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“Equities opened strongly against a fabric of hefty gains in crude oil and gold prices, and positive performances on Wall Street and in Asia,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Screwfix continues to be the standout performer for DIY giant Kingfisher with like-for-like sales up by 12.7% and total sales up by 23.1% following the opening of 11 new outlets and the addition of new and extended ranges. B&Q sales were down 3.6% which reflected the store closure programme. The ongoing prospects for B&Q are looking brighter as the store closure programme is now nearly complete and on a like-for-like basis its sales rose by 3.5%.
“Self-storage group Big Yellow continues to grow but it is on heightened alert in the wake of the Brexit vote. Big Yellow has seen a surge in demand for space in recent years and a slowdown over the next year or two would not come as a surprise. Big Yellow’s confidence that it can meet future challenges is based on its conviction that London, where it is heavily concentrated, will continue to consolidate its position as one of the world's great city states.
“Rotork led the FTSE250 index in early trading following a bullish update with reported revenue expected to be towards the top end of market forecasts despite the trading environment remaining challenging across most of its key markets. Currency continues to provide a tailwind, and based on current exchange rates is expected to deliver a 10% benefit to both full year revenue and profit.”
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