Wednesday’s Master Investor Market Report

– The FTSE 100 closed the day at 6,032.24, an increase of 96.40 points.
– The FTSE 250 rose by 129.87 points to finish at 16,659.85.
– The FTSE All Share climbed by 46.95 points to 3,323.25.
– The FTSE AIM All Share finished at 731.38, up by 0.87 points.

Brewer Diageo (DGE) warned that adverse shifts in currency markets will hit operating profits by up to £150 million. Management said that this was particularly notable in a number of key emerging markets and was outweighing a strong performance in terms of global sales volumes. Shares in Diageo rose by 16.50p to 1,733p.

Engineering outfit Smiths (SMIN) posted a profit before taxation of £459 million for the year ended 31st July, a 3% rise over the prior year despite a 2% decline in revenues due to poor performance in the John Crane, Detection and Interconnect arms of the business. There was positive sales movement in other divisions and management are currently focused on building a foundation for medium term growth. The shares climbed 10p to 1,039p.

Specialist collectibles retailer Stanley Gibbons (SGI) has indicated that it may fall short of its interim targets due to sluggish Asian markets, but said that it remains confident in meeting full year expectations given a 22% increase in online sales during the period to date. Shares in Stanley Gibbons fell 2p to 152p.

Scooter manufacturer Vmoto (VMT) is selling electronic controller specialist Nanjing Haiyon for around £0.2 million, just a year after initially purchasing it, on the grounds that it does not fit in with the group’s overall strategy. As a result of the disposal, EBITDA and profit forecasts for the current financial year have been revised downwards. The shares crashed 18.18% to 13.50p.

Shares in Hague and London Oil (HNL) shot up by a massive 141.51% to close at 16p after the company entered a conditional agreement to take an 85% controlling interest in the Duyung production sharing contract, which includes an undeveloped natural gas discovery off the coast of Indonesia. Management described the deal as a “relatively low risk, low cost but high reward opportunity”.

Tomorrow’s news today

Scisys (SSY), 32Red (TTR) and Science In Sport (SIS) are among the companies publishing interims on Thursday morning.

Quote of the day

“Money can’t buy love, but it improves your bargaining position.”
– Christopher Marlowe