After a sluggish Independence Day, the European markets got off to a better start on Thursday, with the FTSE trying to climb back to the levels it fell from at the start of the week.
The UK index rose 30 points after the bell, just about clawing its way to 7600. This couldn’t match the pace of its eurozone peers, however. The DAX shot up another 120 points to hit a 12450-teasing 10 day high, investors continuing to display their relief that Angela Merkel appears to have avoided a coalition-collapse, while the CAC rose 0.8% and the IBEX 35 jumped 1%.
Livening up what is a pretty empty morning data-wise, there was plenty of UK corporate news for investors to chew over. A spoonful of sugar made investors abandon Associated British Foods PLC (LON:ABF) on Thursday, the Primark-owner dropping 4% as troubles in its sugar division meant first quarter sales rose just 3% against the 6% that would have been seen with the sweet stuff stripped out. It did soften the blow, however, by stating that improving margins in the second half of the year will lead profit at Primark higher.
Superdry (LON:SDRY) was looking super fly following its annual results. The fashion retailer surged 11%, lifting further away from its recent 3 year lows as it revealed global brand revenue had risen 22.1% to £1.6 billion. What really got investors interested, however, was the announcement of its second special dividend in 2 years, a payout that came alongside an 11.4% increase to the ordinary full year dividend.
AIM superstar Purplebricks (LON:PURP) endured some red-kicks after already the market expressed its disappointment at the online estate agent’s full year figures. The main sticking point was a huge jump in pre-tax losses, from £6 million to £26 million year-on-year, as the cost of marketing and foreign expansion took its toll. It has been a tough 2018 for Purplebricks, despite a chunky strategic investment from Axel Springer (LON:0NV2), with the stock down around 26% since the year began as investors continue to question the wisdom of the push into the US.
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