London midday: Stocks stay up as Hiscox surges on results; construction data in focus

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still in the black by midday on Wednesday as investors sank their teeth into another barrage of earnings and mulled the latest reading on the UK construction sector.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 9,163.94

Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said: "After running out of steam and slipping into the red in the latter part of yesterday's trading session, the FTSE 100 made another modest move higher on Wednesday.

"Concern around tariffs continues to swirl as Indian stocks slipped thanks to Trump administration threats to impose higher levies on India for buying and selling Russian oil.

"However, a more positive tone on trade talks with China meant most other Asian markets closed higher overnight. An agreement between Washington and Beijing would remove the last remaining big uncertainty around tariffs as a 12 August deadline approaches.

"A weak PMI reading for the US services sector helped put Wall Street on the back foot on Wednesday and a disappointing set of earnings from chip maker Advanced Micro Devices saw its shares slump in after-hours trading.

"Attention will turn to numbers from McDonald's, Walt Disney and Uber Technologies later as investors continue to pick through how companies are faring against an uncertain backdrop."

On home shores, a survey out earlier showed that construction activity fell in July at the fastest pace in over five years amid a fresh drop in residential building.

The S&P Global construction purchasing managers' index declined to 44.3 from 48.8 in June, remaining below the 50.0 mark that separates contraction from expansion. Economists were expecting the index to be unchanged.

Firms mentioned site delays, lower volumes of incoming new business and weaker customer confidence. Some respondents also cited lower work undertaken on public sector projects.

Of the three monitored types of construction work, civil engineering saw the sharpest drop in July.

Joe Hayes, principal economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "Having trended upwards in recent months, our survey data for July signal a fresh setback for the UK construction sector, with total industry activity falling at the sharpest rate since May 2020. Dissecting the latest contraction, we can see a fresh and sharp drop in residential building, as well as an accelerated fall in work carried out on civil engineering projects.

"Forward-looking indicators from the survey imply that UK constructors are preparing for challenging times ahead. They're buying less materials and reducing the number of workers on the payroll. Expectations also continue to underwhelm, despite a modest pick-up in confidence from June's two-and-a-half-year low.

"Anecdotally, companies reported a lack of tender opportunities and a hesitancy from customers to commit to projects. Broader themes of uncertainty, both domestically but also internationally, will do little to reignite investment appetites."

In equity markets, specialist insurer Hiscox surged to the top of the FTSE 100 as it posted a slight drop in first-half pre-tax profit but said insurance contract written premiums grew 5.7% to $2.9bn, with all three business segments growing, and increased its ongoing share buyback by $100m.

Hiscox also lifted its dividend by 9% and said that despite the largest wildfire insurance event in history, it achieved a "strong" operating return on tangible equity of 14.5%.

Fellow insurer Beazley gained, while Telecom Plus rallied after results.

On the downside, Coca-Cola HBC slumped despite saying that its full-year performance was set to be at the top end of guidance as it hailed "strong" first-half results, with particular strength in emerging markets.

Glencore fell as the mining giant reported a drop in half-year profits, reflecting weaker coal prices and lower copper volumes, while the company also said it would retain its London listing after mulling a move to New York.

Adjusted core earnings declined 14% to $5.4bn, while marketing operating profits slid 8% to $1.8bn, which the miner and commodities trader hailed as a "solid" result against a macroeconomic environment that was heavily influenced by US tariff policy uncertainty and tensions in the Middle East.

Legal & General was in the red despite reporting a 6% jump in first-half core operating profit and a 28% rise in IFRS pre-tax profit.

TP ICAP was also weaker even as it posted a 9% increase in interim revenue - a record level of growth - and a 10% rise in EBIT.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,163.94 0.23%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,912.06 0.05%

techMARK (TASX) 5,290.12 -0.15%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,368.00p 8.57%

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,594.00p 4.87%

Diageo (DGE) 1,961.00p 2.99%

Beazley (BEZ) 926.00p 2.72%

BP (BP.) 427.80p 2.48%

Anglo American (AAL) 2,139.00p 2.34%

Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,092.00p 2.04%

Shell (SHEL) 2,744.50p 1.97%

Centrica (CNA) 167.25p 1.61%

Mondi (MNDI) 1,077.00p 1.46%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 6,620.00p -10.42%

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 3,586.00p -8.57%

Glencore (GLEN) 289.05p -3.99%

Legal & General Group (LGEN) 254.10p -2.83%

Relx plc (REL) 3,722.00p -2.41%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 340.40p -1.45%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 376.30p -1.31%

Pearson (PSON) 1,114.00p -1.15%

Next (NXT) 12,120.00p -1.06%

Games Workshop Group (GAW) 15,890.00p -0.94%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Vistry Group (VTY) 622.80p 5.60%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 312.60p 3.99%

Harbour Energy (HBR) 203.40p 2.99%

Ocado Group (OCDO) 349.90p 2.91%

Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,920.00p 2.56%

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 72.05p 2.42%

Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 106.50p 2.40%

Hays (HAS) 63.20p 1.94%

B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 222.90p 1.87%

Ashmore Group (ASHM) 177.40p 1.78%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

TP Icap Group (TCAP) 281.00p -8.47%

4Imprint Group (FOUR) 3,340.00p -7.61%

Auction Technology Group (ATG) 350.50p -4.63%

Future (FUTR) 705.50p -3.16%

Chemring Group (CHG) 542.00p -2.69%

Mitie Group (MTO) 145.00p -2.68%

WH Smith (SMWH) 1,025.00p -2.01%

BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 387.00p -1.65%

Clarkson (CKN) 3,640.00p -1.62%

Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,768.00p -1.45%