Barclays first half profits up

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open 25 points higher than Tuesday's close of 6,555.28.

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Barclays first half results showed an 11% increase in adjusted profit before tax as it set aside a further £1.6bn provision for further litigation and mis-selling after paying £1.6bn in the period. The bank's Tier 1 capital stood at 11.1% with risk weighted assets decreasing to £57bn from £75bn.

Capita posted an 11% rise in underlying first-half pre-tax profit as most of it divisions performed well, with particularly strong growth in Asset Services Solutions and a pleasing initial contribution from Capita Europe. For the six months ended 30 June, underlying pre-tax profit came in at £264.9m, up from £238m in the same period last year, on revenue of £2.28bn, up 10% from £2.07bn.

St James’s Place said an increase in levies impacted its first half earnings, as it posted underlying profit before shareholder tax at £72.9m for the six months to June 2015, about 7% lower than the same period last year. The UK based wealth management business declared a 20% increase in interim dividend despite this.

In the press

One of the leading executives at the British division of Santander, the Spanish financial group, has quit the bank, complaining that its delayed stock market listing meant there was little point in him continuing to work there, The Times reports. Stephen Jones, the chief financial officer of Santander UK, said yesterday that he would leave the bank in October to reacquaint himself with his family after a disappointing four years with the lender, in which plans for a £10bn flotation were repeatedly delayed, putting off a potentially lucrative payout for senior managers.

A Connecticut-based broker of oil and gas derivatives is the latest venture into the energy sector by Tullett Prebon, the UK interdealer broker. The purchase of Moab Oil, for $12.3 million initially and potential further payments of $14.3m depending on performance over five years, comes 14 months after Tullett agreed to buy PVM Oil Associates, a London-based oil broker, for $160m,The Times reports.

Corporate finance departments in big City firms have been burning the midnight oil for months. It is proving to be 'a golden age' for global merger and acquisition activity, which increased 38 per cent to £1.4trillion in the first six months of the year, the highest level since 2007. Across the Pond it soared 60 per cent to £629billion, the best since records began, the Daily Mail reports.

US close

US markets broke a five day losing streak as investors were encouraged by signs of a Chinese recovery and the Federal Reserve headed into a two day meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 1.09%, the S&P 500 rose 1.23% and the Nasdaq ended 0.98% higher.

Shares in Twitter leapt by more than 5% after mobile ad revenues drove a better than expected second quarter result. The social media platform boosted its second quarter revenues by 61% year on year.

Leading the S&P 500 were Exxon Mobil, up 4.06%, and Chevron, which was up 3.66%.