London open: Shares open slightly higher ahead of US data
The FTSE 100 opened indecisively as investors sifted through earnings and looked ahead to US data releases.
Lloyds Banking Group dominated the headlines after posting a 15% increase in underlying first-half profits to £4.4bn and a 38% increase in statutory profits to £1.2bn. The lender set aside an extra £1.4bn provision for PPI mis-selling, which was higher than analysts expected and declared a token interim dividend of 0.75p per share.
ITV led the early risers, as US media giant Liberty Global upped its stake in the broadcaster to just under 10%.
In the oil and gas sector, BG Group posted a 65% slump in second-quarter net income on the back of declining oil prices. The company, which has agreed to a takeover by Royal Dutch Shell, posted net income of $429m, down from £1.21bn, on revenue of $3.98bn, down 28% from $5.50bn.
Elsewhere in the resources space, Chilean miner Antofagasta saw its shares fall after it announced that it had agreed to a $1.01bn deal to acquire a 50% interest in the Zaldivar copper mine from Barrick Gold. The immediately earnings-enhancing deal will be funded from the company balance sheet and consists of $980m upon closing and five annual payments of $5m per year, starting in 2016.
Meanwhile, the government is set to launch its first sale of Royal Bank of Scotland shares since the lender’s £46bn taxpayer-funded rescue nearly seven years ago, marking the beginning of the bank’s return to private ownership. Bankers have been sounding out investors for the past week about a sale of RBS stock that could begin in the next few days.
In economic data, the UK will see no major releases due but in the US, eyes will be on the Chicago PMI at 1445 BST and University of Michigan sentiment at 1500 BST.
Earlier, data showed the closely watched UK GfK monthly consumer sentiment index fell to +4 in July after jumping to +7 last month; the highest since January 2000.
Looking further afield, some of the world’s largest companies have sounded the alarm over the slowdown in the Chinese economy, warning that weaker growth would hit profits in the second half of the year. The Financial Times said car companies such as PSA Peugeot Citroën, Audi and Ford have slashed growth forecasts while industrial goods groups such as Caterpillar and Siemens have all spoken out on the negative impact of China.
The prospect of a new €86bn (£60.2bn) bail-out package for Greece was thrown into fresh turmoil on Thursday, after the International Monetary Fund cast severe doubts on the Greek government’s ability to carry out radical reforms, the Daily Telegraph reported. In a leaked four-page staff assessment, the IMF’s executive board was told the world’s “lender of last resort” could no longer continue pumping more money into the debtor country.
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TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,086.00p +1.40%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 977.00p +1.35%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,012.00p +1.31%
Meggitt (MGGT) 461.60p +1.27%
Royal Mail (RMG) 499.00p +1.26%
Merlin Entertainments (MERL) 418.30p +1.04%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 547.00p +0.92%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 2,214.00p +0.91%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,659.00p +0.91%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,668.00p -2.73%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 569.50p -1.89%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,534.00p -1.35%
Fresnillo (FRES) 637.50p -1.16%
Glencore (GLEN) 208.85p -1.02%
Anglo American (AAL) 798.00p -0.96%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 3,782.00p -0.81%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,126.00p -0.79%
BP (BP.) 398.00p -0.75%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,390.00p -0.62%
FTSE 250 - Risers
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 814.50p +9.11%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 292.20p +4.36%
UBM (UBM) 526.00p +3.75%
Just Retirement Group (JRG) 192.00p +2.13%
Enterprise Inns (ETI) 116.00p +2.11%
Henderson Group (HGG) 277.50p +2.10%
Synergy Health (SYR) 1,740.00p +2.05%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 375.60p +1.76%
Pace (PIC) 366.30p +1.72%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 485.60p +1.57%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Essentra (ESNT) 897.50p -6.51%
Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 281.70p -4.83%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 162.40p -4.13%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 122.20p -2.94%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 159.00p -2.81%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 238.10p -2.74%
Premier Oil (PMO) 132.70p -2.71%
Lonmin (LMI) 52.50p -2.42%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 241.40p -2.11%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 377.00p -2.08%
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UCW Limited (UCW) A$0.01 +9.09%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 9.49p +5.44%
SDL (SDL) 408.00p +2.00%
KCOM Group (KCOM) 95.25p +0.79%
Sepura (SEPU) 156.50p +0.64%
NCC Group (NCC) 235.00p +0.21%
Skyepharma (SKP) 279.25p +0.18%
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RM (RM.) 167.00p -4.43%
Innovation Group (TIG) 32.00p -0.78%
Dialight (DIA) 547.50p -0.64%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 93.25p -0.53%
Anite (AIE) 125.25p -0.40%