UK Stocks-Factors to watch on July 31 (updated)
31/07/2024 07:46
(Adds new items, updates futures)
July 31 - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen
opening higher on Wednesday, with futures FFIc1 up 0.8%.
* GSK: British drugmaker GSK GSK.L raised its annual
earnings and sales forecasts and posted second-quarter results
that beat market expectations, boosted by its cancer and HIV
portfolio.
* TAYLOR WIMPEY: UK's Taylor Wimpey TW.L said it
expects to scale annual homebuild targets towards the upper end
of the previous outlook range, as easing mortgage rates boost
hopes of a near-term demand recovery, after it posted a
half-year profit slump.
* METRO BANK: Britain's Metro Bank MTRO.L said it
expected to return to profitability in the fourth quarter,
helped by cost-saving measures implemented across the year and
the sale of its residential mortgage book to NatWest Group
NWG.L .
* RATHBONES: British wealth manager Rathbones Group
RAT.L reported a 3.4% rise in its funds under management and
administration (FUMA) for the first six month of 2024, with
improved net flows in the second quarter.
* REACH: Britain's Reach RCH.L , the Daily Mirror and
Daily Express publisher, reported a 23% rise in first-half
operating profit to 44.5 million pounds ($57.1 million) after
cost cuts helped offset a double-digit decline in print
advertising revenue.
* WICKES: UK home improvement retailer Wickes Group
WIX.L posted a nearly 4% fall in first-half sales on
Wednesday, hit by weakness in its design and installation
business as consumers avoid big ticket purchases amid soaring
costs of living.
* IQE: British chip components maker IQE IQE.L said
it was planning an initial public offering for its Taiwan
operating unit on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE).
* OIL: Oil futures rebounded more than $1 a barrel from
7-week lows after the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please
click on: LIVE/
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times PRESS/FT
> Other business headlines PRESS/GB
(Reporting by Prerna Bedi and DhanushVignesh Babu in Bengaluru)
((Prerna.Bedi@thomsonreuters.com; +91 98052 24616;))