The FTSE 100 made another measured gain on Wednesday and was set to close at a fresh record high as investors shook off a weak session for US stocks overnight and focused on more positive domestic stories.
After closing at a fresh record high of 9,142 yesterday, London’s leading index was trading at 9,160 at the time of writing.
While investors may be cautiously optimistic that interest rate traders are increasingly pricing more cuts by the Federal Reserve this year in the wake of poor US economic data, the real driver of gains in London on Wednesday was strong corporate updates.
Hiscox soared 8% to the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard after reporting increased premiums, and investors looked past the impact of US wildfires.
Fresnillo was back among the gainers with a 5% rise as analysts upped their price targets on the stock following very impressive results released yesterday. Berenberg now has a price target of 1,700p.
Diageo was also riding a wave of optimism after releasing results yesterday. Shares gained another 2.7%.
Glencore was among the losers on Wednesday after the mining giant reported falling profits due to weakness in their coal business. The group also said it planned to stick to its primary listing in London. Shares were 4% lower at the time of writing.
“News Glencore is shelving plans for a New York listing may be good news for the London market,” explained AJ Bell head of financial analysis Danni Hewson.
“However, rather than being a ringing endorsement of the merits of a UK listing, it may instead reflect the fact the company is not exactly in the best place to appeal to a new investor base elsewhere.
“The company’s first-half results saw deepening losses. In part this was due to lower commodity prices, something outside Glencore’s control, but production was also lower, hinting at operational issues.
“Unlike several of its peers Glencore has stuck with thermal coal and weakness in this market is not making that decision look too smart just at the moment.”
Legal & General shares fell over 2% on steady-as-you-go half-year results that failed to inspire investors. There’s nothing for investors to be majorly concerned about; operating profit rose 6% and the dividend increased 2%. Income investors may be looking for further weakness to lock in L&G’s ever-attractive yield.
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Coca-Cola HBC were the top fallers after Coca-Cola Europacific Partners slashed its revenue growth outlook.