Persimmon first half profits up 31%

London open

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open 17 points higher than Monday’s close of 6,550.30.

Stocks to watch

Housebuilder Persimmon posted a 31% rise in first-half pre-tax profit on the back of solid revenue growth, continued improvement in operating profitability and a strengthening of the company’s financial position. Pre-tax profit for the six months ended 30 June came in at £272.8m from £208.9m in the first half of last year, on revenue of £1.33bn, up 11% from £1.20bn.

Battered by the crashing oil price, engineer Wood Group upped its interim dividend by 10.1% after slashing costs more than expected as its oilfield workforce was cut by a fifth in the face of tumbling sales and profits. Revenue of $3.07bn in the first six months of the year was down 19.3% on the same period last year, with underlying profit down 17.6% to $2.66bn, adjusted diluted earnings fell 9.7% to 40.1 cents and the dividend was lifted to 9.8 cents.

In the press

Global banks are facing billions of pounds of civil claims in London and Asia over the rigging of currency markets, following a landmark legal settlement in New York. Barclays, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland were among nine banks revealed last Friday to have agreed to a $2bn settlement with thousands of investors affected by rate rigging in a New York court case. - The Financial Times

The Treasury has raised eyebrows by hiring the investment bank at the centre of the botched Royal Mail privatisation for its latest sell-off. Lazard is to lead the sale of the taxpayers’ stake in the King’s Cross development, Europe’s largest urban redevelopment project, which is expected to be valued at £5bn on completion. - The Times

World shipping has fallen into a deep slump, dashing hopes of a quick recovery from the global trade recession earlier this year and heightening fears that the six-year economic expansion may be on its last legs. Freight rates for container shipping from Asia to Europe fell by over 20 per cent in the second week of August, even though trade volumes should be picking up at this time of the year. - The Telegraph

US close

US stocks reversed early losses to eke out modest gains on Monday, despite some disappointing manufacturing data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 67.78 points to 17,545.18, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq gained 11 and 43 points respectively.

According to the New York Federal Reserve, the Empire State general business conditions index plummeted to -14.9 from 3.9 in July, way below analysts’ expectations for a 4.5 reading and to its lowest level since the recession.