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Berkeley (BKG.L)
Housebuilder Berkeley climbed 2% on Friday morning, after the company said it was on track to meet its earnings target for the year.
Berkeley said trading had been “stable” over the first four months of its fiscal year and reiterated that it was course to meet it pre-tax earnings forecast of £525m for the year ending 30 April 2025, adding that 90% of this had already been secured through exchanged sales contracts.
The housebuilder also said that due to the fact pre-tax profits are expected to be weighted towards the first half of its fiscal year, operating margins for this period would be slightly ahead of its long-term range of 17.5% to 19.5%.
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Data from Halifax, released on Friday, showed that UK house prices hit a two-year high in August, with the average house now costing £292,505.
Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that with a “new government in power, there’s fresh optimism that a reform to the planning rules is on its way”.
“All of this is likely to bring an uplift in activity, and Berkeley says it’s fully committed to boosting output and helping the country plug its housing shortfall,” he added.
Toyota (TM)
Shares in the world’s biggest automaker Toyota were flat in pre-market trading on Friday, despite reports that it had cut its global electric vehicle (EV) production plans by nearly a third for 2026 amid slowing demand.
The Nikkei business daily reported that the Japanese automaker was slashing its global EV output forecast to one million cars.
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A spokesperson for Toyota was not immediately available to comment on the reports when contacted by Yahoo Finance UK on Friday.
In 2023, Toyota’s sold 104,018 EVs, though this still only represented less than 1% of its global sales.
Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda has previously said that he thought a total transition to EVs wasn’t the answer and believed they would only reach 30% of the global market share.
Meanwhile, shares in US EV maker Tesla continued to rise on Thursday, ending the session nearly 5% higher.
The stock gained on news that Tesla is planning to launch fully self-driving cars in Europe and China early on next year, pending regulatory approvals.
Tesla shares had already been on the rise following reports that it is looking to produce a six-seater version of its Model Y electric SUV in China from late 2025.
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Reuters reported that Tesla had asked suppliers to prepare for output of its Model Y car at its Shanghai factory to increase by double digits.
However, shares dipped into the red in pre-market trading on Friday morning, as the Financial Times reported that Tesla’s share of Chinese EV sales had fallen in the first seven months of the year, as buyers looked to other more advanced models.
Donald Trump’s media company closed Thursday’s session at a share price of $17.40, practically erasing its gains since the start of the year. The company now has a market capitalisation of $3.5bn, based on yesterday’s closing share price.
Shares had jumped at the start of the year following Trump’s victory in the Republican primaries in January.
However, the shares have plunged more recently as the lockup period on the stock is due to end on 19 September, when Trump and early investors will be allowed to start offloading shares.
The fall also comes as it gets closer to US presidential election in November, with Democratic candidate and current vice president Kamala Harris seeing strong performance in the polls.
Chipmaker Broadcom was down nearly 7% in pre-market trading on Friday, after it guided for revenues in the fourth quarter that were below Wall Street expectations.
The company said on Thursday that it forecast revenues of $14bn for semiconductor solutions in the fourth-quarter, falling short of an expected $14.3bn.
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However, Broadcom’s fiscal third quarter results beat expectations, with revenues of $13.07bn, which was slightly higher than an anticipated $13.03bn.
It also posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.24, topping estimates of $1.22.
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