Interest rates drive surge in profits for Barclays, Segro hikes interim dividend

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 20 points higher on Thursday, having closed down 0.19% on Wednesday at 7,676.89.

Stocks to watch

Segro reported a 2.6% improvement in adjusted pre-tax profit in its first-half results on Thursday, on the back of an average rental uplift of 20% at lease events during the period. Despite a slight decrease in adjusted net asset value per share due to valuation adjustments, the company said it remained confident in its ability to deliver attractive growth and returns, supported by a strong balance sheet and a promising pipeline. As a result, Segro hiked its interim dividend by 7.4% to 8.7p.

Barclays became the second bank to post surging profits on the back of higher interest rates and lift its provisions for bad loans. The bank posted a 22% rise in pre-tax profit for the six months to June 30 to £4.5bn. Bad loan charges increased to £900m from £341m. Net interest margin – a key metric charting the difference between loan and savings rates, soared to 3.2% from 2.67% as savers continued to receive feeble returns on their deposits amid mounting accusations of “profiteering” in the sector.

Newspaper round-up

Lawyers for the British billionaire Joe Lewis have accused prosecutors of making an “egregious” mistake, as the 86-year-old pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of securities fraud and conspiracy. Lewis, who heads the family that owns Tottenham Hotspur FC, was arraigned on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court with 16 counts of securities fraud and three of conspiracy to commit fraud, which prosecutors called a “brazen” insider trading scheme to enrich his friends, lovers and employees, including two private jet pilots. – Guardian

City AM, the free London-based business newspaper, has been sold to THG, the online health and beauty retail platform run by the multimillionaire businessman Matthew Moulding. The 18-year-old freesheet, which had been on the brink of collapsing into administration, announced on Wednesday that it had been bought by THG for an undisclosed sum. – Guardian

The chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group has said he is in no rush to sell The Telegraph after seizing control from the Barclay family in a dispute over debts secured against the business. Charlie Nunn, the lender’s chief executive, made Lloyds’ first public comments on the situation since he sent in receivers and ousted Barclay family representatives from the board of The Telegraph last month. – Telegraph

The British motor industry is back in business, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders claimed yesterday, after Tata’s commitment to invest £4 billion in an electric car battery “gigafactory” and with new figures set to show an 11 per cent rebound in vehicle production. The industry body will release assembly line data today that suggests 860,000 vehicles will be produced in Britain in 2023, an improvement of 85,000 on last year. However, the industry is coming back from a bad place. Last year’s production numbers of 775,000 were the worst since 1956. – The Times

Partners at Freshfields have edged out “magic circle” rivals to top the City law firm earnings table with average pay of £2.09 million. Pay for full equity partners at the firm inched up last year by 1 per cent, enough to nudge ahead of Clifford Chance, which recently unveiled average partner pay of £2 million. – The Times

US close

Wall Street’s main stock indexes closed in a mixed state on Wednesday, with the Dow extending its record-breaking streak to 13 consecutive winning sessions as the Federal Reserve took interest rates to their highest levels in more than 20 years.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.23% at 35,520.12, while the S&P 500 dipped slightly by 0.02% to finish the day at 4,566.75.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index also saw a marginal decline of 0.12%, settling at 14,127.28.

On the currency front, the dollar was last down 0.23% on sterling at 77.09p, while it slipped by the same rate to trade at 90 euro cents.

The greenback experienced a more significant drop against the yen, dropping 0.51% to change hands at JPY 139.53.