London open: Stocks edge higher amid earnings deluge

(Sharecast News) - London stocks edged higher in early trade on Wednesday as investors sank their teeth into another barrage of earnings. At 0855 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 9,161.76.

Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets, said: "The FTSE 100 trades higher this morning with risk broadly bid across European equities."

Specialist insurer Hiscox surged to the top of the FTSE 100 as it posted a slight drop in first-half pre-tax profit but said insurance contract written premiums grew 5.7% to $2.9bn, with all three business segments growing, and increased its ongoing share buyback by $100m.

Hiscox also lifted its dividend by 9% and said that despite the largest wildfire insurance event in history, it achieved a "strong" operating return on tangible equity of 14.5%.

Fellow insurer Beazley also gained.

Elsewhere, Ibstock, Vesuvius and Lancashire all advanced after results.

On the downside, Coca-Cola HBC slumped despite saying that its full-year performance was set to be at the top end of guidance as it hailed "strong" first-half results, with particular strength in emerging markets.

Glencore fell as the mining giant reported a fall in half-year profits, reflecting weaker coal prices and lower copper volumes.

Adjusted core earnings declined 14% to $5.4bn, while marketing operating profits slid 8% to $1.8bn, which the miner and commodities trader hailed as a "solid" result against a macroeconomic environment that was heavily influenced by US tariff policy uncertainty and tensions in the Middle East.

Legal & General was in the red despite reporting a 6% jump in first-half core operating profit and a 28% rise in IFRS pre-tax profit.

TP ICAP fell even as it posted a 9% increase in interim revenue - a record level of growth - and a 10% rise in EBIT.

4imprint and Quilter also lost ground after results.





Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,161.76 0.21% FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,968.47 0.30% techMARK (TASX) 5,307.42 0.17%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,358.00p 7.78% Diageo (DGE) 1,975.50p 3.76% Beazley (BEZ) 920.00p 2.05% Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,076.00p 1.72% CRH (CDI) (CRH) 7,338.00p 1.52% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 8,680.00p 1.28% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,086.50p 1.26% Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 22,860.00p 1.24% Bunzl (BNZL) 2,266.00p 1.16% Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,118.00p 1.13%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 6,610.00p -10.55% Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 3,622.00p -7.65% Glencore (GLEN) 289.75p -3.75% Legal & General Group (LGEN) 253.50p -3.06% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 291.60p -1.62% Tesco (TSCO) 417.30p -1.07% Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 341.80p -1.04% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 378.10p -0.84% Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,368.00p -0.76% Unilever (ULVR) 4,475.00p -0.71%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ibstock (IBST) 155.60p 5.56% Vistry Group (VTY) 605.80p 2.71% Ocado Group (OCDO) 348.50p 2.50% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 72.05p 2.42% PayPoint (PAY) 756.00p 2.30% Workspace Group (WKP) 414.00p 2.22% Vesuvius (VSVS) 362.60p 2.20% Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 653.00p 2.19% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 306.80p 2.06% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 341.80p 2.03%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

TP Icap Group (TCAP) 292.00p -4.89% 4Imprint Group (FOUR) 3,520.00p -2.63% Mitie Group (MTO) 145.80p -2.15% Auction Technology Group (ATG) 360.00p -2.04% Quilter (QLT) 161.60p -1.10% Ocean Wilsons Holdings Ltd. (OCN) 1,120.00p -0.88% Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 215.20p -0.83% Greggs (GRG) 1,583.00p -0.75% Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 352.50p -0.70% Softcat (SCT) 1,584.00p -0.63%