8th Aug 2019 08:40
(Alliance News) - London stocks started Thursday's session on the front foot as US-China currency war fears resided, with sentiment bolstered by better-than-expected Chinese trade data. Helping the FTSE 100 higher in early trade were fund supermarket Hargreaves Lansdown, Russian steelmaker Evraz, and insurer Aviva, as all three racked up gains after releasing results. The large-cap index was 31.21 points higher, or up 0.4%, at 7,229.91 in opening trade on Thursday. Though the FTSE 100 remains 2.5% lower for the week, things appear to be improving from Monday's sharp slide, with the index closing up 0.4% on Wednesday. The FTSE 250 index was up 135.84 points, or 0.7%, at 19,076.84, while the AIM All-Share was up 0.3% at 878.90.The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.4% at 12,247.98. The Cboe UK 250 was up 0.4% at 16,939.72, while the Cboe UK Small Companies was down 0.3% at 10,934.57.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 1.0% and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt 0.8% higher."European markets and US futures are trading higher today as investors are less concerned about the currency war," said Naeem Aslam at ThinkMarkets.Aslam added: "Another form of relief for investors was embedded in the Chinese economic data - it showed that the Chinese export performed better than the estimates. More importantly, trade surplus with the United States also soared by 11.1%."China's imports fell 5.6% in July compared with the same period last year, while exports rose 3.3%, official data showed Thursday. China's foreign trade fared slightly better than analysts expected, as the world's second-largest economy is bracing for a new round of tariffs imposed by the US.China's imports from the US plunged 19% last month compared with the same period in 2018, while exports dropped 6.5%.Hargreaves Lansdown was up 3.3% as the fund supermarket reported a rise in annual profit.The FTSE 100-listed firm achieved net new business inflows of GBP7.3 billion in the 12 months to June 30, down 4% from the GBP7.6 billion achieved in the prior year, with assets under administration up 8% year-on-year to GBP99.3 billion.Revenue for the year grew to GBP480.5 million from GBP447.5 million, with pretax profit climbing to GBP305.8 million from GBP292.4 million.Revenue margins on funds have been broadly stable following the completion of the UK retail distribution review, and the firm said it continues to expect them to remain at "similar levels" over the next 12 months. The revenue margin for the recently ended year was 41 basis points, flat on the year before."However, this guidance may be slightly impacted, depending on how long the current suspension on dealing in the Woodford Equity Income Fund lasts," said Hargreaves.At the beginning of June, Neil Woodford took the decision to suspend withdrawals from his equity income fund due to "an increased level of redemptions", with the fund now needing time to "reposition" its portfolio invested in unquoted companies and less liquid stocks into more liquid investments.Woodford Investment manages three funds: LF Woodford Income Focus Fund, LF Woodford Equity Income Fund and London-listed closed-ended fund Woodford Patient Capital Trust.Evraz rose 2.5% as it described its interim results as "rather healthy", despite profit more than halving.Revenue slipped 3.2% to USD6.14 billion with pretax profit plunging to USD690 million from USD1.54 billion a year ago, dented as the cost of sales rose to USD4.18 billion from USD4.0 billion despite revenue slipping. In addition, the firm recorded a foreign exchange loss of USD273 million, versus a gain of USD147 million a year ago."In the second half of 2019, EVRAZ expects the markets to be volatile. Our financial performance will be supported by the high level of vertical integration, the strength of the Russian steel market and our continuing efforts in efficiency improvements," said Chief Executive Alexander Frolov.Aviva gained 1.4% as it reported a "mixed" first half in which profit surged, with the insurer set to launch a review of its Asian operations. Pretax profit, meanwhile, surged to GBP2.05 billion from just GBP432 million a year ago, boosted as Aviva saw net investment income of GBP28.01 billion in the half-year, versus an expense of GBP801 million a year ago. Operating profit was up a more modest 1% to GBP1.45 billion.Chief Executive Maurice Tulloch said: "Our performance is mixed, with operating earnings per share up 2%. We have delivered strong general insurance results with a combined ratio of 95.9%. In life insurance and asset management, operating profits declined due to challenging market conditions and the absence of a longevity reserve release.""I am working with the board to refresh Aviva's strategy and we have decided to review the strategic options for our Asian businesses. Aviva's businesses in Asia have excellent growth and earnings potential and we are considering a range of options to help these businesses reach their potential," he added. Tulloch was appointed as Aviva CEO in March, having prior to this been International Insurance head.In a quiet economic calendar on Thursday, Irish inflation is at 1100 BST and US jobless claims data are at 1330 BST.
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