London open: Stocks edge higher amid earnings deluge

(Sharecast News) - London stocks edged higher in early trade on Wednesday as investors sank their teeth into another barrage of earnings.

At 0855 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 9,161.76.

Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets, said: "The FTSE 100 trades higher this morning with risk broadly bid across European equities."

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 also gained.

Elsewhere, Ibstock, Vesuvius and Lancashire all advanced 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 fall in half-year profits, reflecting weaker coal prices and lower copper volumes.

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 fell even as it posted a 9% increase in interim revenue - a record level of growth - and a 10% rise in EBIT.

4imprint and Quilter also lost ground after results.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,161.76 0.21%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,968.47 0.30%

techMARK (TASX) 5,307.42 0.17%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,358.00p 7.78%

Diageo (DGE) 1,975.50p 3.76%

Beazley (BEZ) 920.00p 2.05%

Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,076.00p 1.72%

CRH (CDI) (CRH) 7,338.00p 1.52%

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 8,680.00p 1.28%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,086.50p 1.26%

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 22,860.00p 1.24%

Bunzl (BNZL) 2,266.00p 1.16%

Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,118.00p 1.13%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 6,610.00p -10.55%

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 3,622.00p -7.65%

Glencore (GLEN) 289.75p -3.75%

Legal & General Group (LGEN) 253.50p -3.06%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 291.60p -1.62%

Tesco (TSCO) 417.30p -1.07%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 341.80p -1.04%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 378.10p -0.84%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,368.00p -0.76%

Unilever (ULVR) 4,475.00p -0.71%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ibstock (IBST) 155.60p 5.56%

Vistry Group (VTY) 605.80p 2.71%

Ocado Group (OCDO) 348.50p 2.50%

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

PayPoint (PAY) 756.00p 2.30%

Workspace Group (WKP) 414.00p 2.22%

Vesuvius (VSVS) 362.60p 2.20%

Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 653.00p 2.19%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 306.80p 2.06%

Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 341.80p 2.03%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

TP Icap Group (TCAP) 292.00p -4.89%

4Imprint Group (FOUR) 3,520.00p -2.63%

Mitie Group (MTO) 145.80p -2.15%

Auction Technology Group (ATG) 360.00p -2.04%

Quilter (QLT) 161.60p -1.10%

Ocean Wilsons Holdings Ltd. (OCN) 1,120.00p -0.88%

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 215.20p -0.83%

Greggs (GRG) 1,583.00p -0.75%

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 352.50p -0.70%

Softcat (SCT) 1,584.00p -0.63%