BUSINESS LIVE: Ashtead has record quarter; DS Smith starts year strongly; Begbies Traynor makes acquisition

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould comments on the markets this morning:

After yesterday’s rally fizzled out through the course of the day, the FTSE 100 was on the back foot on Tuesday.

Nagging worries about the Chinese economy are a big contributing factor to the change in mood – the latest PMI reading from the services sector painting a shocking picture.

Undoubtedly expectations for a Chinese economic recovery following the removal of zero-Covid measures got way ahead of themselves, but the manner in which things have panned out is probably worse than even most of the sceptics would have predicted.

With no direction provided from the US, where Wall Street was closed for the Labor Day public holiday, it’s no surprise European stocks have drifted lower.

Negative broker comment on the supermarkets helped drag them down although the hypothesis behind the downgrades contains a silver lining for shoppers, namely food price inflation is seen as having peaked.

Annual energy bills could climb back above £2,000 next year – in a blow to millions of families facing another costly winter.

The price cap set by regulator Ofgem from January 1 will take the typical gas and electricity bill to £2,083 a year, asset manager Investec predicted.

England’s Lionesses delivered a boost for retailers last month as fans stocked up on food and drink for World Cup get-togethers.

The team’s progress to the final – where they suffered heartbreak at the hands of Spain – set supermarket tills ringing, helping them recover after a washout start to the summer.

Marks & Spencer has teamed up with as it extends its ‘brands’ strategy.

From next month, more than 30 of the New York-based beauty giant’s perfumes will be available on the M&S website as well as on click and collect from over 700 stores.

Grafton Group said its record on climate and gender diversity were among the reasons 21 per cent of shareholders voted against re-electing its non-executive chairman.

The Irish DIY retail giant launched a consultation after more than a fifth of investors chose not to support the resolution to re-elect Michael Roney at the firm’s annual general meeting in May.

Private equity has swooped on another British company in a deal that values the founder’s stake at more than £120million.

Buyout giant Permira has agreed to buy pharmaceuticals services group Ergomed for £703.1million – putting it on course to become the latest firm to leave the London stock market.

EY, the auditor of collapsed retail chain Wilko, is facing a backlash for its oversight of the group after signing off its accounts despite the firm having warned that it did not have enough funds to cope with a sharp drop in sales.

It comes as MPs on the Business Committee are set to gather on Tuesday to discuss the fate of the retailer, which collapsed into administration last month putting 12,000 jobs at risk.