Pearson delivers 'strong' H1 financial performance, HSBC interim profits drop

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was being called to open 14.5 points lower ahead of the bell on Monday after closing 1.06% higher on Friday at 7,423.43.

Stocks to watch

Publishing company Pearson said on Monday that it had delivered a "strong financial performance" in the six months ended 30 June, leading the group to reiterate guidance for the full year.

Pearson said underlying sales had grown 6% to £1.78bn during the first half of the year, while adjusted operating profits surged £33.0m to £160.0m, principally driven by an "encouraging" trading performance, FX benefits and property savings.

HSBC reported a fall in first-half profits on Monday but pledged to resume quarterly dividends next year as its annual outlook remained positive.

The banking giant posted a pre-tax profit of $9.17bn, down more than 15% year-on-year, despite reporting a modest 2% uptick in interim revenues to $12.8bn.

Newspaper round-up

Thousands of BT and Openreach workers will go on strike again on Monday in a dispute over pay. Members of the Communication Workers Union, including call centre workers and engineers, will hold a 24-hour strike, after similar action on Friday. The union will mount picket lines outside company offices across the UK and is asking people to bring food, which it will deliver to local food banks. - Guardian

One of Britain's biggest shopkeepers has joined the call for Tory leadership candidates to prioritise a shake-up of 'outdated' business rates. Iceland boss Richard Walker urged the next prime minister to promise a 'root and branch' reform of the tax. He said the levy is penalising bricks and mortar retailers and, without a fundamental change, the High Street will 'continue to decline'. - Daily Mail

Half of smaller suppliers are still being paid late by their clients, triggering calls for the government to increase efforts to clamp down on the practice. As two key initiatives to address the problem stall, figures from the Federation of Small Businesses show that between April and June half of the 1,300 small business owners and sole traders surveyed for its quarterly research reported being paid late, while one in five said the issue was getting worse. - The Times

BP is to invest up to £50.0m in a new global battery research and development centre in Britain. Planned to open by the end of 2024, the facilities will be located at the headquarters for its Castrol business in Pangbourne, Berkshire. They will help to advance the development of leading fluid technologies and engineering for hybrid and fully battery electric vehicles, with the aim of bringing the industry closer to the tipping point for mainstream electric vehicle adoption. - The Times

Waitrose is removing best-before dates from nearly 500 fresh food products in an effort to reduce food waste. From September, the staff-owned supermarket chain will scrap the dates on packaged fruit and vegetables, including lettuce, cucumber and peppers, to encourage consumers to use their own judgment about when food has gone off. The move is expected to cut food waste by preventing people from throwing away products that are still edible, the retailer says. - Guardian

US close

Wall Street stocks were in the green at the end of trading, wrapping up major indices' best week since 2020.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.97% at 32,845.13, while the S&P 500 was 1.42% firmer at 4,130.29 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.88% stronger at 12,390.69.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com