The John Lewis Partnership is the latest retailer to confirm when it will open its doors, following the UK government’s planned easing of lockdown measures on non-essential retailers over the coming weeks.

John Lewis said its department stores will re-open from 15 June on a “phased basis”.

Meanwhile, clothing retailer Next said it will re-open 25 stores on 15 June. It’s just a fraction of the 500 stores that it usually trades from across the UK and Ireland, which shut on 23 March.

Investors will be cautiously celebrating another milestone this morning on Wall Street.

The S&P 500 has pushed above 3,000 points and is also above the 200-day moving average for the first time since 5 March this year, according to Reuters.

Here were some of the scenes around the New York Stock Exchange this morning as traders prepared to enter the live trading floor for the first time in two months.

Checking back in with European shares, the FTSE 100 has pared some of its gains but is still up around 1.1% at 6,060 points.

The more domestically-focused FTSE 250 is rallying, up around 3.2%, with TUI up a whopping 45%. Like the blue chip index, the FTSE 250 is edging closer to intraday highs last seen at the end of April.

On the continent, the French Cac 40 is up 1.2% while the German DDax is up 0.9%. Italy’s FTSE MIB is up 1.5%.

With just over an hour to the US open, futures suggest American stocks will extend the gains seen across Asia and Europe today:

• Dow Jones futures are up 1.9%
• S&P 500 futures are up 1.7%
• Nasdaq futures are up 1.5%

We now have the official response from McLaren on those 1,200 job cuts.

The company says that it has been “severely affected by the current pandemic” and that the cancellation of motorsport events, suspension of manufacturing and retail, and a drop in demand for tech have impacted its revenue streams.

Executive chairman Paul Walsh added that:

It is a course of action we have worked hard to avoid, having already undertaken dramatic cost-saving measures across all areas of the business. But we now have no other choice but to reduce the size of our workforce.

This is undoubtedly a challenging time for our company, and particularly our people, but we plan to emerge as an efficient, sustainable business with a clear course for returning to growth.

The peri-peri restaurant chain Nando’s has today announced the reopening of 54 restaurants for delivery and click and collection across the UK and Ireland, with 40 more due to reopen tomorrow.

All delivery orders placed through the Nando’s website can earn ‘chillies’, or reward points, through Nando’s loyalty scheme which can be redeemed when the restaurants open their doors for a full dine-in service later in the year.

The menu will be reduced to help the team maintain social distancing in the kitchen and food preparation areas, but Nando’s favourites such as peri-peri chicken wings, butterfly chicken, halloumi sticks and peri-peri chips will now be available to enjoy at home.

Each restaurant is working under strict government guidelines on top of existing health and safety procedures, Nando’s said. Every member of the team has been washing their hands more frequently and PPE is available for all staff to wear. Designated waiting areas have been set up for drivers and collect customers and order volumes will be monitored to avoid queues building up.

The full list of restaurants reopening is here.

Supercar maker McLaren is set to cut 1,200 jobs or around 25% of its 4,000-strong workforce, according to Sky News.

The Surrey-based company is expected to partially blame the F1 cost cap for prompting its restructuring plans, which come as the firm tries to raise £275m from investors.

McLaren’s executive chairman Paul Walsh said it was “undoubtedly a challenging time for our company, and particularly our people, but especially those whose jobs may be affected”

“It’s the difference between [takeaway] delivery and going to a restaurant, where you can look at the menu and talk to the waiter about the specials,” floor trader Steve Grasso told the Washington Post last month.

“You get your food either way. But you get an inferior experience if you don’t go to the restaurant.”

My colleague Simon Goodley dives into the significance of the NYSE’s trading floor re-opening today. You can read more here:

A few more points to highlight from the CBI retail survey:

On jobs:

• 53% of retailers have temporarily laid off staff, an increase from April

• The proportion of job cuts remained unchanged at 8%, but headcount is expected to fall at a similar pace next month

• Overall employment growth dropped at the fastest pace in a decade in the year to May

On supply disruptions worsening since April:

• 58% reported shortages of some goods
• 64% reported increased cost pressures
• 44% reported shipping delays

CBI chief economist Rain Newton-Smith said:

The retail sector is at the sharp end of a crisis, with many businesses up against it. The government’s support packages are making a real difference, with more shops reporting that jobs have been furloughed, rather than lost. The furlough system will need to adapt as more businesses open their doors in the months ahead.

