FTSE 100 movers: BAT smokes higher but Shell slides on Q2 miss
London's FTSE 100 was flat at 7,659.74 in afternoon trade on Thursday as investors waded through a deluge of earnings and digested an EU-US trade breakthrough.
British American Tobacco was the standout gainer as its underlying earnings for the first half were solid and the company said it was on track for the full year.
Smith & Nephew was also on the front foot after it said growth slowed a little in the second quarter as expected but earnings beat forecasts and the medical products group said it remained on course for the full year.
Relx, formerly Reed Elsevier, gained ground as the information and analytics company reported continued underlying growth in revenue, operating profit and earnings for the first half.
AstraZeneca rallied as it said it was on track for product sales to return to growth after the drug company reported strong growth for it new medicines in the first half.
On the downside, SSE retreated as its stock went ex-dividend, while Schroders was weaker even as it posted a rise in first-half pre-tax profit as asset under administration and net inflows edged higher and the asset manager lifted its interim dividend by 3%.
Royal Dutch Shell gushed lower as it launched a $25bn (£19bn) share buyback but the oil giant's 30% increase in second-quarter profit missed expectations.
Compass was also in the red even as it reported a jump in third-quarter revenue and backed its full-year expectations.
In an update on its performance since the end of March, Compass said organic revenue was up 5.7%, or 5.1% excluding the impact of Easter, driven by strong net new business in North America, an acceleration in Europe and good progress in Rest of World.
Informa fell as Kepler Cheuvreux downgraded the stock to 'hold' from 'buy' following a strong run and after its "mixed" results on Wednesday.
GlaxoSmithKline was lower as its application to market a new biologic drug for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was rejected by the advisory board of the US medical watchdog, though the company said it remains confident in the drug as a COPD treatment.
FTSE 100 - Risers
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,185.50p 5.35%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,378.00p 4.31%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 686.40p 3.16%
Relx plc (REL) 1,724.50p 2.77%
Croda International (CRDA) 5,048.00p 2.62%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 5,704.00p 2.53%
CRH (CRH) 2,708.00p 2.46%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,491.00p 1.84%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 1,109.00p 1.84%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,304.00p 1.80%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
SSE (SSE) 1,262.00p -5.72%
Schroders (SDR) 3,074.00p -4.59%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,609.50p -4.24%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,556.00p -3.80%
ITV (ITV) 165.55p -3.75%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,109.00p -3.23%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,606.00p -2.28%
Informa (INF) 800.60p -1.89%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 2,117.00p -1.81%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,515.40p -1.75%