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A late dart higher saw the FTSE 100 close Thursday up 0.26% at 7,168.55 taking its cue from a strong start on Wall Street where the S&P 500 up 0.4% to 4,541.62 by 4.30pm UK time.
Housebuilder Barratt Developments saw pre-tax profit for the 12 months to 30 June advance 65.1% to £812.2 million as it rebounded strongly from the pandemic.
However, amid a drop in net private reservations per outlet, the shares fell 2% to 728p.
Engineering firm Melrose gained 4.1% to 179p as it reported a 5.6% year-on-year increase in adjusted revenue to £3.83 billion for the six months to 30 June 2021.
Adjusted profit after tax swung from a £80 million loss in 2020 to a £109 million profit. Free cash flow came in at £75 million.
The company said it was 'trading ahead of expectations, with better profit margins, better earnings per share and significantly lower net debt'.
A trading update saw trading platform CMC Markets warn on profit as it revealed lower trading activity and saw client income retention dip below its targeted level of 80%.
A previous operating income forecast of in excess of £330 million for the year to 31 March 2022 has been revised down to between £250 million and £280 million with costs also tracking higher. The shares slumped 26% to 311p.
Sportswear chain JD Sports Fashion has seen its acquisition of Footasylum provisionally prohibited again by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The shares were flat in response at £10.42.
Budget airline Jet2 dipped 0.2% to £11.91 as it reported that since 19 July when fully vaccinated UK holidaymakers have been able to travel without quarantine to amber list destinations it has seen a programme at around 55% of pre-Covid summer 2019 capacity.