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UK stocks traded sideways in early trade on Friday after Donald Trump stoked trade tensions by signed an executive order banning US transactions with the Chinese owners of TikTok and WeChat.
At 0822, the benchmark FTSE 100 index had edged down 2.04 points at 6,024.90.
Wealth manager Hargreaves Lansdown helped boost sentiment by upping its dividend 31%, after its annual profit rose by nearly quarter, amid a boost to net assets from new business inflows. Its share rallied 4.6% to £19.095
Hargreaves Lansdown declared a final dividend of 26.3p, up from 23.4p on-yearyear, taking its total dividend for the year to 54.9p.
Fellow wealth manager Standard Life Aberdeen reversed 0.3% to 262.8p, having swung to a first-half loss after revenue slumped on the back of outflows from its funds last year.
Standard Life Aberdeen, which also wrote down the value of its assets, held its interim dividend steady at 7.3p per share, citing the strength of its balance sheet.
Property portal Rightmove firmed 3.9% to 600.2p despite booking a 43% slump in first-half profit and scrapping its interim dividend after the Covid-19 crisis prompted it to offer discounts to its customers.
Rightmove said traffic visits rose 5% on-year, helped by a stronger-than-expected increase since the reopening of the English property market in May. Stamp duty holidays offered by the UK government also gave grounds for cautious optimism, it added.
Life sciences investor Syncona shed 1.2% to 254p amid news that portfolio company Freeline Therapeutics had priced an initial public offering, implying a value on the raising of around $158.8m (£120.8m).
Syncona said that following the IPO it would will retain a 49% stake in Freeline, having agreed to invest $24.3m (£18.5m). Freeline was a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on gene therapy targeting the liver.
Wind farm investor Renewable Infrastructure Group gained 0.2% to 137.29p on reaffirming its guidance for a higher annual dividend, despite its net asset value slipping 1.7% in the first half.
Renewable Infrastructure Group, also known as TRIG, said it was still targeting a full-year dividend of 6.76p per share, up from 6.64p in 2019, having declared a first-half payout of 3.35p.
Bonding products manufacturer Scapa soared 18% to 108.4p after it forecast a full-year profit around 10% ahead of market expectations, having delivered first-quarter revenue 'well ahead' of its Covid-19 scenario plan.
Inter-dealer broker TP ICAP dropped 7.7% to 310p after its first-half profit fell 6% and it held its interim dividend steady.
Security and data group Newmark Security jumped 16% to 1.42p on announcing that it had attained two new customers in the US via its Human Capital Management division, which trades there as GT Clocks.