UK market update – Taylor Wimpey lifts forecast, Ryanair passengers pick up

At 08:31BST, the FTSE 100 is trading higher by 0.3% at 7129. The midcap FTSE 250 is trading higher by 0.3% at 23,351.

In FX markets, GBP/USD is trading at 1.3939, EUR/GBP is trading at 0.8516. The US Dollar Index is down 0.1%.

Today’s calendar highlights include services PMI readings from UK, Eurozone, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and US. Today’s ADP employment report could help provide some clarity on the labour market ahead of Friday’s nonfarm payrolls.

On Thursday, the Bank of England announces its latest monetary policy decisions.

Stocks
Rolls-Royce (LON:RR) (+1.8%) – Confirms deal to sell its Bergen Engines business to Langley Holdings for €63 million.

Taylor Wimpey (LON:TW) (+4.5%) – Record number of first half completions of 7,303 homes (H1 2020: 2,771). Declares 2021 interim dividend of 4.14 pence per share, in line with policy. Anticipates full year 2021 completions for the UK, excluding joint ventures, will be towards the upper end of our guidance range of 13,200 to 14,000 homes.

Legal & General (LON:LGEN) (+1.2%) – H1 operating profit of £1.079 billion, up 14%. Interim dividend up 5% to 5.18 pence per share, consistent with stated ambition. Expect to deliver double digit growth in operating profit at the full year.

Ferrexpo (LON:FXPO) (-5.5%) – Revenues rise by 74% to $1.353 billion. Declares interim dividend of 39.6 cents per share.

Ryanair (LON:RYA) (+1.0%)- Carries 9.3 million passengers in July at load factor of 80%, compared to 4.4 million in July 2020.

Ibstock (LON:IBST) (+0.6%) – Group revenue approaching 2019 levels and divisional margins back to 2019 levels on a like-for-like basis. Reinstates dividend to 2.5 pence per share, reflecting strong performance and confidence in longer-term outlook. Expects adjusted EBITDA for the 2021 year to be modestly ahead of its previous expectations.

THG Holdings (LON:THG) (+3.6%) – To buy Cult Beauty Limited for total consideration of £275 million. Lifts sales growth guidance to between 38% and 41% from between 30% and 35% previously.

Frasers (LON:FRAS) (-0.5%) – Mike Ashley reportedly set to step down from Sports Direct and become deputy chairman of Frasers Group.

Sectors
Travel & Leisure – Germany and Austria are set to be added to the UK’s green list. (Telegraph) Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania and Poland will also turn green. Spain expected to stay amber. 10-day quarantine for fully vaccinated holidaymakers returning from France will be removed (Times).