As we gradually reopen the economy, retailers may yet need more support from the government if demand falters. Ensuring safety in the workplace remains the top priority, as more firms look to bring staff back to work. Many challenges remain in managing supply chains and costs in a tough environment.

Newsflash: Accounting watchdog the Financial Reporting Council has launched an investigation into KPMG and PwC over the audits of haulage firm Eddie Stobart.

The FRC said it was linked to audits for the years ending 30 November 2017 (conducted by KPMG) and 30 November 2018 (which were done by PwC).

The investigations will be led by the FRC’s Enforcement Division under the Audit Enforcement Procedure, it added.

Last summer, Eddie Stobart shares were suspended trading of its shares after an accounting investigation found its profits were overstated by £2m in 2018. Months later, it was bailed out by its former owners, saving it from potential bankruptcy right before Christmas.

US futures are pointing to another strong start for stocks on Wall Street.

Most notably, S&P 500 futures are up 1.8% and pushing above 3,000 points for the first time since early March.

Confirming reports out yesterday, luxury carmaker Aston Martin said this morning that it had sacked CEO Andy Palmer as part of a wider board overhaul.

It follows collapse in its share price and a slump in sales due to the coronavirus pandemic.

My colleague Joanna Partridge reports:

Palmer’s replacement, Tobias Moers, will join on 1 August from Mercedes-AMG, where he is currently the boss of the German carmaker’s high-performance division.

Palmer had served as Aston Martin’s chief executive since 2014, and the company confirmed his departure following reports over the weekend. Palmer left the company, James Bond’s favourite car marque, on Monday.

The company’s share price collapsed 98% from its £19 float price in October 2018 to just 35p on Friday, giving it a market value of about £540m, compared with £4bn when it floated.

Shares jumped 27% to 45p on Tuesday after Palmer’s departure was announced.

Newsflash: Singapore has unveiled its fourth economic stimulus package in response to the Covid-19 crisis this morning.

The package is worth 33bn Singapore dollars (about £19bn), bringing the total stimulus to 100bn Singapore dollars which represents around 20% of the island nation’s GDP.

The announcement, unveiled by Singapore’s finance minister Heng Swee Keat came just hours after the release of its Q1 GDP figures (which weren’t as bad as expected) and full year 2020 forecasts. The country is now expecting the economy to contract between -4% to -7% compared to earlier forecasts of a -1% or -4% drop.

The money is part of what Singapore is dubbed the “Fortitude Budget”.

Consumer stocks have also been boosted by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement yesterday that non-essential retailers will start re-opening over the coming weeks.

As my colleague Rowena Mason reports, outdoor markets and car showrooms will be allowed to reopen in England from Monday next week, while other non-essential retail premises will be allowed to open in three weeks’ time.

The prime minister set out a timeline for the reopening of outdoor retail settings first from 1 June, saying the risk of transmission of the virus was lower in open spaces. High street shops, department stores and shopping centres will all be allowed to open from 15 June as long as they can show they are “Covid secure”, he added.

You can read the full story here:

The FTSE 100 is pushing ahead at 6,130 points. If it manages to hold above these levels we will reach a one-month high at the close. But with 4:30pm still a long way off, we’ll have to stick to intra-day levels, which were still higher at 6,151 points on 30 April.

With the FTSE 100 trading at around 6,107 points, the blue chip index is nearing a one-month high. (The previous high came on 29 April when the FTSE 100 rose above the 6,115 mark)

However, we’re still a long way off before we get anywhere close to pre-Covid levels:

Asian and Australian stocks have set the tone for a strong start in Europe:

• Japan’s Nikkei up 2.5%
• Australia’s ASX up 2%
• Shanghai’s SSE Composite up 0.9%