Stocks in London open flat on Tuesday at 6,842 with gains on financial stocks offset by losses on miners.
A profit warning from economic bellwether Braemar Shipping Services (BMS) is the main corporate news of the day, alongside a forecast-beating half-year results update from distributor Bunzl (BNZL).
Emerging markets-focused lenders HSBC (HSBA) and Standard Chartered (STAN) after a solid overnight trading session which saw decent gains in China, Hong Kong and India.
Weaker metals prices push miners to the bottom of the blue chip index, with Antofagasta (ANTO) propping up the pack, down 4.0% to 520p. Gold is down 0.3% at $1,323 and silver, copper and platinum have also taken a tumble. Struggling alongside Antofagasta are sector peers including Fresnillo (FRES), Randgold (RRS), Glencore (GLEN) and Rio Tinto (RIO).
In corporate news, Braemar is down 10.1% to 365p after it says results for the year to February 2017 will be 'materially lower' than 2016. Within shipbroking, Braemar has seen a marked slowdown in the tanker market while dry bulk remains weak; in addition, the slowdown in oil and gas activity is impacting its surveying and engineering businesses.
Following the disappointing update, Stockdale Securities' Peter Ashworth slashes this year's pre-tax profit forecast by 36% to £8.7 million, though the analyst believes the dividend will be maintained, 'given the strength of the balance sheet and the substantial forward order book'.
Food products minnow Science in Sport (SIS:AIM) sprints 2.3% higher to 68p on its appointment as the Official Sports Nutrition Partner to Liverpool Football Club for the 2016/17 season. SiS, and its team of sports nutrition experts, will work closely with Liverpool to create bespoke nutrition plans to fuel the club's squads for training, match days and recovery.
Fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers distributor Total Produce (TOT:AIM) ripens 2.5p to 134.5p on half-year results showing continued strong growth, with adjusted profit before tax up more than 15% to the best part of €35 million. Total Produce also raises its full-year earnings per share guidance to the top end of a previously announced €10.5 cent-to-€11.5 cent per share range.
