JD Wetherspoon, Barratt and Burberry

“The FTSE 100 opened in negative territory as cautious investors await tomorrow's Bank of England interest rate decision. Attention is also focused on another busy day in Westminster with new Prime Minister Theresa May set to announce key cabinet appointments, including those who will be responsible for handling the UK's departure from the European Union,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

Pub group JD Wetherspoon has seen a slight improvement in trade in recent weeks which, as chairman and prominent EU Leave campaigner Tim Martin has pointed out, comes despite dire warnings about an economic shock in the event of a Brexit vote. Martin believes the UK’s economic prospects will improve outside the EU but says if there is a slowdown it is likely to be due to unprecedented and irresponsible doom-mongering. It is far too soon to extrapolate current levels of sales growth for future years and Wetherspoon’s recent boost may be more closely aligned to a different Euro campaign altogether – the European Championships in France.

Housebuilder Barratt Developments is confident about its prospects despite uncertainty following the EU referendum. The sector continues to receive focused government support, mortgage availability is good and there remains an undersupply of new homes. Barratt’s shares have been hit since the Brexit vote but the group expects full-year pre-tax profits to be up by around 20% and remains confident in the positive fundamentals of both the housing sector and its business.

Luxury fashion brand Burberry’s shares were up in early trading with the falling pound set to boost profits by around £90m compared with a previous forecast of about £50m. Burberry’s first quarter retail revenue was flat, which was slightly better than market expectations, and it saw single-digit percentage growth in UK.

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