FTSE 100 Live 17 October: Index extends gains, Ladbrokes firm upgrades guidance

Ladbrokes and BetMGM gambling business Entain today lifted earnings guidance on the back of a forecast-beating performance in the third quarter.

Its top ten most popular betting matches in the period were the final three Euro 2024 fixtures and seven TV primetime NFL games.

Entain's UK and Ireland division returned to year-on-year growth sooner than expected, with net gaming revenues up 2% in the three months.

Entain's underlying earnings for this year are now expected to be towards the top of the £1.04 billion-£1.09 billion guidance range.

Chief executive Gavin Isaacs said: "My first few weeks as CEO of Entain have reaffirmed my view that this is a very good business operating in a highly attractive global industry."

The FTSE 100 index is set to rise by another 28 points to 8358, having last night closed 1% higher on the back of hopes for a faster pace of interest rate cuts.

Today's advance follows a robust session on Wall Street as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.8% higher and the S&P 500 index rose 0.5%.

The tech-focused Nasdaq also steadied after the previous day's warning by semiconductor equipment firm ASML Holdings shook confidence.

Today's events include the prospect of another quarter point cut in the European Central Bank's main policy rates.