London’s FTSE indexes moved higher after a busy morning of corporate results with major risers and fallers at both ends of the blue-chip index.
The FTSE 100 climbed 0.29 per cent to hit 7,647.60 while the midcap FTSE 250 index rose 0.44 per cent to 19,097.64. Despite trading higher, both indexes were some way off eclipsing yesterday’s sell-off.
“The FTSE 100 has been in positive territory with Haleon and Ocado among the top gainers in early trade as investors were encouraged by their latest results,” Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown said.
“St James Place has made up small ground after the dramatic slide yesterday, but considerable nervousness remains after it was forced to set aside a hefty sum to deal with customer complaints,” Streeter continued.
Consumer healthcare giant Haleon jumped to the top spot on the FTSE 100, with its shares rising nearly five per cent.
The firm reported a healthy 10.3 per cent increase in adjusted operating profit and proposed a dividend payout of 35 per cent, up from 30 per cent last year.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown said that Haleon’s outlook looked good despite concerns over the broader economy. “It’s a defensive portfolio, painkillers and toothpaste are less susceptible to wobbles in the economy than more discretionary categories,” he said.
“The solid outlook combined with a reducing base of shares and falling interest expense should help to accelerate earnings per share growth in 2024,” Nathan continued.
Shares in Ocado also posted strong gains, gaining 1.9 per cent, after the retailer and automation giant saw revenue climbed 10 per cent year-on-year.
This was largely due to Ocado’s thriving retail division which grew seven per cent in the same period to £2.36bn.
Markets were unimpressed by results at LSEG however, where pretax profit fell 3.2 per cent to £1.2bn, prompting its shares to fall 0.9 per cent.
Boss David Schwimmer tried to reassure markets, saying the firm had “an encouraging IPO pipeline“. The group, which has pivoted heavily towards its data business in recent years, now makes just around four per cent of its revenues from its embattled flagship bourse, which was hit by a drought in IPOs last year.
On the FTSE 250, power generation firm Drax climbed over 10 per cent after posting bumper profits.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) jumped 66 per cent to £1.2bn, while total gross profit rose 91 per cent from £1bn to £1.9bn.
The company proposed a final dividend of 13.9 pence per share, a 10 per cent increase on the year before.
The biggest news of the day however will come this afternoon when core PCE inflation is released, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation. Markets expect to see a slight increase in monthly inflation.
“Slowing disinflation should help push out bets for rate cuts beyond May more firmly,” Finalto’s Neil Wilson said.
