Yahoo Finance FTSE 100 latest: Blowout numbers from Glencore, WPP and Serco fail to ignite markets
A FLURRY of mostly upbeat corporate numbers failed to rouse the FTSE 100 from a midsummer slumber today as doubts grow over whether the Bank of England’s “wait-and-see” approach risks opening the door to inflation.
Coal miner and commodities traderGlencore kicked off a wave of blowout results, handing back $1.2 billion to investors in dividends and share buybacks from an 80% leap in earnings to a record $8.7 billion in the first half.
The Switzerland-based group’s results, the first under Gary Nagle — who replaced long-time CEO Ivan Glasenberg last month — were mostly pinned on metals prices reaching multi-year highs as governments around the world unleash trillions of dollars in stimulus packages. Shares fell 0.6% to 327.20p.
Evraz, the FTSE 100-listed Russian steel and vanadium miner, saw underlying profits double to $2 billlion, for which it was rewarded with a 0.3% lift to 611.8p.
Serco also saw half-year profits leap 31% to £116 million, boosted by Covid-19 test and trace contracts and acquisition activity, and announced its first interim dividend since 2014 of 0.8p per share.
The outsourcing firm saw revenues jump 19% to £2.2 billion in the six months to June. That too was met with a shrug — shares dipped 1%, to 139.5p.
The shine also came off Ladbrokes owner Entain, which enjoyed an 8% romp in late trading yesterday as investors bet on speculation US casino operator MGM Resorts was preparing another tilt. Its shares dipped 3.5p to 1,916,0p — paring back from a record high — as punters awaited further news.
Ad giant WPP and Rolls Royce also posted better-than-expected numbers but the blue-chip index could only manage to rise 3.49 points to 7128.36 in early trading.
The FTSE 250 was in a slightly less grouchy mood, up 33.54 points to 23381.20 with solid results from Savills prolonging the M&A-fuelled party that has pushed the domestically focused tier to all-time highs.
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