London midday: Stocks extend gains as Anglo surges on results
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Thursday 29 Jul 2021
(Sharecast News) - London stocks had extended gains by midday on Thursday as investors waded through an avalanche of earnings, with well-received results from Anglo American, Rentokil and Shell helping to underpin the mood.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.9% at 7,080.69.
Markets participants were mulling over the latest figures from the Bank of England, which showed mortgage borrowing hit a record £17.9bn in June as homebuyers raced to complete purchases before the stamp duty holiday started to taper off.
The net figure was well ahead of the previous record of £11.5bn set in March. There was no large increase in the number of mortgage approvals in recent months, suggesting a shorter time between a lender approving a mortgage and completion.
Approvals for house purchases fell in June to 81,300 from 86,900 a month earlier. June's figure was the lowest since July 2020 when the housing market reopened and Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a sharp, temporary cut in stamp duty for house purchases in England.
Sunak's cut, which finishes completely at the end of September, helped fuel a frenzy in the housing market as buyers scrambled to capitalise on the reduction. However, the resulting increase in property prices meant most of the gain went to sellers.
In equity markets, earnings came in thick and fast, with Anglo American the standout riser on the FTSE 100 as it posted record first-half results and said it would return a total of $4.1bn to shareholders.
Rentokil gained 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 advanced after saying it expects 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.
Drinks maker Diageo reversed earlier losses after it reported a sharp jump in annual profits but said it expects near-term volatility to remain.
On the downside, Smith & Nephew slumped 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.
Iconic boot maker Dr Martens 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) 7,080.69 0.91%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,071.21 0.28%
techMARK (TASX) 4,480.76 -0.13%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Anglo American (AAL) 3,279.50p 4.93%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 552.20p 4.70%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,440.40p 4.08%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,459.00p 3.80%
Relx plc (REL) 2,107.00p 3.59%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,552.00p 3.57%
Informa (INF) 501.00p 3.51%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,532.00p 2.96%
BAE Systems (BA.) 576.80p 2.89%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,300.00p 2.82%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
BT Group (BT.A) 168.70p -8.29%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,449.00p -7.32%
SSE (SSE) 1,466.00p -4.40%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,838.50p -3.41%
Royal Mail (RMG) 506.80p -3.36%
SEGRO (SGRO) 1,185.50p -1.62%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 12,430.00p -1.54%
Next (NXT) 7,914.00p -1.54%
ITV (ITV) 116.00p -1.49%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 560.40p -1.48%
FTSE 250 - Risers
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 3,950.00p 5.22%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 539.50p 4.15%
Spectris (SXS) 3,574.00p 4.08%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 499.80p 4.00%
Indivior (INDV) 154.00p 3.84%
Just Group (JUST) 101.90p 3.45%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 387.50p 3.33%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 85.20p 3.27%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 370.90p 3.11%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 225.30p 3.11%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Restaurant Group (RTN) 110.20p -4.67%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 478.60p -4.47%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 434.20p -4.36%
Drax Group (DRX) 413.40p -3.86%
National Express Group (NEX) 255.00p -3.63%
FirstGroup (FGP) 80.35p -3.19%
UK Commercial Property Reit Limited (UKCM) 78.00p -2.26%
Hammerson (HMSO) 37.23p -2.21%
Elementis (ELM) 144.20p -2.17%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 380.40p -2.11%
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