AJ Bell sees good growth in third quarter, Polymetal confirms production guidance

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 11 points higher on Thursday, having closed down 1% at 6,207.10 on Wednesday.

Stocks to watch

Financial services firm AJ Bell reported a 12% rise in assets under administration (AUA) to £54.3bn during the third quarter as it maintained full year guidance and announced a move into the retail cash savings market. The company on Thursday said underlying net inflows, representing organic growth in the quarter, increased by 30% over the prior year to £1.3bn. AJ Bell said it would start offering customers the option to apply for multiple savings accounts with no paperwork, and manage their cash savings via one online account.

Polymetal reported gold equivalent production of 358,000 ounces for the second quarter on Thursday, up 2% year-on-year, which it said was driven by a strong performance at Kyzyl, offsetting the planned decline at Svetloye. The FTSE 100 firm said it generated “significant” free cash flow in the, with net debt largely unchanged relative to the first quarter at $1.69bn, while it paid $197m of final dividends for the 2019 financial year. It confirmed its full-year 2020 production guidance of 1.5 million ounces of gold equivalent.

Newspaper round-up

The government’s response to the impact on the culture sector of the Covid-19 crisis has been too slow, too vague, and has jeopardised its future, according to a damning report by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee. The MPs found that the government has consistently failed to recognise the size of the task facing the sector, and that its responses – including a £1.57bn support package and a five-step roadmap for reopening – could have saved jobs and cultural institutions from closure if they had been released sooner and with more clarity. – Guardian

HSBC is facing fresh backlash from MPs following reports that it is scrutinising Hong Kong clients’ ties with the region’s pro-democracy movement following the imposition of a new national security law by China. The London-listed bank is one of several reported to have broadened security programmes that screen clients for political ties, sparking fierce criticism from across the British political spectrum. – Telegraph

Microsoft has been accused of creating a “weak copycat product” in the booming area of online workplace chat services, which it is forcing millions of people to use in order to eliminate rivals. Slack, the messaging app, has filed an anti-competition complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission, claiming that the group unfairly bundles its rival Teams app with its Office 365 tools. – The Times

Tesla has reported its first full year of profit, putting the maker of electric cars on track to join the elite S&P 500 stock market index and shaking off fears of a pandemic-induced slump. The Californian carmaker last night announced a profit of $104 million in its second quarter, completing four consecutive profitable quarters for the first time in its 17 years of existence. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks closed in positive territory on Wednesday, despite US-Sino tensions coming back into focus as market participants looked ahead to earnings from tech giants Microsoft and Tesla, and digested news of a coronavirus vaccine deal between the White House and pharma groups Pfizer and BioNTech.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.62% at 27,005.84, the S&P 500 added 0.57% at 3,276.02, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.24% firmer at 10,706.13.

It was a positive session throughout for the Dow, which had opened 37.70 points higher, carrying on the positive momentum seen in the previous session as investors monitored talks between lawmakers in Washington regarding another economic relief package.

As far as Wednesday was concerned, relations between Washington and Beijing were weighing on sentiment at the open as news broke that the White House had ordered the Chinese consulate in Houston to close amid brewing tensions between the pair in relation to China's treatment of Hong Kong.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin condemned the action and warned of firm countermeasures.