Tuesday’s Master Investor Market Report

– The FTSE 100 closed the day at 6,081.34, an increase of 182.47 points.
– The FTSE 250 rose by 507.27 points to finish at 16,721.55.
– The FTSE All Share climbed by 103.88 points to 3,349.87.
– The FTSE AIM All Share finished 14.05 points ahead at 716.45.

Miner Antofagasta (ANTO) reported profits before tax of $297.3 million (£188.4 million) for the six months ended 30th June, a 63.8% collapse from the comparable period of last year driven by falling output, lower copper prices, and the subsequent drop in revenues. Management said that the sale of the company’s water arm had shored up its financial position. Antofagasta shares rose by 8.72% to 579.5p.

Oil industry engineering outfit Petrofac (PFC) posted revenue growth of 25% over the first half of 2015 as it recorded sales of $3.2 billion (£2 billion). The group’s order backlog also increased. Hargreaves Lansdown commented that the group’s Middle Eastern and Central Asian exposure was “helping to insulate it somewhat from the ravages of the falling oil price” but that its struggling Shetland operations remain a drag on profits. The shares grew by 36p to 767p.

BHP Billiton (BLT) saw its profits for the year ended 30th June fall by 62.9% to $8.05 billion (£5.1 billion), but the company also opted to increase its dividend by 2%. Investec has placed its “hold” position and its 1,186p under review and commented that “while BHP’s earnings were down year-on-year, this is no surprise given the decline in commodity prices”. BHP’s share price increased by 53.5p to 1,021p.

RSA Insurance (RSA) shares climbed 19.5p to 514.5p after the company received a fresh 550p per share takeover offer from Zurich just before the takeover panel’s deadline. RSA has indicated that it would be willing to recommend an offer at that price, on the condition that the other terms were acceptable. Shore Capital commented that a deal now seems a near certainty.

Tomorrow’s news today

Carillion (CLLN), WPP (WPP), and Optimal Payments (OPAY) will publish interim results tomorrow.

Quote of the day

“Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.”
– Samuel Johnson