Source: Sharecast
STOCKS TO WATCH
Harbour Energy narrowed upwards production guidance and unveiled a $100m share buyback as it reported a jump in interim adjusted earnings. Guidance was lifted to 460,000-475,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day from 455-475 kboepd, with the divestment of Harbour's Vietnam business more than offset by a strong production performance to date. Adjusted EBITDAX rose to $3.88bn from $1.25bn.
InterContinental Hotels posted a solid set of H1 results on Thursday, underscored by strong trading momentum, record hotel openings, and continued investment in its global estate. Operating profits from reportable segments rose 13% to $604m, while total revenue climbed 8% to $2.52bn. However, net debt ballooned 21% to $3.36bn.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
Dozens of countries face higher taxes on their exports to the US now that Donald Trump’s latest wave of country-specific tariffs has come into force. The sweeping "reciprocal" levies announced by the White House a week ago – just before a previous 1 August deadline was due to elapse – were in place as of a minute past midnight Washington time on Thursday. – Guardian
Donald Trump on Wednesday celebrated a commitment by Apple to increase its investments in US manufacturing by an additional $100bn over the next four years. Apple's plan to up its domestic investment comes as it seeks to avoid Trump's threatened tariffs, which would increase the tech giant's costs as it relies on a complex international supply chain to produce its iPhones. Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, warned during an earnings call in May that the tariffs could cost the company up to $900m that fiscal quarter alone. – Guardian
British households and businesses face a £33m bill for switching off wind farms during Storm Floris despite gusts of more than 100mph. Millions were spent on "curtailing" the output of wind farms on Monday and Tuesday because the electricity network was too congested to accept their power. – Telegraph
Morrisons' sales have fallen by more than £1bn as it faces mounting pressure from a supermarket price war. Revenues slipped to £17bn in its latest financial year, falling from £18.3bn a year earlier. It marked the supermarket's lowest annual revenues since its private equity takeover in 2021, piling pressure on Rami Baitiéh, the chief executive, who has pledged to "reinvigorate" the supermarket. – Telegraph
Shareholders in the Spanish owner of TSB have approved the sale of the British lender in a move that raises questions over the future of the venerable high street brand. Sabadell's investors voted in favour of the £2.65bn cash sale of TSB to Banco Santander, the owner of Santander UK. – The Times
There has been a marked increase in companies looking for self-employed contractors since the government changes to employers' national insurance contributions back in the spring. There are 326,068 jobs for contract workers listed on Adzuna, the job search engine, a fifth more than at the beginning of April. – The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices delivered solid gains on Wednesday as market participants thumbed over a fresh batch of corporate earnings.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.18% at 44,193.12, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.73% to 6,345.06 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.21% firmer at 21,169.42.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com