knowledge to place bets. - Guardian
Elon Musk has taken the first step towards a $1.75trn stock market listing of SpaceX in what would be the biggest public debut in history. The rocket business filed confidential paperwork this week with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to float in New York, Bloomberg reported. It paves the way for a stock market debut potentially as soon as June. - Telegraph
The boss of Ryanair has warned of flight cancellations this summer as the war in Iran sparks fears of jet fuel shortages. Michael O'Leary said the UK was more exposed to the crisis than any other European country because of its heavy reliance on fuel from the Middle East. He said: "We can handle, we think, the pricing issue, but if there's a risk to 10 or 20% of the fuel supply in June or July or August, then we and all other airlines will have to start looking at cancelling some flights or taking some capacity out." - Telegraph
The coffee shop chain Blank Street, whose popularity has been fuelled by the matcha craze among Gen Z customers, is said to be in talks over raising more than $100m in funding. Blank Street could be valued in the region of $1bn if the preliminary discussions lead to a deal, the Financial Times reported, citing unnamed sources. - The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices closed higher on Wednesday as oil prices declined amid growing optimism that the US/Israel-Iran conflict may soon draw to a close.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.48% at 46,565.74, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.72% to 6,575.32 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.16% firmer at 21,840.95.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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