Britain’s FTSE edges higher

Photograph: AFP

Photograph: AFP

Published Jul 30, 2015

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London - Britain's top share index edged slightly higher on Thursday, led by well-received corporate updates from several companies, including Royal Bank of Scotland and Rolls-Royce.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.3 percent at 6,648.85 points by 08h14 GMT. It closed 1.2 percent higher on Wednesday after rising 0.8 percent in the previous session, when it snapped a five-day losing streak.

Royal Bank Of Scotland was the biggest gainer in percentage terms, up 2.7 percent after the bank reported a modest increase in second quarter profit.

Rolls-Royce rose 2.5 percent after posting first-half profit that was slightly better than expected despite a 32 percent drop. The British engineering firm has come under pressure after slashing profit forecasts three times in nine months.

Britain's biggest listed asset manager Schroders also rose after posting forecast-beating first-half profit, helped by strong demand for its fixed income products. It was up 1.7 percent in early trade.

And Royal Dutch Shell added the most points to the index after saying it is to axe 6 500 jobs this year and step up spending cuts to deal with an extended period of lower oil prices which contributed to a 37 percent drop in the oil and gas group's second-quarter profits.

On the downside, engineering and support services firm Babcock dropped 3 percent, with revenue from its defence and security division coming in lower in the first half of the year.

BT Group also fell nearly 3 percent, taking the most points off the FTSE 100 despite posting first-quarter revenue and core earnings in line with forecasts.

“Results were in line with expectations but Global Services performance was disappointing despite all the cost cutting. Broadband disclosure was also slightly weaker than expected,” said London Capital Group head analyst Brenda Kelly.

“The share price has been exceptionally buoyant lately too - hitting a 52 week high recently - there's certainly an element of profit taking in early trade today.”

Reuters

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