NatWest resumes dividend payments, Glencore production rises 'modestly'

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 54 points lower on Friday, having closed up 0.88% at 7,078.42 on Thursday.

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NatWest resumed dividend payments and announced a share buyback as it swung to a half-year profit and released more cash set aside for bad debts as the economic outlook improved. The bank posted an operating profit before tax of £2.5bn compared with a loss of £770m last year. It released £707m in impairments during the half. A dividend of 3p a share was announced along with a £750m buyback and a pledge to increase annual shareholder distribution to £1bn for the next three years.

Glencore reported own sourced copper and cobalt production of 598,000 tonnes and 14,800 tonnes, respectively, in its first half on Friday, “modestly higher” than the first six months of 2020. The FTSE 100 miner said own sourced zinc production at 581,800 tonnes was 6% higher year-on-year, mainly due to recovery from Covid-related suspensions in the second quarter, particularly in Peru. It said own sourced nickel production at 47,700 tonnes was 14% below the prior year due to planned major maintenance at Murrin and various operational issues at Koniambo, while own sourced gold and silver production were, respectively, 3% and 13% ahead of the first half of 2020.

Newspaper round-up

More than 5 million people had a parcel lost or stolen last year, according to Citizens Advice, which has called on the government to start fining firms that keep losing deliveries as part of a comprehensive overhaul of the sector. Currently, only Royal Mail faces fines for poor service, but the charity said the same sanctions should apply to the whole industry, after surveys showed customers had experienced a range of problems with deliveries. Ten parcels were lost or stolen during each minute over the last 12 months, it claimed. - Guardian

Amazon’s sales topped $100bn for the third quarter in a row as its profits for the three months surged to $7.8bn. The Seattle-based tech and online retail giant reported sales of $113bn for the three months between April and June – over $1.4bn a day. The figure was up from $88.9bn in the second quarter of 2020 but slightly lower than Wall Street had expected, and triggered a 5% slide in its share price in after-hours trading. - Guardian

Another major Morrisons shareholder has spoken out against the £9.5bn takeover bid for the supermarket by US private equity firm Fortress, as doubts grow over the deal. M&G, a top 20 investor, argued that the proposal, which includes £3.2bn of Morrisons' net debt, was too low just days after the supermarket chain's biggest investor Silchester opposed the deal. - Telegraph

Bentley Motors has made more profit in the first half of 2021 than in any full year since it was created a little over a century ago. Brushing off the supply chain problems and workplace shortages caused by the pandemic, which have plagued much of the rest of the automotive industry, the Volkswagen-owned British marque is booming thanks to sales in China and the success of its Bentayga model, a a rival to the Range Rover whose looks and dimensions have not always been applauded by the motoring press. - The Times

Robinhood endured a torrid debut on the stock market yesterday after the American broking platform priced its multibillion-dollar flotation at the bottom of expectations and the shares then fell when they started trading. Shares in the California-based business tumbled by as much as 12 per cent on the Nasdaq exchange, from a listing price of $38 that had been set late on Wednesday night. - The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks closed higher on Thursday as investors digested worse-than-expected GDP figures, this week's jobless claims data, more corporate earnings and the outcome of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.44% at 35,084.53, while the S&P 500 was 0.42% firmer at 4,419.15 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.11% stronger at 14,778.26.

The Dow closed 153.60 points higher on Thursday, reversing losses recorded in the previous session as market participants digested earnings from major US firms and the outcome of the Federal Reserve's latest two-day meeting.

Overnight, the US central bank dropped a small hint that policymakers had come a bit further down the path towards announcing the start of tapering its purchases of government debt.

In its latest policy statement, the Federal Open Market Committee, the central bank's rate-setting body, said that more progress had been made towards meeting their dual mandate for maximum employment and stable inflation. The committee said it would continue "to assess progress in coming meetings" but for now, it will keep rates near zero.