(ShareCast News) - London open
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open two points higher than Wednesday's close of 6,403.45.

Stocks to watch

Rank Group posted a 19% rise in pre-tax profit for the 12 months ended 30 June, with a significant improvement across all the company's brands. The bingo club and casino operator said pre-tax profit came in at £74.1m from £62.5m the previous year, while revenue was up 4% to £738.3m. Adjusted earnings per share rose 18% to 14.6p and the interim dividend was lifted by 24% to 5.60p.

Aerospace engineer Meggitt has won a $39.8m contract from the US-based Defense Logistics Agency to replace fuel cells in the legacy Hornet fighter jet. The three-year production contract, which ends in late 2018, will see first deliveries in the last quarter of this year.

In the press

Berlin is expecting to receive a record 800,000 asylum seekers this year, more than the entire EU combined in 2014, laying bare the size of the biggest refugee crisis to face the continent since the second world war. If the official projection released yesterday is borne out, it would be nearly twice as high as Germany's previous record for asylum claims, set during the collapse of Yugoslaviain 1992. - The Financial Times

GVC Holdings is prepared to increase its offer for Bwin.party to at least 130p a share - or nearly £1.1 billion - in a final push to secure a takeover of its online gambling rival. The Times understands that the Sportingbet owner, whose present cash-and-shares offer is worth 124p, is ready to raise the stakes for a second time to ensure that it defeats 888 Holdings, its rival in the auction. - The Times

Global oil prices were hammered to their lowest level in more than six years yesterday amid mounting evidence of a US supply glut and fears of a slowdown in China and other energy-hungry emerging economies. The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark US contract, plunged by 4 per cent to $40.60, its lowest since March 2009. - The Times

US close

US Stocks pared back losses on Wednesday as traders analysed the Federal Open Market Committee's July meeting minutes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.93%, the S&P 500 fell 0.81% and the Nasdaq ended 0.80%lower.

The Federal Open Market Committee's July meeting minutes, leaked early by one media outlet, sent mixed signals by indicating the Fed was still looking to have more confidence in the inflation outlook before raising rates, but saw conditions for a rate hike approaching.

In company news, Peabody Energy Corp rose by 25.89% after climate philanthropist George Soros invested millions in the company. Crude Oil prices sank for a second day, putting pressure on Chevron Corporation, which was down 3.02%. Other stocks to suffer included Marathon Oil which fell by 7.15% and Newfield Exploration which fell by 3.82%

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE