UK stocks came back from morning peaks but remained firmly in positive territory in early afternoon trading. At 12.15pm. the benchmark FTSE 100 was 0.55% higher at 7,139.66, while mid-caps were slightly softer, 0.4% at 22,983.
The hotly anticipated listing of money transfer firm Wise (WISE) got off to a strong start to life on the London market with its shares opening at 800p and nudging up asto 807p, to value the business at around £8 billion.
Oil prices made some gains with Brent crude futures gaining 1.5% to $75.66, while gold made progress to $1,805 as inflation concerns continue to grow.
COMPANY NEWS
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) said it was moving to the next phase of its capital allocation programme and would increase total shareholder pay-outs to between 20% and 30% of operating cash flow, sending shares up 1.4% to £14.44 and topping the list of FTSE gainers.
The firm also published updated second quarter guidance with results from the gas business seen ‘significantly below average’ and similar to the first quarter, while its downstream oil business are also seen in line with the first quarter despite a jump in refining margins.
House builder Redrow (RDW) saw earlier gains ease back but remain 1.6% up at 640p after it posted an update on full year trading and raised its revenue guidance to £1.94 billion thanks to strong demand for new housing.
Weekly reservations per outlet were 0.7 compared with 0.67 the previous year and revenue per outlet was £288,000 against £259,000, even with a share drop in the use of Help to Buy. Shares climbed 5% to 663p.
Rival house builder Vistry (VTY) posted an update on first half trading, which it said was ‘significantly ahead’ of its initial expectations. Forward sales of £2.7 billion, equal to 93% of its full year budget, were much higher than in previous years, while first half completions were 3,126 against 1,235 last year. Shares dipped fractionally to £12.08.
MID-CAP ROUND-UP
Staffing firm PageGroup (PAGE) rose 3% to 593p after it issued a second quarter trading update showing a 94% increase in net fee income on a constant currency basis with record quarterly fees in four of its five ‘large high potential markets’.
The firm said it now expects full year operating profits to be between £125 million and £135 million compared with its previous guidance of £90 million to £100 million.
Rival recruitment firm Robert Walters (RWA) was stronger still, up 6% at 772p, after it too issued a second quarter trading update showing a strong recovery in net fee income and said profits for the full year were likely to be ‘significantly ahead’ of its previous expectations.
Revenues for the three months to June were up 31% on a constant currency basis driven by a 48% rebound in the Asia Pacific region and a 26% recovery in Europe.
Logistics firm Wincanton (WIN) reported that the strong revenue growth seen in the second half to March had continued into the first quarter of its new financial year ‘with sustained growth and an attractive pipeline of opportunities in each of the group's four sectors’.
As a result, profits are expected to be ‘up significantly’ on last year’s first quarter the firm said. Shares dropped 6% to 440p, although they jumped nearly 7% yesterday ahead of today’s announcement.
Van hire and legal services group Redde Northgate (REDD) posted better than expected results for the year to April with revenues up 50% to £880 million thanks to the inclusion of Redde and a stronger van rental market.
As well as a better underlying performance from the business, cost savings from the merger were greater than expected and arrived earlier than expected at lower cost. Shares added 1% to 407p.
