JD Sports, Harvey Nash and Purplebricks

“Blue-chips opened strongly with banks and miners to the fore. Investors will be looking to data on UK mortgage approvals, M4 Money Supply and net lending to individuals and continue to assess Bank of England governor Mark Carney's statement yesterday that interest rates might need to be lifted,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“JD Sports was among the FTSE250’s biggest fallers in early trading following an update ahead of its annual general meeting today. The group expects full-year results to be in line with market forecasts but investors will have noted that it has faced margin pressure in achieving its sales growth. The actual position has been complicated by year-on-year calendar differences, notably Eid, which has meant the group adjusting the timing of its clearance period. Like-for-like store figures will not be truly meaningful until the end of the first half when these timing differences and strong comparatives from the performance during last year's Euros tournament have fully unwound. The group’s shares were down by more than 7.8%.

“Recruitment group Harvey Nash was an early riser after confirming it is on track and ahead of last year despite geo-political headwinds. A number of acquisitions are being actively considered and the immediate outlook is positive, with the key measure of contractor work in progress being comfortably ahead of last year. Measures have already been taken which will reduce ongoing trading costs by around £1m and further cost saving actions are planned. Harvey Nash’s shares were up by over 2.6%.

“Revenues at digital estate agent Purplebricks soared to £46.7m in the year to the end of April from £18.6m last time and operating losses fell to £6.0m from £11.9m. The group’s UK business made its first full year operating profit while the fledgling Australian arm recorded a loss of £6.1m. Purplebricks has more than 20,000 positive reviews on the independent review site Trustpilot and retained its rating of ‘excellent’. Its goal is to become the no.1 estate agent in the UK for both listings and sales.”

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