London’s FTSE-100 is jumping higher as the new trading month gets underway with heavyweight Royal Dutch Shell’s return to profit being cheered by the market as a whole – and adding a significant slug of points to the index in the process.
By Tony Cross, Monk Communications
This comes despite the company giving a cautious outlook on the back of low oil prices and that toppy dividend yield of over 7% is once again raising some eyebrows, too. The picture was somewhat less upbeat at peer BP which has been left wallowing as one of the worst performers on the day, although again the effects of cost cutting continued to be felt so even the reduced earnings for the quarter were seen as coming in ahead of expectations. A broker downgrade for supermarket WM Morrison has also taken its toll on the stock, but otherwise the market is looking in decent shape and a retest of that key 7,000 level seems to be on the cards.
We have UK manufacturing PMI data due later this morning, which could provide some fresh direction as the sector has been seen as struggling in the wake of the referendum result. This is troubling given the weak pound and what it should mean for exports, so a boost here could again provide another event worth cheering. US PMI data is also on the cards, although with markets across the Atlantic now staring at the final stages of the Presidential election campaign – and this remains a close run event – the uncertainty here is likely to play a big role in driving sentiment state-side in the coming week.
