M&S cyberattack to cost retailer $400 million
People walk past a Marks & Spencer store.
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British retail giant M&S said Wednesday that a recent cyberattack, which brought online sales to a standstill and left food shelves bare, would cost it around £300 million ($403 million) in operating profit.
The company, known for its clothing, homeware and food products, said disruption from the “highly sophisticated and targeted cyber-attack” would run into July and result in increased stock management costs in the second quarter.
It added that the financial impact would be reduced through management of costs, insurance and other trading actions, with costs related to the incident to be presented separately as an adjusting item.
The cyberattack, which occurred over Easter, wiped over £1 billion from M&S’ stock market value and sent shock waves across the industry, with hackers also targeting the Co-op and Harrods.
M&S reported a 22% rise in profit before tax and adjusting items to £875.5 million, its highest level in 15 years.
— Karen Gilchrist
Sterling jumps after UK inflation print
The British pound jumped by around 0.4% against the U.S. dollar immediately after the U.K.’s annual inflation print for April was published, with the figure coming in at a hotter-than-expected 3.5%.
Sterling was 0.5% higher against the greenback by 7:27 a.m. in London, trading at around $1.346.
UK inflation jumps to 3.5% in April
Shoppers walk past a Gap Inc. clothing store in London, U.K., on Thursday, May 25, 2017.
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The U.K.’s annual inflation rate hit 3.5% in April, coming in above analyst expectations, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.
Economists polled by Reuters had anticipated the consumer price index would reach 3.3% in the twelve months to April.
The latest data release comes against a recent trend of cooling inflation, with the rate of price rises slowing to 2.8% in February and 2.6% in March.
Core inflation, which excludes more volatile energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices, rose by 3.8% in the year to April, up from 3.4% in the twelve months to March.
— Holly Ellyatt
European markets head for a flat to lower open
London at dawn.
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Good morning from London and welcome to CNBC’s live blog covering the latest action in European markets as well as business news, analysis, earnings and data.
Here are the opening calls on Wednesday:
European bourses are expected to open around the flatline, with London’s FTSE seen opening 5 points higher at 8,781, Germany’s DAX 1 point higher at 24,012, the French CAC 40 down 5 points at 7,933 and Italy’s FTSE MIB down 27 points at 40,548, according to data from IG.
— Holly Ellyatt
What to keep an eye out for today
British supermarket Marks & Spencer boosted pay for its frontline workers, such as shop assistants, by 15% from April 5 to May 31.
Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg via Getty Images
Here are a few things for investors to look out for on Wednesday.
Earnings reports are set to come from M&S, SSE, Currys and JD Sports.
On the data front, U.K. inflation figures for April will be published at 7 a.m. London time. We’ll bring you the numbers and quick analysis on the data then.
— Holly Ellyatt
Overnight action in Asia-Pacific and U.S. markets
Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher overnight, although Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.23% after the country reported that exports slowed for a second straight month as the country reels under U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.58%, while the small-cap Kosdaq traded 0.95% higher. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.43%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.45% at the open, while mainland China’s CSI 300 traded flat.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., S&P 500 futures wavered Tuesday night after a losing session on Wall Street that snapped a winning streak.
