SSE to still declare dividend, Anglo American reports 'strong' production

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 34 points lower on Thursday, having closed up 1.83% at 6,292.65 on Wednesday.

Stocks to watch

Energy company SSE said it still intended to declare a dividend in November as the impact of Covid-19 on the business remained in line with expectations during the first three months of the fiscal year. The company guided for a £150m - £250m hit to operating profits and a 24.4p a share payout. “SSE's dividend provides income for people's pensions and savings and is particularly vital given the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic,” the company said on Thursday.

Experian's constant currency revenue fell 1% in the three months to the end of June as growth in North America and Brazil helped offset sharp falls in the UK and other markets. The credit checking company said it would not provide guidance for the current financial year.

Anglo American reported “strong” performance at Minas-Rio in Brazil on Thursday, with 6.2 million tonnes of high quality iron ore production, reflecting ongoing P101 productivity improvements. The FTSE 100 mining giant said that at Collahuasi in Chile, meanwhile, copper production increased 38% due to strong performance. Metallurgical coal production decreased 32% to four million tonnes in the second quarter, due to two incidents underground at Moranbah and Grosvenor, as well as longwall moves at Grosvenor and Grasstree.

Newspaper round-up

Boohoo has been criticised by the chair of an influential committee of MPs, who said the online fashion firm had failed to address warnings of malpractice at Leicester factories. Philip Dunne, the chairman of the environmental audit committee, which questioned Boohoo co-founder Carol Kane about problems in Leicester factories in November 2018 for a report on the fast fashion industry, has disputed claims the group was not aware of potentially illegal working practices at factories making its garments.- Guardian

Rents have continued to climb across England, but they are sliding in London as Airbnb owners abandon hopes of attracting holidaymakers and put their properties on the long-term rental market. Property website Rightmove said asking rents outside London hit a record of £845 a month in early July, up 3.4% on the same time last year. – Guardian

Retailers have opened only half of shops since the lockdown restrictions were eased as some customers are still avoiding stores. Of the 20,351 sites that were allowed to reopen, including restaurants, takeaway shops and travel agents, 52pc had done so, according to a new survey from the Local Data Company (LDC). – Telegraph

Dobbies Garden Centres has struck a deal to stock Sainsbury’s food, four years after the business was sold by Tesco. The retailer will sell 3,000 of Sainsbury’s own-branded products in 66 of its 68 garden centres. Graeme Jenkins, Dobbies’ chief executive, said: “The partnership between Dobbies and Sainsbury’s is an excellent fit, with a shared goal of offering the best to our customers.” – The Times

US close

US stocks closed higher on Wednesday following positive results from early trials of a coronavirus vaccine and more quarterly earnings reports.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.85% at 26,870.10, while the S&P 500 was 0.91% firmer at 3,226.56 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.59% stronger at 10,550.49.

The Dow closed 227.51 points higher on Wednesday, carrying on a rally started at the end of the previous session thanks to some positive news regarding trials on a potential Covid-19 vaccine.

Stocks surged on Wednesday after pharmaceutical giant Moderna revealed that its coronavirus vaccine had produced antibodies in all patients taking part in an early trial of the drug, raising hopes of a faster economic turnaround.

Moderna said its potential Covid-19 vaccine produced a "robust" immune response in all 45 patients in its early stage human trial, according to the peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine.

Although the company had already flagged that result in May, it had not provided a full readout of the data from the trial.