The FTSE 100 is down to two-week lows this morning and still falling, with the suspension of Chinese property group Evergrande in Hong Kong overnight casting a heavy shadow over the rest of the world’s markets.
BP PLC (LSE:BP.) and Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL)were among the few early risers, boosted by another increase in crude values. The front-month Ice Brent contract is now trading north of $97/bl, supported by production cuts in Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Some corporate updates out today, included from spirits giant Diageo PLC (LSE:DGE) which remains confident of delivering on its medium-term targets despite what it calls a challenging operating environment. Organic net sales growth over the next three years will be consistently in the range of 5% to 7% said the Johnnie Walker and Guinness maker.
Staying in the pub and Mitchells & Butlers PLC (LSE:MAB) meanwhile are saying strong trading continued in its fourth quarter, bringing year-to-date like-for-like sales growth to 9.1%, with total sales growth now an impressive 10.5%.
888 joined the list of gambling companies blaming unfavourable sporting results for its latest quarter of missed targets. It says tougher regulation is also having an impact.
And finally in small caps, Bradda Head Lithium shares jumped in early trading as an upgrade to its Arizona resource sparked a US$2.5mln milestone payment.