FTSE 100 kicks off lower as Diageo and Sage weigh on the index - Market Report

Proactive - Interviews for investors

London’s FTSE 100 opened lower on Tuesday as investors mulled a mixed bag of company results from the index’s constituents. In the first 40 minutes of trading, the blue-chip index fell two-thirds of a percent to 8,236. Oil giant BP saw its shares lift higher after it posted second-quarter results showing larger profits than forecast and a bumper combination of dividends and share buybacks. Based on current oil and gas prices, BP said it plans share buybacks of "at least $14 billion through 2025". Headed the other way was drinks giant Diageo after it confirmed a drop in annual sales and profits. Group sales declined due to a drop in volumes, mostly driven by a plunge in Latin America and the Caribbean, while North American sales were also down. Another group attempting to lift the index higher was Standard Chartered, with the lender having posted a profit beat in the second quarter and a hike to its shareholder returns. The lender announced its biggest-ever share buyback of $1.5 billion, which was 50% larger than analysts expected, and also proposed a 50% hike to its interim dividend. And Sage Group traded lower following a deceleration in organic revenue growth compared to 2023 and a warning about the wider industry backdrop. #ProactiveInvestors #marketreport #ftse #ftse100 #footsie #bp #diageo #standardchartered #standardcharteredbank #sagegroup #invest #investing #investment #investor #stockmarket #stocks #stock #stockmarketnews