Glencore profits up, Paddy Power's down
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to fall 16-17 points on Wednesday, having risen to 7,718.48 by the end of the previous session.
Stocks to watch
Glencore increased earnings 12% in a half-year where the mining and commodities trading giant was beset by lawsuits and an ongoing investigation by US authorities. Net income attributable to equity holders from the first six months of the year came out at $2.78bn, up 13% on the same period last year, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 23% to $8.27bn, which was slightly short of the consensus forecast.
A flurry of betting before the football World Cup in the second quarter increased interim pre-tax profits at Paddy Power Betfair by 4% to £106m as revenue rose 5% to £867m. Underlying profits fell 1% to £217m. The dividend was lifted 3% to 67p a share.
Spirax-Sarco Engineering issued its half-year results for the six months ended 30 June, with revenue growth of 28% to £547.6m, or 7% on an organic basis. Its interim dividend was raised 14% to 29p.
Newspaper round-up
Elon Musk has launched a campaign to take Tesla private on a day that included several provocative tweets, a suspension (and resumption) of trading in the company’s shares, reports of a significant Saudi investment, a surge in stock price, and an evocative, Musk-tinged appeal to the Tesla faithful: “The future is very bright and we’ll keep fighting to achieve our mission.” The ride started with Tesla’s stock rising more than 7% after Musk tweeted he was “considering taking Tesla private” and had funding in place to do so at a price of $420 (£325) per share. – Guardian
ITV has joined major Hollywood studios including Disney and Fox, two major Wall Street banks and the billionaire Walton family in a $1bn (£770m) investment to back an ambitious new video streaming service for mobile phones. NewTV, the temporary name for the new venture, aims to win over the smartphone generation in the same way that Netflix has transformed traditional TV viewing. – Guardian
Disney and the Murdoch family could keep Comcast and the City guessing until autumn over the fate of Sky, after declining to raise their bid at a landmark moment in the takeover battle. Close to a regulatory deadline, Fox this evening published its offer documents but held its price at £14 per share, short of Comcast’s £14.75 per share offer. – Telegraph
US close
US stocks finished in the green on Tuesday, with the S&P near record highs as investors sifted through more earnings and brushed aside the latest trade war rhetoric from president Trump.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session up 0.5% at 25,628.91, the S&P 500added 0.28% to 2,858.45, and the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.32% to 7,462.65.
“Confidence has returned as the S&P 500 moseys its way to towards the January record high and it remains encouraging to see stock markets hold their ground despite a drumbeat of trade war headlines of late,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, earlier.