FTSE hands back Tuesday’s gains

There’s been some notable selling in London this morning, with the FTSE 100 handing back yesterday’s gains to trade little changed on the week. The recent price action is typical of a summer lull where decreased volumes see choppy trade and no clear direction. It’s a similar story for the pound too, with sterling once more looking to push higher this morning against the US dollar, but despite reaching its highest level since last Monday the market still lacks the requisite momentum to embark on a sustained rally.

May takes personal control of Brexit talks

There was a quick, small pop higher in the pound yesterday as news broke that Theresa May will take personal control over the UK’s Brexit negotiating team. In keeping with recent price action, the move failed to gain traction but the initial move does suggest that some traders clearly believe that a higher level of involvement from the PM is a positive development for sterling. Having said that, overall it appears that traders remain in a wait-and-see mode as far as the pound is concerned with next week’s BoE rate decision likely to provide the next major market moving event. Markets are still pricing in a high probability of another hike, but the key could well be allusions to the future path of interest rates.       

ITV posts pleasing results on World Cup and Love Island

Broadcaster ITV has delivered an upbeat set of results for the 1st half of the year with the World Cup and hit-show Love Island contributing to an increase in both the top and bottom line. Revenues at the group rose by 6.4% to £1.6B in the six months to June 30th while pre-tax profits came in at £265m - an increase of 2.3%. Despite the improving figures CEO Carolyn McCall announced plans earlier today for a strategic refresh that Mrs. McCall says will see the broadcaster go beyond TV. Shares have risen by just under 1% on the news, with the reaction fairly muted as the results were broadly inline with analyst forecasts, but given the broader market today it’s still enough for ITV to be one of the biggest gainers out of all the blue-chips.

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