Highlights of the Day
Asian Markets
Asian shares were flat in mixed trading ahead of the U.S. jobs report later in the day. There appeared to be scant carry-over from overnight gains on Wall Street as Apple reached $1 trillion in value. |
U.S. Markets
U.S. stocks ended a rocky session decidedly higher on the back of a record rally by Apple that took the iPhone maker to a market cap above $1 trillion, a runup that helped Wall Street set aside nettlesome trade issues between the U.S. and China. |
Today's News
Royal Bank of Scotland reinstated its dividend despite posting a fall in first-half profit owing to penalty payments and weaker margins. The bank said its bottom line attributable profit for the six months through June fell 5.4% to £888m. It declared an interim dividend of 2p per share, the first payout since 2008, when it was hit hard by the global financial crisis. The company also said it intends to declare an interim dividend of 2.0p since being bailed out by the UK government.
Mondi PLC said revenue and profit rose over the first half of 2018, prompting a higher interim payout. Revenue for the first half of 2018 rose 4.0% to €3.73bn from €3.58bn a year before, as pretax profit grew 6.3% to €490m from €461m. Sales were up 4% on a like-for-like basis in the period, supported by higher average selling prices and volume growth in Containerboard and Industrial Bags.
Paddy Power Betfair said subsidiary FanDuel Group had entered into an agreement with Boyd Gaming to co-operate in the US sport betting and online casino markets. Under the terms of the agreement, which was subject to favourable legislation and regulatory approvals, FanDuel would gain market access in several states. Boyd Gaming would take a 4% equity stake in FanDuel and have an option to purchase a further 1% stake.
William Hill swung to a deep first-half loss after it wrote down the value of its assets to account for a looming UK regulatory crackdown. Pre-tax losses for the six months through June amounted to £819.6m compared to a £93.1m profit on-year, and included a £882.8m non-cash impairment charge. The UK government recently announced that it would slash the maximum bet allowed on fixed-rate betting terminals to £2 from £100 from 2020.
International Consolidated Airlines Group reported an increase in profit and passenger numbers for the second quarter of the year despite continued disruptions from French Air Traffic Control strikes. For the three months to 30 June, operating profit after exceptional items rose 11.5% to €816m from €732m a year earlier and total revenue rose 4% €6.18bn. Passenger revenue rose 3.8% to €5.52bn for the quarter, up from €5.32bn in the same period last year.
Pets at Home Group, said its quarterly like-for-like revenue rose 6.1% on strong demand for its pet products and grooming services. The company, which also offers veterinary care and grooming services for pets, said revenue rose to £277.4m, in the 16 weeks ended July 19, from £256.5m a year earlier.
Intertek said it had agreed to acquire Alchemy for a total of $480m. The acquisition of Alchemy, a technology-enabled People Assurance solutions provider, would further strengthen Intertek’s global Assurance offering, Intertek said. Alchemy is expected to record Billings of $66m, adjusted billings EBITDA of $22m for the 12 months ending on 31 December 2018.
Millennium & Copthor Hotels posted a 3.2% rise in first-half profit after revenue growth in Asia was offset by falling revenue in London. Pre-tax profit for the six months through June rose to £65m, as revenue fell 1.6% to £477m. Pre-tax profit included a gain of £3m on the disposal of two Australian hotels. Revenue per room in London fell 15.1%, mainly because of refurbishment work at the company’s Mayfair hotel.
Cobham maintained its full year outlook as first-half pretax profits and revenue fell less than expected. For the six months to 30 June, first-half pretax profit fell 17.4% to £60.9m from £73.7m a year earlier and group revenue fell to £924.5m from £1,028.2m. The results were slightly ahead of expectations supported by the reassessment of certain provisions leading to a net credit of £4.3m, the company said.
Essentra reported a strong profit growth from a stable revenue base restored for the first time since 2015, revenue was unchanged on a like-for-like basis while adjusted operating profit was up 4.7% to £43.5m. The reported operating profit growth was up 7.6% to £26.0m while the dividend was maintained at 6.3p per share.
