Highlights of the Day

Asian Markets

Asian shares were mixed, with Australia climbing while other major markets in the region turned in more tepid performances as investors focused on trade headlines and upcoming economic events.

U.S. Markets

Facebook’s tumble, brought on by its warning to investors that it sees slower revenue growth ahead, led a decline in technology shares. However broader gains in industrial, energy and consumer goods companies helped offset those losses.

Today's News

BP said it had agreed to acquire BHP Billiton’s US shale unit for $10.5bn. The oil major also said it would sell its assets from its upstream segment to fund share buybacks.

 

Pearson swung to a first-half profit after it benefited from the proceeds of asset sales and cut costs. Pre-tax profit for the six months through June amounted to £202m, compared to a £10m loss a year earlier, with the improvement driven by the sales of Wall Street English and Utel.

 

BT reported first-quarter adjusted pretax profit rose 3% but revenue fell 2% as regulated price reductions in Openreach and declines in the enterprise businesses offset growth in its consumer business.

 

Reckitt Benckiser upgraded its full-year revenue target after a stronger-than-expected performance from its infant formula business helped boost second-quarter profit. Net profit for the three months through June rose 12% to £869m, which represented growth of 20% on a constant currency basis.

 

Jupiter Fund Management reported first-half profit rose but assets under management fell 4% weighed downed by mutual fund outflows. For the six months to June 30, pre-tax profit rose 3% to £96.5m from £93.9bn the same time last year.

 

Amazon has reported record quarterly profits helped by a rise in online sales and demand for its cloud services. Profits hit a record $2.53bn (£1.9bn) in the three months to the end of June – about 12 times more than it made during the same period last year. Sales rose by 39% to $52.89bn, slightly less than analysts had been forecasting.

 

Oil Prices slipped in quiet trading after three days of gains, but took support from Saudi Arabia halting crude transport through a key shipping lane and falling U.S. inventories

 

Gold Prices edged up on but stayed close to one-year lows, with investors waiting for data later in the day on U.S. economic growth.

Companies Reporting this week

Day Companies
Monday: Ryanair * Alphabet
Tuesday: PZ Cussons * Hammerson * Drax *
Wednesday: ITV * Tullow Oil * Indivior * Croda International * Deutsche Bank * Coca-Cola * Facebook * General Motors * Boeing * Qualcomm * Vodafone * Brewin Dolphin
Thursday: Sky * Diageo * Anglo American * Astrazeneca * British American Tobacco * Intu * Virgin Money * Shell * Airbus * Nestle * Daimler * Amazon *
Friday: Reckitt Benckiser * BT Group * Pearson * Aon * ExxonMobil * Twitter *

Early Market Movements

Market Index Change % Change
UK 100 7,671.7 +8.5 +0.1%
UK 250 20,773.1 +4.5 +0.0%
GER 30 12,824.8 +15.5 +0.1%
FRA 40 5,477.7 -2.9 -0.1%
US 30 25,527.07 +112.97 +0.4%
U.S. 500 2,837.44 -8.63 -0.3%
OIL (Crude) 74.46 -0.08 -0.1%
GOLD 1,223.09 +0.40 +0.0%

UK Risers & Fallers (8:15am)

Company Price Change % Change
Reckitt Benckiser 6677 +366 +5.8%
BT Group 234.35 +9.5 +4.2%
IP Group 125.6 +3 +2.5%
BP 555.3 -9.2 -1.6%
SSE 1249.5 -10.5 -0.8%
Inchcape 732.25 -51.25 -6.5%

Latest Broker Views

Company Broker Recommendation Price Target
Fresnillo Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy List 1003 1575
Kingfisher RBC Sector Perform 311.7 330
Diageo Berenberg Hold 2820.5 2670
British American Tobacco Berenberg Buy 4177 4950

Forthcoming Economic Data

Time/Date Previous Forecast Outcome
1.30pm: U.S. Advance GDP q/q 2.0% 4.2%

 

 

Sources

 

https://wtop.com/asia/2018/07/facebook-leads-tech-slump-that-weighs-on-us-stock-indexes/

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/27/asia-markets-trade-earnings-currencies-and-stocks-in-focus.html

 

http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/6068991/Jupiter-Fund-Management-first-half-AUM-falls-amid-fund-outflows.html

 

http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/6068981/BP-to-acquire-BHP-Billitons-US-shale-unit-for-10-point-5bn.html

 

http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/6068973/Pearson-swings-to-profit-helped-by-asset-sales-and-cost-cutting.html

 

http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/6068965/Reckitt-Benckiser-upgrades-revenue-guidance-on-infant-formula-strength.html

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/business-44923133

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44972149

 

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil/oil-markets-inch-down-after-three-days-of-gains-idUKKBN1KH02X

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/global-precious/precious-gold-prices-inch-up-investors-shift-focus-to-upcoming-us-economic-data-idUSL4N1UN168

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/global-precious/precious-gold-prices-inch-up-investors-shift-focus-to-upcoming-us-economic-data-idUSL4N1UN168

 

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