Investing
London open: Resolution leads markets higher ahead of economic data
British life insurance investor Resolution gained early on reporting an increase in profits for the first half after strong growth in the UK and tight cost control.
Operating pre-tax profit came to £191m for the fix six months, compared to £163m the previous year, as operating earnings per share rose to 13.26p from 11.32p.
Mining stocks were performing well this morning with Fresnillo continuing to rebound strongly after disappointing the market with its first-half report last week – the stock has now jumped by a quarter since the statement on August 6th.
Sector peers Randgold and Glencore Xstrata were also higher as metals prices advanced this morning.
Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline gained after joint venture ViiV Healthcare won the approval of the US FDA for its new HIV treatment.
Medical equipment group Smith & Nephew was a heavy faller today after Citigroup downgraded the stock to ‘neutral’, saying that a solid run has left “limited upside”.
Recruitment company Michael Page slumped posting flat revenues in the first half as challenging market conditions across most of its regions persisted.
Source: ShareCast
