UK stocks move higher on Tuesday with the FTSE 100 index up 0.6% to 7,561 as the market waits for confirmation that Boris Johnson has won the race to become the leader of the Tory party and the next Prime Minister.
Sectors on the move are construction, healthcare equipment, industrials, metals, mining and technology.
In company news, Lloyds (LLOY) has agreed to settle its long-running dispute with Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) over an asset management contract.
Lloyds will pay Standard Life Aberdeen £140m to manage the £30bn Scottish Widows contract for the next three years. Shares in Lloyds firm 0.5% to 57p while shares in Standard Life Aberdeen continue their recovery, up 1.3% to 305p.
Shares in airline group IAG (IAG) fall 0.7% to 448p, compounding yesterday’s 1.8% fall after news emerged that British Airways pilots had voted strongly in favour of strike action over the summer.
According to press reports, 93% of those balloted voted in favour of industrial action in their pay dispute with the airline operator.
Online trading firm IG Group (IGG) reports a 16% drop in 12-month revenues to £477m as a result of the ESMA measures which came into effect in the first quarter of its financial year.
Due to its relatively high fixed cost base, operating costs only shrank by 2% so operating profits fell by 31% to £193m and earnings per share (EPS) dropped 30% to 43.1p.
In a sign of faith the company has maintained its full year dividend at 43.2p, which is enough to steady the shares, down just 0.3% at 578p.
Full year results from consumer products firm PZ Cussons (PZC) are also uninspiring with revenues down 7% to £689m and operating profits down nearly 11% to £76.5m as losses in Africa outweigh a strong performance in Asia and a ‘solid result’ in Europe and the Americas. Shares give up 2.6% to 221p.
Up-market mixer-maker Fevertree (FEVR:AIM) half year results lack fizz with revenues up just 13% to £117m, below some market estimates, and earnings per share up just 7% to 24.3p.
Revenue growth in the UK, which makes up of 50% of group turnover, was just 5% in the six months to 30 June, offsetting the higher growth being seen in the US and Asia. Shares drop 7% to £21.33, giving back yesterday’s gains and more.
Shares in Russian gold miner Petropavlovsk (POG) are 2.8% weaker at 10.1p despite the company reporting a 12% increase in first half gold sales to 225.1koz and confirming its full year production target of 450-500koz excluding third-party purchases.
Satellite company Inmarsat (ISAT) sees its shares drop 1.5% to 554p after the Culture Secretary instructed the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate the national security implications of the firm's sale in March to a consortium of private equity firms for £2.7bn.
In contrast, shares in semiconductor wafer supplier IQE (IQE:AIM) leap 11% to 57.2p after the firm announces a new deal to supply wireless products to ‘a major customer in Asia’ for mobile handsets.
