London open: Stocks rise amid earnings avalanche; Lloyds, Shell rally
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Thursday 29 Jul 2021
(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Thursday as investors waded through an avalanche of earnings, with well-received results from the likes of Rentokil, Shell and Lloyds helping to underpin the mood.
At 0900 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 7,047.85.
Market participants were mulling the latest policy announcement from the US Federal Reserve.
Rabobank said: "The FOMC struck a rather dovish tone yesterday, seemingly unfazed by the risks to their inflation and economic growth outlook. In its formal statement, it noted that economic activity and employment have continued to strengthen and that sectors most affected by the pandemic have shown improvement but have not fully recovered.
"The path of the economy continues to depend on the course of the virus. The FOMC repeated the line that progress on vaccinations will likely continue to reduce the effects of the public health crisis on the economy. The delta variant isn't seen as a game changer."
On home shores, earnings came in thick and fast, with Rentokil the top gainer on the FTSE 100 after saying it expects market expectations for annual profit to increase as the pest control and hygiene company reported sharp rises in interim profit and its dividend.
Shell gushed higher as the oil giant lifted its dividend, launched a $2bn buyback and posted a rise in second-quarter profits.
Lloyds Banking Group rallied after saying it swung to an interim pre-tax profit of £3.9bn from a loss of £602m the year before, as it released £837m set aside for bad debts amid the Covid pandemic due to an improved UK economic outlook.
Caterer Compass was on the front foot as it said it expected trading to be around 80% to 85% of pre-Covid-pandemic levels in the fourth quarter as its larger markets reopened.
BAE Systems pushed up after it increased its dividend and announced a £500m share buyback as the arms and aerospace company reported a 61% increase in first-half profit.
Opioid addiction treatment maker Indivior gained as it said pre-tax profit jumped in the first half and announced a $100m share buyback.
On the downside, Smith & Nephew retreated even as it posted a 48% increase in second-quarter revenues.
Telecoms and broadcasting group BT was weaker despite reporting better-than-expected first-quarter core earnings as trading improved across most of its businesses.
Weir was also in the red despite reinstating its dividend and hailing a "strong" first-half performance.
Drinks maker Diageo fizzed lower as it reported a sharp jump in annual profits but said it expects near-term volatility to remain.
Iconic boot maker Dr Martens also lost ground even as it said revenues surged in the first quarter, with trading "slightly" ahead of its expectations and growth across all regions.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,047.85 0.44%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,061.01 0.24%
techMARK (TASX) 4,476.62 -0.23%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 556.60p 5.54%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,443.60p 4.31%
Informa (INF) 504.40p 4.21%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,461.40p 3.97%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,238.00p 3.60%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,540.00p 2.77%
Relx plc (REL) 2,088.00p 2.65%
BAE Systems (BA.) 575.20p 2.60%
Fresnillo (FRES) 826.00p 2.43%
Prudential (PRU) 1,370.00p 2.09%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,477.00p -5.53%
SSE (SSE) 1,470.00p -4.14%
BT Group (BT.A) 177.15p -3.70%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,843.50p -3.15%
Royal Mail (RMG) 512.60p -2.25%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,951.00p -2.22%
Diageo (DGE) 3,455.50p -1.64%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 179.48p -1.34%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,623.50p -1.34%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,486.00p -1.33%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Indivior (INDV) 154.10p 3.91%
Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 261.00p 3.57%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 3,886.00p 3.52%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 497.40p 3.50%
Mitie Group (MTO) 66.80p 3.09%
Inchcape (INCH) 867.50p 2.85%
Trainline (TRN) 347.80p 2.72%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 224.40p 2.70%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 48.32p 2.37%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 158.20p 2.20%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
National Express Group (NEX) 247.60p -6.42%
Drax Group (DRX) 413.00p -3.95%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 440.80p -2.91%
AJ Bell (AJB) 415.60p -2.44%
FirstGroup (FGP) 81.65p -1.63%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 258.20p -1.38%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 494.40p -1.32%
JPMorgan Emerging Markets Inv Trust (JMG) 125.40p -1.26%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 4,967.00p -1.25%
easyJet (EZJ) 878.00p -1.22%
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