Legal & General beats operating profit forecasts, hot weather and football help lift Coca-Cola HBC revenue
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 13 points higher on Thursday, having closed up 0.75% at 7,776.65 on Wednesday.
Stocks to watch
Legal & General produced a first-half operating profit that was ahead of City forecasts and, although the life insurer's earnings were down due to investment performance, an "exceptionally busy" second half is anticipated. Operating profits of £909m in the first six months of the year were up 5% on the same period last year and ahead of the £875m average analysts forecast, though earnings per share fell 8% to 13p. The dividend was lifted 7% to 4.6p.
Randgold Resources posted its second quarter results on Thursday, which showed a 9% improvement in gold production quarter-on-quarter at 313 302 ounces, with total cash cost per ounce down 3% at $697 and gold sales up 5% to $411.5m, despite a lower gold price. The FTSE 100 company said profit from mining was ahead 6% at $190.6m, and net cash generated from operations rose 49% to $95.5m.
Soft drinks bottling giant Coca-Cola HBC issued its financial results for the six months ended 29 June on Thursday, reporting strong revenue growth of 6.4% in the first half on a foreign exchange-neutral basis; with acceleration in the second quarter said to have been supported by new product launches, good weather and the FIFA World Cup. The FTSE 100 company said foreign exchange-neutral revenue per case increased 1.8%, which was reportedly delivered through pricing, as well as continued improvements in category and package mix in all three segments.
Newspaper round-up
UK rents are expected to climb by 15% over the next five years, as the supply of rental accommodation dwindles while demand from tenants continues to go up, according to a survey. Rents are expected to increase by nearly 2% across the UK over the next 12 months, according to the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). – Guardian
A shipment of soybeans worth more than $20m (£15.5m) has been bobbing aimlessly in the Pacific Ocean for a month, a casualty of the escalating trade war between China and the US. Lingering uncertainty over the cargo’s fate offered a timely reminder of the fallout from a dispute that intensified on Wednesday, as the US president, Donald Trump, unveiled a second round of tariffs on $16bn of Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to respond in kind. – Guardian
South African bank Investec suffered a shareholder revolt against its decision to reappoint KPMG as its auditor, following a spate of scandals at the Big Four accountancy giant which have seen it haemorrhage clients. Just under 20pc of Investec's voting shareholders rejected the resolution to stick with KPMG as one of its auditors in South Africa. – Telegraph
21st Century Fox's entertainment assets helped push earnings past Wall Street estimates last quarter, validating a plan by Walt Disney to acquire the business. Movies such as Deadpool 2 and cable-network subscriber fees contributed to earnings of 57 cents (£44p) a share in the fiscal fourth quarter, excluding some items. Analysts estimated 54 cents a share on average for the company, which is controlled by billionaire Rupert Murdoch. – Telegraph
The Wall Street activist investor pushing Barclays to close parts of its investment bank has said that it wants to play a role in the lender’s search for a new chairman. Sherborne Investors said yesterday that it was “engaging” with Barclays on the “search process for and mandate of a new chairman” as the bank hunts for a replacement for John McFarlane, who is expected to leave at next year’s annual meeting. – The Times
Thomson Reuters is looking to make deals after reporting quarterly earnings ahead of expectations and reaffirming its 2018 forecast. The information provider agreed in January to sell a 55 per cent stake in its financial and risk unit, which provides data and news primarily to financial customers, to Blackstone, the private equity firm. It expects to use $1 billion to $3 billion of the proceeds to make acquisitions in the legal and accounting sectors. – The Times
US close
US markets finished mixed but mostly weaker on Wednesday, after a session in which investors spent their time weighing up the latest trade developments between the US and China.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.18% to 25,583.75 and the S&P 500 fell 0.03% to 2,857.72, while the Nasdaq 100 managed gains of 0.09% to 7,469.54.
“The Dow avoided a major decline after the bell, dipping 0.2% to duck back under 25,600.
“That its losses weren't larger is notable given that Beijing unleashed a classic trade war tit-for-tat this Wednesday,” noted SpreadEx's Connor Campbell.
Trade war concerns remained at the forefront of investors' minds after the US said that it would start collecting 25% tariffs on $16bn-worth of Chinese imports from 23 August.