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“Blue-chips opened in negative territory following falls in the US and Asia amid concerns for global growth and ongoing geopolitical tension,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Greeting cards retailer Card Factory was the biggest FTSE250 faller in early trading despite an increase in first half sales and declaring a special dividend which will return £51.2m to shareholders. Card Factory’s like-for-like sales rose despite the decline in shoppers going to the high street but its profitability has been hit by the weakness of sterling and the impact of the national living wage, headwinds which will continue to have an impact on its full-year figures. Card Factory’s shares were down by more than 15.1%.
“Thomas Cook’s shares edged higher after the group maintained its full-year earnings guidance following a good summer. Winter 2017-18 booked revenue rose 6%, with growing demand for Turkey and North Africa while the search for sunshine after a lacklustre British summer saw holidays to Greece, Bulgaria and Cyprus proving particularly popular. Thomas Cook’s shares rose by over 0.6% in early trading.
“Soft drinks group AG Barr remains on course to meet its full-year forecasts despite the impact of mixed weather on the market since late July. The group’s first half revenues rose by 8.8% as the strong sales momentum of the second half of last year continued and it maintained tight cost control across the business.”
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