Stocks in London made a muted return from a long weekend on Tuesday, though the FTSE 100 found support from travel stocks, miners and Bunzl.
The FTSE 100 index ended up 17.68 points, or 0.2%, at 8,345.46. The FTSE 250 closed down 27.41 points, or 0.1%, at 21,162.07, and the AIM All-Share closed up 1.49 points, or 0.2%, at 779.18.
The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.2% at 835.07, the Cboe UK 250 fell 0.1% at 18,643.69, and the Cboe Small Companies fell 0.4% at 16,991.25.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended up 0.4%.
The pound was quoted at $1.3230 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday, higher than $1.3220 at the equities close on Friday. The euro stood at $1.1162, down against $1.1193. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥144.27, down compared to JP¥144.80.
Gold was quoted at $2,517.10 an ounce on Tuesday, higher than $2,515.73 on Friday. Brent oil was trading at $80.07 a barrel, higher than $78.88 late Friday.
ACY Securities analyst Luca Santos commented: ‘This increase is directly tied to the situation in Libya, a key player in the global oil market. The eastern faction of Libya’s government announced a complete halt in crude oil production and exports due to an ongoing leadership dispute within the central bank. With Libya producing around 1.2 million barrels of oil per day, this disruption has raised fears of supply shortages, pushing prices higher and adding another layer of uncertainty to the global economy.
‘In the Middle East, geopolitical tensions have also heightened, adding to the unease in financial markets.’
Shell and BP rose 0.5% and 0.7% in London, tracking oil prices higher.
Bunzl jumped 8.0%.
The firm reported pretax profit for the six months ended June 30 of £279.4 million, down from £317.1 million a year prior. Adjusted operating profit before income tax was £408.7 million, up from £395.6 million.
Revenue came to £5.71 billion, down from £5.91 billion the year previously. However, the firm raised its interim dividend to 20.1 pence from 18.2p year-on-year.
Looking ahead, Bunzl now expects adjusted operating profit in 2024 to show a ‘strong increase’ in comparison with 2023, mainly driven ‘by an increase in...group operating margin’.
Bunzl also announced a three-year capital allocation commitment of around £700 million per year. Further, the company said it starts a share buyback programme of up to £250 million today, to be completed by March 3 at the latest.
BHP added 0.8%. It lowered its dividend after its annual profit declined by a quarter, reflecting volatile commodity prices and rising costs.
The Melbourne-based miner said pretax profit slumped 25% to $16.04 billion for the financial year that ended June 30 from $21.40 billion a year earlier, as it faced escalating costs.
Revenue rose 3.4% to $55.65 billion from $53.81 billion, driven mainly by higher prices of iron ore and copper. These rises were partially offset by lower energy coal and nickel prices, and lower steelmaking coal volumes following the divestment of Blackwater and Daunia mines in April.
AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould commented: ‘Having failed in its attempt to capture Anglo American, BHP is now focused on growing its copper production the hard way – ie, organically. Over time this may prove a better strategy if the company can increase output in the metal at pace to meet growing demand linked to the energy transition – where copper’s conductive qualities are likely to be in heavy demand.
‘BHP posted better-than-expected numbers but also flagged an uneven recovery in China, which is key to demand for the company’s iron ore.’
BHP’s one-time takeover target Anglo American added 1.3%, while fellow miner Antofagasta rose 1.7%.
The travel sector ended higher, with easyJet up 6.9% and British Airways parent IAG adding 1.6%.
Budget carrier Ryanair lifted sentiment towards airline shares, as its boss said a fall in fares has levelled out.
Reuters reported Ryanair Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary as saying that an ‘ugly scenario’ of a double-digit slide in fares has been averted.
In Dublin, Ryanair shares rose 4.6%.
Back in London, Belluscura jumped 36% on AIM.
The London-based medical device developer’s shares jumped, as it set full-year revenue expectations between $8 million and $10 million, up substantially from $825,409 a year prior.
This guidance was set amid record sales for the month of July, with revenue of $708,000, and ahead of the full commercial launch of Discov-R, a portable oxygen concentrator.
Wednesday’s local corporate calendar has half-year results from Asia-focused insurer Prudential.
In the economic events calendar words from a US central banker will be in focus. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic speaks in the evening.
NatWest analysts commented: ‘The Fed had been rolling with it in recent months. Labour market data had been robust on the surface, enabling the Fed to keep the focus on the inflation side of its mandate. But more than a few question marks around the true health of the US labour market have emerged. As expected, last week brought the Fed pivot. Fed Chairman Powell indicated rate cuts are on the way. But many think the Fed is late.’
Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
