UK stocks opened weaker, dragged down by weakness in oil shares and US president Trump’s outburst at the United Nations General Assembly at China’s trade practices, saying he would not accept a bad deal.
The FTSE 100 index was down 40 points or 0.6% at 7,254 while the FTSE 250 index was trading off 91 points at 19,813 points.
Food retailer J Sainsbury (SBRY) reported good momentum in second quarter revenues with clothing the stand-out performer. Shares gained 2.5% to 218p.
Chief executive Mike Coupe said ‘sales momentum was stronger in all areas and we further improved our performance relative to our competitors, particularly in grocery.’
A strong trading update from aerospace and defence company Babcock International (BAB) gave its shares a 4.8% boost to 567p.
The group continues to win work across all sectors, with the highlight being selected as preferred bidder for the Royal Navy's Type 31 general-purpose frigate programme.
Shares in luxury car maker Aston Martin Lagonda (AML) hit the skids, down 3% at 556p after it said it had raised $150 million from a bond issue, with the option to raise another $100 million if order targets are met, to bolster its cash in an uncertain trading environment.
The main tranche comprises 12% notes due in 2022, while the additional notes could be issued under the same terms or could be issued as unsecured notes with an interest rate of as much as 15%.
Chief financial officer Mark Wilson said the company expected economic headwinds and uncertainty to continue.
On-line fashion retailer BooHoo Group (BOO:AIM) released strong interims with revenues up 43% and adjusted profit before tax up 45% to £45m for the six months ended 31 August.
Chief executive John Lyttle said ‘It has been a fantastic first half of the year for the group. We have delivered significant market share gains across all of our key markets, and for the first time in our history revenue has exceeded £1 billion in the last 12 months.’
The shares traded down 0.5% at 264p ahead of the analyst meeting.
A first half trading statement from international products group PZ Cussons (PZC) said that its key markets were impacted by consumer fragility with the Nigerian economy remaining depressed, although it expected some improvement in the second half. Shares traded down 1% at 209.8p
Shares in safety and medical equipment company Halma (HLMA) were down 3.5% to £19.01 after the company gave a trading update which showed revenue growth across all of its sectors.
However the firm flagged that sales growth was 'more modest' in medical and infrastructure safety given the strong comparative period in the first half of 2019.
