Weekly review

The FTSE 100 ended the week up 58.89 points to 6,730.48.

Equity view

The £1. 4bn combination of Sainsbury's and Argos owner Home Retail Group was a step closer on Friday, with the Competition and Markets Authority dropping its investigation and allowing the acquisition by the supermarket to proceed.

Vodafone said revenue fell 4. 5% to €13. 37bn in the first quarter including a 5. 3 percentage point negative impact from foreign exchange rate movements.

Interim pre-tax profits at Acacia Mining soared to $101m from $25m as gold prices and sales surged while costs fell.

Unilever maintained its underlying rate of sales growth at 4. 7% in the second quarter but first-half turnover fell and the fast moving consumer goods colossus said it was preparing for tougher market conditions as it sees no sign of an improving global economy.

Tate & Lyle said profit in the first quarter was ahead of the comparative period at constant currency and it expects earnings to increase strongly if the pound continues to be weak versus the dollar for the rest of the financial year.

Megabrewer SABMiller announced on Thursday that the US Department of Justice has given its clearance on the company’s proposed combination with AB InBev.

Soft drink maker Britvic has reported third quarter revenue of £346. 3m, up 5. 3% on last year despite a wet summer, but warned the decision by the UK to leave the European Union had created a double whammy of consumer uncertainty and input cost pressure.

Budget airline EasyJet posted a drop in revenue per seat and total revenue for the third quarter amid difficult trading that was hit by the terror attack in Brussels and the Egyptair tragedy.

Anglo American shares were under pressure on Wednesday after the miner cut its full-year copper production guidance.

Takeaway food delivery marketplace Just Eat sold two of its Latin American business to its iFood joint venture in Brazil for about $11m.

Hedge fund manager Man Group said on Wednesday that chief executive officer Emmanuel Roman will step down from the role at the end of August to be replaced by Luke Ellis on 1 September.

Miner BHP Billiton posted its operational review for the year to 30 June on Wednesday, confirming it exceeded full-year production guidance for petroleum, copper and metallurgical coal, and achieved record full-year production at Western Australia Iron Ore.

Broadband provider TalkTalk reported a small drop in revenues for the first quarter as it lost customers, but reiterated its guidance for the full year.

Water and wastewater company Severn Trent posted a trading update for the period from 1 April to 19 July on Wednesday, as it continued to focus on enhancing its customer service, operational and financial performance.

Johnson & Johnson lifted its earnings guidance for full-year 2016 as it reported a drop in second-quarter net earnings but a rise in sales.

IG Group posted full year results on Tuesday that beat market expectations, with earnings breaking higher after a four-year stagnation.

Russian steel maker Evraz said consolidated second quarter crude steel output fell 9. 9% to 3. 2m tonnes against the previous three months, primarily due to planned capital repairs at a blast furnace.

Royal Mail said trading for the three months ended 26 June was in line with its expectations, with group revenue up 1% and UK revenue down 1%.

Mining giant Rio Tinto said second quarter iron ore production from its mines in Western Australia's Pilbara rose 8% to nearly 81m from the same time a year ago.

British Land said it was too early to properly assess the impact of the referendum result on its markets but it did expect some occupiers and investors to take a more cautious approach.

Economic news

The latest data from Markit released on Friday showed the UK economy contracted at its steepest pace since early 2009 in July.

The commercial housing market is the early stages of a downturn due to Brexit uncertainty, according to the industry body for chartered surveyors.

Levels of UK mortgage lending increased to the highest June level since 2008, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said on Thursday, though it expects uncertainty around the Brexit decision to hold back homebuyers from accessing banks' ample capacity to lend.

UK retail sales rose less than expected in June compared to the same month a year ago during unseasonably cold weather, official data showed on Thursday. The Office for National Statistics said retail sales increased 4.3% year-on-year in June, missing forecasts for a 5.1% gain and following 5.7% growth in May. On the month, retail sales fell 0.9% in June, more than the 0.5% drop estimated and after a 0.9% rise in May.

UK households´s financial perceptions worsened substantially in July following the EU referendum vote, although quickly rising wages and expectations of a cut to Bank Rate were acting as an offset, Markit said.

The UK's official unemployment rate has improved to 4. 9% by the end of May, according to the Office for National Statistics, with average weekly earnings rising 2. 3% as expected.

In its first assessment for the euro area and the European Union since the UK referendum, the European Commission cut its growth forecasts for the UK, saying it could slip into recession next year.

UK house prices rose 1. 1% in May compared to a month ago, even in the uncertainty leading up to Britain’s European Union referendum on 23 June, the ONS said.

UK inflation jumped higher than expected in June, according to the Office for National Statistics, and is likely start rising even higher due to the slump in sterling since the Brexit vote.

UK house prices fell in recent weeks as worries around the Brexit vote took the wind out of the property market even more than the usual summer slowdown, though fear of missing out on a deal continues to drive demand outside the capital, Rightmove revealed.

The number of shoppers at UK retailers in June dropped by sharpest rate in more than two years by 2.8%, as high street stores, shopping centres and retail parks all endured a difficult month, according to the BRC and Springboard.

International events

Markit’s flash US manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to an eight-month high of 52. 9 in July from 51. 3 in June.

Markit’s flash eurozone composite purchasing managers’ index fell less than expected in July.

The European Central Bank kept its policy unchanged on Thursday, as expected by economists, but the monetary authority indicated that it may boost stimulus later this year.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, according to the Labour Department.

Housing activity Stateside picked up in June, even as a lead indicator for the sector pointed to further short-term gains.

Donald Trump has received the US Republican Party´s nomination to be the next president of the United States .

Global growth in 2016 and 2017 is forecast to be slower than expected due to Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, with the International Monetary Fund also slashing its estimates for UK growth.

Concerns over Brexit sent German investor confidence to its lowest level since November 2012 in July, according to the latest survey from the ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim.

After a failed coup in Turkey on Friday, the lira rebounded from its biggest fall in eight years, Turkish bonds tumbled and shares in banks slumped.