Burberry, Barratt, Wetherspoon

The FTSE100 opened on the front foot after Bank of England deputy governor Ben Broadbent said he was not ready to make a decision to raise interest rates,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

Luxury fashion group Burberry led the blue-chip board in early trading after a strong first quarter. The group’s strength in mainland China drove improved, mid-single-digit percentage growth in the Asia Pacific region while high single-digit percentage growth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa was led by its performance in the UK. Burberry’s shares were up by over 3%.

House-builder Barratt Developments was an early riser following a bullish update on its year ended 30 June. Barratt expects full-year profits to increase to around £765m, up from £682.3m and ahead of market forecasts. Britain’s biggest house-builder is doing its bit to help with completions increasing to its highest level for nine years. Market conditions remain supportive, with attractive mortgage financing and support of Help to Buy driving strong consumer demand and prices continue to climb with the average selling price up by 5.9% at £275,000. Barratt’s shares were up by more than 1.5%.

Pub group JD Wetherspoon’s like-for-like sales for the 11 weeks to 9 July increased by 5.3%, helped by unusually good weather. The group, though, needs like-for-like sales to remain around 3-4% higher if it is to maintain profits at this year's levels in its next financial year. Wetherspoon’s shares were up by over 1.0% in early trading.

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