London's FTSE 100 trades 42 points lower at 7,393 following a night of weak trading on Wall Street which saw technology stocks drop significantly.
In corporate news, Dixons Carphone (DC.) gives the UK retail sector a shot in the arm as its share price creeps up over 2% to 300.7p. The electricals-to-mobiles retailer's preliminary results show the firm had a good year to 29 April 2017, enjoying a 10% hike in pre-tax profit to £501m.
Conversely, international transport company Stagecoach (SGC) sheds 5.6% down to 192.3p as preliminary results reveal a slump in pre-tax profit from £104m to £17.9m. The market isn't warming to the news Stagecoach expects ‘to be profitable from 2019’ and that a £84.1m exceptional charge will result in losses for the next two years.
International distributor and outsourcing company Bunzl (BNZL) is up almost 4% to £24.00 as it continues on its acquisition trail detailed in its trading statement. The company has bought two businesses in Canada, AMFAS and Western Safety, as well Technopacking in Valencia, Spain. Bunzl also reports that its revenues have improved by 7% in the first six months of the year.
Diamond miner Petra Diamonds (PDL) is down by 6.8% to 105.7p as it warns reduced diamond production will be a drag on full year revenues, which are now expected to be 8% to 9% below market expectations.
Beleaguered oil producer Tullow Oil (TLW) falls over 4% to 145p as it releases a statement flagging ‘tough market conditions’. New CEO Paul McDade is upbeat though, explaining that 'financial discipline and efficient capital allocation will be a key focus of my tenure as CEO as we seek to deleverage the company and return to growth even at low oil prices’.
