The FTSE 100 opened 12 points higher to 10,474 amid optimism over US-Iran diplomacy and a slide in oil prices that weighed on energy majors BP and Shell. Brent crude futures fell 1.32% to $72.70 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined 0.97% to $69.66 a barrel.
3i Group surged 9.11% to £2,480, while Barratt Redrow advanced 4.70% to £294.20. SSE climbed 2.81% to £2,414, and Aberdeen Group gained 2.67% to £238.20. Persimmon moved higher by 2.47% to £1,119.50, while Polar Capital Technology Trust added 2.42% to £719.50.
On the downside, London Stock Exchange Group declined 2.34% to £8,086, while Endeavour Mining fell 2.03% to £3,678. Experian slipped 1.88% to £2,503, and Fresnillo dropped 1.44% to £2,733. Shell eased 0.58% to £2,929.50, while BP edged lower by 0.83% to £476.05.
Halfords saw £44 million in profit, exceeding analysts' forecasts. The company notched a £43.6 million pre-tax profit in the year to April, returning to the black after last year’s £30 million loss, as revenue grew five per cent to £1.8 billion.
Analysts expected the firm to deliver £40.3 million in profit before tax, and the company’s own estimates guided towards the “upper end” of a £41.2 million ceiling.
Revenue in Halfords’ autocentre operations jumped by 6% on a like-for-like basis to £740 million.
3i Group said its largest portfolio company, Action, remains on track for a good second quarter despite like-for-like sales growth slowing.
Ahead of its annual general meeting on Thursday, the European discount retailer Action delivered like-for-like sales growth of 3.3% in the year to 21 June.
That compares with LFL sales growth of 3.6% in the first quarter and previous guidance for full-year like-for-like growth of between 4% and 5%.
Serco’s revenue is expected to rise 3% to around £2.5 billion, while underlying operating profit is set to climb to roughly £155 million as margins improved above 6%.
Chief executive Anthony Kirby said, “At a time when governments are navigating geopolitical tensions and conflict, our global footprint and sector diversity remain a core strength for Serco, with over half our profits coming from our international business, ensuring financial and operational resilience.”
Shares were flat in early trading with investors set to look past continued US procurement delays and focus on the group’s unchanged £5 billion revenue and £300 million profit guidance for the full year.
In the US, tech-heavy Nasdaq stocks finished lower for the third session in a row, falling 0.4%, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, but the Dow Jones managed a 0.4% gain.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 6.3%, surpassing the 9,000 point mark as SK Hynix surged 15.6% to 2,984,000 KRW, while Samsung Electronics gained 4.7%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 4.6% to 72,403.2 points. Taiwan’s TAIEX also rose 0.4%. India’s Nifty 50 and Sensex both advanced 0.7% respectively.
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