The FTSE 100 advanced 0.4% to 7,400, boosted by gains in miners, tobacco stocks and financial companies, as well as positive from sentiment from US markets hitting new all-time highs yesterday and hopes of an imminent US-China trade deal announcement.

Shares in foods to fashion conglomerate Associated British Foods (ABF) were in demand, up 4.6% to £23.52 following better than expected full-year results to 14 September 2019. Revenue rose 2% to £15.8bn and pre-tax profit was up 1% to £1.4bn.

Fashion brand Primark beat expectations with operating profit hitting £913m with the margin up 0.4% to 11.7%, against a market expectation of a fall in the margin. The Sugar and Grocery divisions also reported better than expected results while Agriculture and Ingredients were lower than expected.

Tobacco giant Imperial Brands (IMB) advanced 1.5% to £17.59 despite a more cautious outlook after its annual results fell short of expectations, as its vaping unit was hurt by regulatory uncertainty in the US and slowing growth in Europe. For the year ended 30 September, pre-tax profit fell to £1.7bn from £1.8bn a year.

The company also announced that Therese Esperdy, currently senior independent director, would succeed Mark Williamson as chairman, effective 1 January 2020.

Train and bus ticketing platform Trainline (TRN) posted a deeper first-half loss, largely owing to costs associated with its stock market listing that offset a rise in sales.

Pre-tax losses for the six months to 31 August amounted to £87.5m, compared to losses of £11.1m a year earlier. Revenue rose 29% to £129.0m amid a 19% rise in net ticket sales.

Serviced officer provider IWG (IWG) reported strong growth in third quarter revenue for the period ended 30 September 2019, up 9.4% to £692.3m in constant currencies. The shares traded 1% lower at 391.3p.

Shares in engineering company Weir Group (WIER) were 3.5p ahead at £14.36 despite signalling that operating profits in its oil and gas division would be below previous expectations amid weakness in US shale markets for the third quarter ended 30 September.

The company said its total orders from continuing operations in the three months through September rose 4% but were flat on a like-for-like basis. Oil and gas orders dropped 32%, as capital constraints intensified in North American markets, the company said.

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Issue Date: 05 Nov 2019