Drinks, pensions and hotels

The headline index confounded forecasts of falls with a very modest increase in early trading. This was despite negative moves on Wall Street and in Asia overnight, ailing crude prices and the ongoing talks over Britain’s calls for EU reform.

“Coca-Cola HBC fizzed to the top of the blue-chip board after proposing an 11.1% dividend increase,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“The group’s volumes were up in 2015 with established markets returning to growth for the first time in five years. The group is faring less well in countries which rely heavily on oil revenues and its net sales were hit by foreign exchange headwinds. But investors were encouraged by volume growth and a significant improvement in margins.

“Pensions and insurance giant Standard Life also saw early gains after its operating profits were comfortably ahead of market forecasts. The group’s assets under administration have risen by 4% to £307.bn and its total dividend is 7.8% up on last time.

“Hotelier Millennium & Copthorne’s shares slumped after it slashed its dividend following a disappointing end to 2015. Concerns over terrorism, health advisory travel alerts and uncertainty over growth of the Chinese market all weighed on its performance – and investors will be mindful that these negative factors are likely to continue this year.”

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a personal recommendation or advice.