The FTSE 100 was dragged lower as several heavyweights traded without the rights to their latest dividends on Thursday.
This meant the index was the wallflower at the party, unable to join in with the gains seen elsewhere in Europe after a positive session in Asia and yesterday on Wall Street. Easing US inflation which came bang in line with expectations has helped soothe fears about an imminent rate hike from the Federal Reserve.
Brent crude oil prices eased a touch as investors were at least able to reassure themselves that there hadn’t been any further deterioration in the backdrop in the Middle East over the last 24 hours.
Miners were in retreat in London after Antofagasta’s latest update saw a material downgrade to its production outlook – a sharp reminder of the operational setbacks which are a fact of life in the mining sector. A step back in recently buoyant precious metals prices saw gold and silver producers on the back foot too.
Entain
When the key message is ‘hey, we’re losing less money’ it’s probably not a cue to get too excited, and shareholders in Ladbrokes-owner Entain were underwhelmed by the company’s first-half results.
Entain may have beaten expectations, boosted by significant cost cutting and a surge in betting around the World Cup, but guidance for full-year earnings at the lower end of expectations in the all-important US market helped take the shine off the update.
Entain’s 50%-owned BetMGM venture is where much of the excitement around the stock comes from but fierce competition in this market is clearly becoming more of an issue.
Domestically, the gambling sector remains in a vice as regulatory and tax burdens continue to ramp up. However, job cuts helped Entain to absorb the impact of the hike in remote gaming duty in the UK.
Significantly for its future prospects, Entain says the volume of first-time depositors doubled during the World Cup when compared to recent major sporting tournaments. Meanwhile the digital business continues to perform robustly and the decision to hike the dividend implies a measure of confidence.
Savills
The breadth of its operations means property services firm Savills is seen as a bellwether for the wider property market, and its latest update painted a pretty gloomy picture for UK real estate.
First-half results revealed a dramatic slowdown in transactions in the domestic market in the second quarter, laying bare the impact of Middle East uncertainty and rising inflation and borrowing costs.
Savills’ predictions of a slump in house prices through the remainder of the year will be good news for prospective purchasers but bad news for anyone looking to sell their home in 2026.
A more positive picture was evident overseas, with a strong showing in North America and Asia and a steady showing in continental Europe. Savills’ UK operations were still able to grow thanks to income outside of transactions in areas like property management and consultancy services.
Russ Mould: Investment Director
Russ Mould is AJ Bell's Investment Director. He has a Master's degree in Modern History from the University of Oxford and more than 30 years' experience of the capital markets.
He started out at Scottish...
