Wednesday’s Master Investor Market Report

– The FTSE 100 closed the day at 6,234.11, an increase of 96.51 points.
– The FTSE 250 rose by 104.03 points to finish at 17,065.87.
– The FTSE All Share climbed by 45.83 points to 3,426.75.
– The FTSE AIM All Share finished at 737.63, up by 0.93 points.

UK wages rose at their fastest rate in six years during the three months ended July, driven overwhelmingly by the private sector. Unemployment also dropped to 5.5% for the period. However, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has indicated today that he does not expect any changes in monetary policy to be made before the end of the year.

High street retailer JD Sports Fashion (JD.) recorded revenues of £809.1 million over the twenty six weeks ended 2nd August, a 21% increase over the same period of 2014 on the back of strong like-for-like growth and the firm’s continued international expansion. Profits before taxation also rose sharply to £44.7 million, but management warned that future earnings would be significantly impacted by changes to the UK’s minimum wage policies. The shares grew by 29.50p to 923p.

Brewer SABMiller (SAB) has confirmed that Anheuser-Busch InBev has informed the company of its intention to make a takeover bid, although the board of SAB are not aware of any details of a potential offer. Further information will be made available to the market in due course. SABMiller shares surged upwards by 20.24% to 3,624.50p.

Graphics specialist Imagination Technologies (IMG) saw its shares drop 9.83% to 234p after the company revealed that sales and royalties in the period from 1st May have failed to meet expectations. Management said that it had also been a tough quarter for the broader semiconductor industry in the three months to June, as manufacturers cut down on legacy products faster than anticipated.

Tomorrow’s news today

Kier Group (KIE) and Brooks Macdonald (BRK) will publish final results tomorrow, while Safestyle (SFE) and Premier Farnell (PFE) are among those putting out interims.

Quote of the day

“About the time we can make the ends meet, somebody moves the ends.”
– Herbert Hoover