Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.

Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE

London open: FTSE edges higher as investors weigh results, Eurozone data

Thu, 27th Feb 2014 08:24

- FTSE opens marginally higher- Strong results from Capita, Whitbread- German jobless rate steady at 6.8 per centtechMARK 2,896.69 -0.10%FTSE 100 6,803.69 +0.07%FTSE 250 16,484.09 +0.08%The FTSE inched into positive territory this morning as strong results from Capita and an upbeat outlook from Whitbread helped lift sentiment and offset poor results from RBS and a disappointing operating margin from WPP.The index climbed six points higher to 6,805 early on. All eyes on Eurozone dataThe number of people unemployed in Germany fell 14,000 compared to expectations of 10,000, while jobless claims declined by 28,000, according to the Federal Statistics Office. The jobless rate held steady at 6.8% as expected.In Spain, the monthly gross domestic product figure came in below expectations with a rise to 0.2%, compared to 0.3% the previous month and expectations of the same figure. February French consumer confidence declined, falling further below the long-term average of 100 to 85, compared to 86 the previous month. Yellen to give testimony on monetary policyLater on in the US attentions will turn to a testimonial from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on monetary policy and the economy. Yellen has indicated that the Fed will probably continue to scale back monthly asset purchases at each policy until ending it all together later this year. The move has prompted concerns that it might hurt growth in emerging markets. Today's testimony, which had been delayed due to bad weather, might provide further clues as to the Fed's next step ahead of its March policy.Chief Economist at FXPro, Simon Smith, said the delay "does mean that it's going to catch more attention that would have otherwise have been the case, given that we have seen a fair amount of and events since her testimony on 11th February". He added: "The dollar remains lower overall from that date, but has managed to recover from the mid-month lows and especially yesterday, with further gains being seen against the euro and sterling in early European trading."Capita climbs on contract wins and revenue jumpOutsourcing specialist Capita led the upside after it said it had won £588m-worth of new contracts so far in 2014, as it lifted pre-tax profits by 14% to £215m for the 2013 full-year. Revenues rose 15% to £3.85bn and operating profits increased to £516m from £312m in 2102.Whitbread also rose strongly after revealing it is on track to report full-year results at the top end of expectations. In the 50 weeks to February 13th, the hotels and restaurants saw its like-for-like sales climb 4.0%, driven by its Costa and Premier Inn chains, which rose 5.8% and 4.7%, respectively. British American Tobacco was another big riser after it reported a 6% jump in 2013 core earnings to 216.6p per share, in line with analysts' expectations, as market share grew. The world's second largest cigarette maker said without the impact of adverse currency movements in three of its four regions it would have reported a 10% rise in earnings to 224.7p.Meanwhile, advertising giant WPP fell after revealing a stronger pound in the second half of the year in key markets, including Australia, India, japan, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina and Indonesia, lowered reported margins by 0.2 margin points, causing the company to miss its margin target. Significantly, the group said: "All in all, 2014 looks to be another demanding year, as a strong UK pound and weak fast growth market currencies continue to take their toll on our reported operating margins." For its part, broker Jefferies said the numbers were "good, but probably not good enough". Struggling UK insurer RSA was also in the red after it posted annual pre-tax losses of £244m and announced plans to launch a rights issue to raise £775m. RSA, whose shares have suffered since it revealed accounting problems in Ireland ripped a big hole in its balance sheet, said it faced an Irish underwriting loss of £220m from management irregularities, reserve strengthening and adverse weather in the fourth quarter.Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) fell after reporting its biggest annual loss since the height of the 2008 financial crisis as the lender underwent a major restructuring and paid fines. The state-backed bank reported an operating loss before tax of £8.24bn for the year through December 2013, up from a loss of £5.27bn in 2012, missing analysts' estimates of £6.7bn.FTSE 100 - RisersCapita (CPI) 1,133.00p +4.42%Whitbread (WTB) 4,363.00p +4.10%Reed Elsevier (REL) 922.00p +1.43%Tesco (TSCO) 330.65p +1.43%British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,217.00p +1.35%Antofagasta (ANTO) 923.50p +1.32%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 974.00p +1.30%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,365.00p +1.11%Tullow Oil (TLW) 775.00p +1.11%Persimmon (PSN) 1,450.00p +1.05%FTSE 100 - FallersWPP (WPP) 1,252.00p -5.94%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 333.00p -5.93%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 98.10p -4.01%Standard Life (SL.) 376.60p -2.23%Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,919.00p -1.95% Group (VOD) 242.45p -1.14%Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,905.00p -1.09%Old Mutual (OML) 185.10p -0.86%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 238.30p -0.83%Aviva (AV.) 469.30p -0.78%FTSE 250 - RisersKazakhmys (KAZ) 283.90p +27.08%Man Group (EMG) 91.70p +9.04%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 433.10p +5.17%Spirent Communications (SPT) 110.40p +4.74%CSR (CSR) 749.50p +4.61%Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 416.00p +3.48%Bodycote (BOY) 720.00p +3.45%UDG Healthcare Public Limited Company (UDG) 379.70p +2.54%Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 381.50p +2.47%RPS Group (RPS) 324.00p +2.47%FTSE 250 - FallersBH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.41 -3.22%International Personal Finance (IPF) 544.00p -2.42%Perform Group (PER) 225.00p -2.17%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,450.00p -2.16%Rank Group (RNK) 137.50p -2.14%Grafton Group Units (GFTU) 644.50p -1.83%AL Noor Hospitals Group (ANH) 884.00p -1.72%Diploma (DPLM) 727.50p -1.69%Hellermanntyton Group (HTY) 310.70p -1.68%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 318.10p -1.61%NR

Related Shares

More News
2 May 2024 10:53

Capita says Ventient Energy finance chief to succeed retiring CFO

(Alliance News) - Capita PLC on Thursday said its chief financial officer intends to retire from the company in August, while securing the CFO of Vent...

2 May 2024 09:38

Capita names new CFO

(Sharecast News) - Business process services group Capita revealed on Thursday chief financial officer Tim Weller has signalled his intention to retir...

10 Apr 2024 15:00

London close: Stocks finish higher as US inflation tops forecasts

(Sharecast News) - London's stock markets closed positively on Wednesday, as investors processed a higher-than-anticipated inflation report from the U...

10 Apr 2024 10:29

IN BRIEF: Capita extends contract with European telecoms provider

Capita PLC - London-based outsourcing, consulting and digital services provider - Extends customer experience contract with an unnamed "leading" Europ...

10 Apr 2024 07:28

Capita extends contract with European telecoms company

(Sharecast News) - Capita said on Wednesday that it has extended its customer experience contract with a "leading" European integrated telecoms compan...

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.