The FTSE 100 opens up slightly higher after a decent night’s trading on Wall Street. This comes despite the now familiar tariff war rhetoric ramping up again with President Trump saying it does not want a Chinese mobile firm operating in the US due to security concerns.
Internet retailer Asos (ASC:AIM) ticks up 2.7% to £62.86 on news it has appointed former ITV chief executive Adam Crozier as its chairman.
Budget airline Wizz Air (WIZZ) ascends 1.2% to £35.31 after releasing strong passenger numbers for June. During the month, the carrier increased its number of seats by 20.5% to 3,245,462 and passenger are up 21.8% to 3,029,121, both on a year-on-year basis. The airline is also becoming more efficient as it load factor, or measure of how effectively it fills it seats is up on one percentage point to 93.3% on the prior year.
Personal care products maker McBride (MCB) dips 13.6% to 114p after issuing a profit warning. The company says that after weaker than expected sales in May and June, the company’s full year pre-tax profits will ‘marginally’ below the lower end of market expectations.
Car retailer Marshall Motor (MMH) shifts up 2.1% to 170p after saying that its full year outlook is at the upper end of expectations. The company says that underlying pre-tax profits is expected to be ahead of last year’s record performance. This has been aided by a tight control on costs and the closure of six loss making sites.
Video game maker Frontier Developments (FDEV:AIM) powers up 11% to £15.15 on news that its latest instalment of the Jurassic Park franchise, Jurassic World Evolution, has been selling well. If the company meets the game’s sales targets, this could reach the upper end of market expectations of between £58m and £88m.
Utility cost management company Utiitywise (UTW:AIM) surges 19.3% to 33.3p after announcing a collaboration with Vodafone (VOD) and computer company Dell to launch an Internet of Things (IoT) energy and building management platform.
