LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Stocks Higher As US GDP Figures Loom

(Alliance News) - Stocks in London remained in the green midday Friday, as investors turned their attention to US GDP numbers following Thursday's European Central Bank decision. The large-cap FTSE 100 index was 40.72 points higher, or 0.5%, at 7,529.77.The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was 51.18 points higher, or 0.3% , at 19,871.53, while the AIM All-Share was 0.2% higher at 927.7.The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.4% at 12,766.79. The Cboe UK 250 was 0.1% higher at 17,753.41, while the Cboe UK Small Companies was down 0.1% at 11,037.35.In Paris, the CAC 40 was up 0.5% while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was 0.4% higher."Stocks in Europe are a little higher today in the wake of the major sell-off yesterday. Ahead of the ECB meeting, traders were expecting a dovish update, and when a mixed report was released, it triggered a wave of selling, and today we are seeing some bargain hunting," said CMC Markets UK's David Madden."The ECB are likely to loosen monetary policy in September, and traders are adjusting their outlook, and in turn their positions. Looking ahead to next week, the Fed are tipped to cut rates, and that is a factor in today's cautiously optimistic mood."The focus on Friday will be US second quarter gross domestic product, due at 1330 BST, alongside personal consumption expenditure figures. According to the CME's FedWatch tool, a rate cut next week is 79% priced in by markets."Investors have been very stubborn with the Fed and refuse to accept what is right in front of them. There have been repeated efforts to pare back expectations but they're still falling on deaf ears a little, with markets pricing in an 18% chance of a 50 basis point cut," said Oanda's Craig Erlam."This number could rise as well today if we get a bad second quarter GDP reading. It seems investors are quite pleased to see weaker data at the moment as it further builds the case for aggressive rate cutting," he continued."I can't see today's GDP release changing much though, unless it's a really shocking number, for example one that opens up the possibility of recession in three months time."Wall Street is pointed to a higher open on Friday, with the S&P 500 seen up 0.4%, the Dow Jones up 0.3%, and the Nasdaq up 0.5%. After the market close Thursday in New York, Google parent Alphabet reported "strong" quarterly growth and unveiled buyback plans.Revenue for the three months to June 30 was up 19% year-on-year to USD38.94 billion, with net income more than tripling to USD9.95 billion.Alphabet has also decided to repurchase up to USD25.0 billion worth of its Class C stock.Amazon appeared to pay a hefty price for its move to speedy shipping, as the online giant reported profit below expectations as it ramped up for one-day deliveries.Profit edged up just 3.6% to USD2.6 billion in the past quarter, a figure below most Wall Street forecasts.Revenue rose 20% to USD63.4 billion in the April-June period for the company, a dominant force in retail with its Prime subscription service which is moving from two-day to one-day delivery on most items.But analysts said the costs of ramping up infrastructure were eroding profit.On the London Stock Exchange, Vodafone surged 10% after the telecommunications firm reported improving organic service revenue trends.Vodafone said first quarter organic service revenue fell 0.2%, which the company pointed out was an improvement on the 0.7% fall seen in the fourth quarter.Revenue was down 2.3% to EUR10.65 billion, with Europe down 2.1% and Rest of the World down 4.0%.Trading in the first three months of the financial year was in line with expectations, allowing the company to back previous guidance."Our service revenue growth improved during the first quarter, led by Italy, and mobile churn fell to another record low. Following a significant quarter of commercial activity, we expect the gradual recovery in our service revenues to continue, underpinning our financial outlook for the year," said Chief Executive Nick Read.The telecoms company also said it will separate its European tower infrastructure business into a new company and seek either a stock listing, or the disposal of a minority stake, in the tower business, depending upon market conditions. Proceeds will be applied toward reducing Vodafone's debt.Educational publisher Pearson was up 6.3% after reporting underlying sales growth in the first half of the year and backing its annual guidance.Underlying revenue was up 2% for the six months to June 30, with North America up 1%, Core up 6% and Growth up 2%.Revenue was GBP1.83 billion for the half, down slightly from GBP1.87 billion a year ago. Pretax profit dropped sharply to GBP13 million from GBP202 million, largely because the company saw a net gain of GBP207 million in the first half of 2018, and only GBP6 million in the first six months of 2019.Continued momentum in "structural growth opportunities" and stabilisation in other parts of the business more than offsets expected declines in US Higher Education Courseware and US Student Assessment.Pearson raised its interim dividend to 6p from 5.5p.Pearson said annual guidance remains unchanged, expecting an adjusted operating profit of between GBP590 million to GBP640 million.Constructor Berkeley Group was 2.8%, higher, after Jefferies raised the company to a Buy rating from Hold. Losing out in the FTSE 100 was miner Anglo American, down 4.9%, as Volcan Investments announced late Thursday it will be selling 1.9% of the company, worth 24.7 million shares. With Anglo American at 2,079 pence a share, this would be worth some GBP513 million.Volcan is wholly-owned by Indian businessman Anil Agarwal's family trust. Agarwal said: "At the time of Volcan's initial investment I explained this was an attractive financial investment in a great company with excellent assets and a strong board and management team." "This has turned out to be the case, with our target returns achieved even sooner than expected. The share price of Anglo American has close to doubled since Volcan invested, delivering attractive gains to all investors.""As a shareholder in Anglo American, I have encouraged the company to refocus on its southern African operations, which are the heart of the company and have been such a key driver of the growth in value of the business in the last two years, and to position its business for the many opportunities available in the rapidly growing Indian market." In the FTSE 250, budget airline easyJet was down 3.0%, as Societe Generale cut the firm to Sell from Hold.Boris Johnson is making a series of further appointments to his government after dramatically reshaping the Cabinet.The prime minister is using the reshuffle at Minister of State level to promote allies and clear out MPs who oppose his stance on Brexit.But ardent Brexiteer Steve Baker said he had turned down a job in Johnson's new government. Baker had resigned as a junior Brexit minister under Theresa May and said he did not want to "repeat my experience of powerlessness" in office.Sterling was softer against the US dollar. The pound was quoted at USD1.2429, down from USD1.2488 late Thursday.