Stock Movers: Standard Chartered Hits Record, Whitbread Unveils Plan, Stellantis Slumps
Today's stock market saw significant moves driven by corporate earnings and strategic announcements.
Standard Chartered reported a record pretax profit for the first quarter, surpassing the average analyst estimate. The strong performance boosted investor confidence, pushing shares higher.
Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn, announced a new five-year strategic plan. The company aims to reduce capital investment by over £1 billion and recycle £1.5 billion of property assets to fund growth. It also targets generating £2 billion in free cash flow for shareholder returns by 2031, according to a company statement.
Stellantis shares fell sharply, posting their biggest decline since February. Analysts pointed to the automaker's worse-than-expected financial performance in the key North American market as the primary reason for the drop.