London stocks look set to gain at Friday’s open, with investors awaiting US non-farm payrolls. Friday’s Morning Roundup brings news from several UK stocks, including Frasers Group, Clarkson and Shell.

Frasers Group

• Frasers Group announced its current investment in Hugo Boss on Friday.
• The investment comprises of 2.7m shares of common stock, representing 3.9% of Hugo Boss’s total share capital.
• Its maximum exposure has no fallen to £580m as it now holds a further 25% via the sale of derivatives known as put options.

Clarkson

• Clarkson reported its closed period trading update for the year ending 31 December.
• The group stated that following strong trading during the quarter, particularly from the Broking division, its results are anticipated to be ahead of market expectations.
• Its underlying profit before tax is now expected to be not less than £98m.
• Its results will be reported on 6 March.

Shell

• Shell stated on Friday that it expects to pay around $2bn in additional taxes in the fourth quarter.
• The increased taxes stem from the European Union and British windfall taxes imposed on the energy sector.
• Furthermore, Shell stated that its liquefied natural gas production in the quarter will be hit by prolonged outages at two major plants in Australia.