SMP.L Share News (SMP)

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are seen opening higher on Tuesday, extending gains from Monday, as investors continued to cheer the US-China trade truce.In company news, spread betting firm Plus500 said it saw an improved performance in the second quarter and property developer St Modwen Properties raised its interim dividend significantly after delivering positive earnings. IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index will open up 19.20 points at 7,516.70. The blue-chip index closed up 71.87 points, or 1.0%, at 7,497.50 on Monday.Contract-for-difference provider Plus500 said that it was pleased with the overall performance in the second quarter of its financial year and that it continues to perform in line with current expectations. Plus500 said that, following a first quarter which was hurt by "low levels of volatility" in financial markets, revenue for the second quarter increased to USD94 million from USD53.9 million in the first, giving a total of USD148 million for the first half of 2019. The company said that during the first half around 48% of revenue was generated outside the European Economic Area and around 23% was generated by Elective Professional Clients within the EEA, meaning users who have elected to be treated as financial professionals for regulatory purposes.Plus500 noted that there were signs of reduced levels of marketing across the sector. However, Plus500 increased its own marketing investment, leading to an increase in the rate of new customers.Property developer St Modwen Properties said it saw a positive first half of 2019 and its expectations for the full year remain unchanged.For the half year ended May 31, attributable profit rose 12% to GBP23.3 million from 20.8 million at the same time last year. It expects a similar rate of growth in the second half of financial 2019. Net asset value as at May 31 was 476.4 pence, up from 470.2p a year before. St Modwen Properties said it sees potential to double EPRA earnings per share in the medium term due to strong growth from existing pipeline and capital base.The company declared an interim dividend of 3.6p, up 16% from 3.1p a year ago.Chief Executive Mark Allan commented: "We have had a positive first half of 2019 and our expectations for the full year remain unchanged. Following our significant portfolio repositioning last year through the sale of retail and other non-core assets, our focus has now shifted to growth, building on the substantial opportunities we have in our existing portfolio. "This is reflected in a further increase in housebuilding volumes and industrial and logistics development activity, where the structural growth drivers remain positive despite the ongoing economic uncertainty. We continue to expect the delivery of this strategy to drive a meaningful improvement in return on capital and earnings over time." Irish carrier Ryanair Holdings reported that June passenger numbers rose 13% to 14.2 million from 12.6 million a year ago. Ryanair's June rolling annual passenger numbers were up 10% to 146.5 million. The company said it operated almost 78,000 scheduled flights in June. Group load factor during June was 97%.Eastern Europe-focused airline Wizz Air Holdings said June passenger numbers were up 19% to 3.6 million from 3.0 million a year prior. Wizz Air's June load factor was 95.0%, up from 93.3% a year before. The company's rolling 12 month load factor was 93.2% from 91.6% last year and 12 month passenger numbers came in at 39.0 million, up 15% from 33.9 million. US President Donald Trump said Monday that talks on a trade deal with Beijing have resumed following a weekend truce struck with China's Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit.Trump and Xi agreed Saturday to hold off on new tariff increases as the world's top two economies negotiate a final agreement to resolve their year-long trade war.Trump also offered to relax some restrictions on US technology exports to Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, triggering a backlash from some US lawmakers."It's already begun," Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if trade negotiations had restarted. "They're speaking very much on the phone but they're also meeting."The Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.1%. In China, the Shanghai Composite is down 0.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 1.2%. Financial markets in Hong Kong reopened on Tuesday after being closed on Monday for a holiday that was marked by political protests.In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.4%, S&P 500 up 0.8% and Nasdaq Composite up 1.1%.The US on Monday proposed USD4 billion in tariffs on a range of EU products, including parmesan cheese and Scotch and Irish whiskey, over subsidies for commercial aircraft.The list also includes sausages, hams, pasta, olives and many other cheeses including reggiano, provolone, edam and gouda.Meanwhile, OPEC agreed on Monday to extend by nine months daily oil output cuts aimed at supporting prices and soaking up excess supplies, following last weekend's G20 pact between cartel kingpin Saudi Arabia and non-member Russia.Members will gather again on Tuesday for OPEC+, a grouping that comprises a total of 24 crude producers including Russia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Mexico, which is also expected to extend its collective production limits.The pound was quoted at USD1.2635 early Tuesday, marginally lower than USD1.2649 at the London equities close Monday.The economic events calendar has UK construction PMI at 0930 BST, and eurozone producer prices at 1000 BST.