Apple Inc became the first $1 trillion publicly listed U.S. company, crowning a decade-long rise fueled by its ubiquitous iPhone that transformed it from a niche player in personal computers into a global powerhouse spanning entertainment and communications. The tech company’s stock jumped 2.9% to end the day at $207.39, giving it a market capitalization of $1.002 trillion. During the session, Apple’s stock market value reached as much as $1.006 trillion.
Oil Prices were steady, supported by traders placing new hedges in the futures market in anticipation of a decline in U.S. crude inventories, but held back from advancing by the prospect of rising global supplies.
Gold Prices held steady near a one-year low amid a resilient U.S. dollar and were headed for a fourth straight weekly fall.
Companies Reporting this week
| Monday: |
Cranswick* Dialight* Foxtons* Keller Group* Senior* Reach* CYBG* Forterra* |
| Tuesday: |
BP* Elementis* Shire* Standard Chartered* Rentokil Initial* Greggs* Games Workshop* Glencore* Thomas Cook Group* Fresnillo* Taylor Wimpey* Just Eat* Centrica* |
| Wednesday: |
BAE Systems* Smurfit Kappa* Direct Line* Lloyds* Rio Tinto* Dignity* St James’s Place* Next* Capita* Aggreko* |
| Thursday: |
Convatec* Rolls-Royce Holdings* Barclays* Aviva* Centamin* Ferrexpo* Serco Group* LSE Group* |
| Friday: |
IAG Group* William Hill* Essentra* Mondi* Royal Bank Scotland Group* JPMorgan Investment Trust* |
Early Market Movements
| UK 100 |
7,608.0 |
+32.1 |
+0.4% |
| UK 250 |
20,609.0 |
+60.0 |
+0.3% |
| GER 30 |
12,582.4 |
+36.0 |
+0.3% |
| FRA 40 |
5,478.9 |
+17.9 |
+0.3% |
| US 30 |
25,326.16 |
-7.66 |
-0.0% |
| U.S. 500 |
2,827.22 |
+13.86 |
+0.5% |
| OIL (Crude) |
73.27 |
-0.18 |
-0.3% |
| GOLD |
1,206.85 |
-0.98 |
-0.1% |
UK Risers & Fallers (8:15am)
| Mondi |
2164 |
+92 |
+4.4% |
| Royal Bank of Scotland |
256.2 |
+6.1 |
+2.4% |
| Pets at Home |
124.2 |
+11.1 |
+9.8% |
| Anglo American |
1647.6 |
-7.8 |
-0.5% |
| Berkely Group |
3633 |
-14 |
-0.4% |
| William Hill |
270.7 |
-21.6 |
-7.4% |
Latest Broker Views
| Barclays |
Deutsche Bank |
Buy |
186.54 |
239 |
| St James’s Place |
JPMorgan |
Overweight |
1142 |
1370 |
| Rolls Royce |
Deutsche Bank |
Hold |
1058 |
900 |
| GlaxoSmithKline |
JPMorgan |
Neutral |
1534 |
1600 |
Forthcoming Economic Data
| 9.30am: UK Services PMI |
55.1 |
54.7 |
– |
| 1.30pm: US Non-Farm Employment Change |
213k |
191k |
– |
| 1.30pm: US Unemployment Rate |
4.0% |
3.9% |
– |
Sources:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/global-precious/precious-gold-holds-steady-near-1-year-low-amid-firm-dollar-idUKL4N1UU1J6
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/6078263/Cobham-maintains-outlook-as-H1-results-top-expectations.html
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/6078284/Intertek-to-acquire-Alchemy-for-480m.html
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/6078282/Millennium-Copthor-Hotels-profit-nudges-higher-as-Asia-offsets-London-weakness.html
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/6078249/Paddy-Power-Betfair-forms-US-betting-pact-with-Boyd-Gaming.html
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/6078256/William-Hill-sinks-to-loss-due-to-UK-regulatory-crackdown.html
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/6078252/International-Consolidated-Airlines-profit-passenger-numbers-grow-in-Q2.html
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/6078248/RBS-reinstates-dividend-despite-margin-pressure-hurting-profit.html
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-apple-stocks-trillion/apple-breaches-1-trillion-stock-market-valuation-idUKKBN1KN2BE