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The FTSE 100 was down slightly in early trading, falling by 0.2% to 6,033 at 8:30am.
This morning, Rolls-Royce reported heavy operating losses for the first half of 2020 from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The aerospace and engineering company reported a pre-tax loss of £5.4bn, including a £2.6bn non-cash loss from the revaluation of its foreign currency hedge book. The underlying pre-tax loss was £3.2bn.
Its shares were down 5.69% to £2.38 following the news.
Marketing agency WPP is to pay an interim dividend of 10p after scrapping its final dividend for 2019, despite a £2.7bn pre-tax loss in the first half of the year.
Shares rose by 4.78% this morning to £6.54.
Hays scrapped its final dividend after reporting a fall in annual profit on lower net fees, though the recruitment company said it had since seen a modest improvement amid easing lockdown restrictions. For the year ended 30 June, pre-tax profit fell 63% to £86.3m on-year as net fees slipped 12% to £996.2m.
Hays' share price was up 0.77% to £1.18 this morning.
Technical products and services provider Diploma said performance had started to recover following coronavirus-led weakness in the third quarter of the year. The group's third quarter, running from April to June 2020, was impacted by the COVID-19 crisis with revenues down 12% on a reported basis and down 21% on an underlying basis.
Shares were trading at £19.54, down by 0.15%.
Cruise operator Carnival said it was extending its pause of operations in Australia through December owing to the continued progression of COVID-19. The news nudged shares lower by 1.42% to £9.55.
Gambling company Flutter Entertainment said it had seen 'encouraging' performance in the second half of the year after reporting a slump in first-half profit as higher costs offset a rise in revenue.
For the six months ended 30 June 2020, pre-tax profit fell 70% to £24m, while revenue increased 49% to £1.5bn.
Its shares were up by 1.95% this morning to £128.25 each.
Builders merchants group Grafton pulled its dividend after reporting a sharp decline in first-half profit as revenue fell owing to the impact of the pandemic.
For the six months ended 30 June, pre-tax profit fell 76% to £20.5m on-year as revenue slipped 29% to £1.06bn.
However, shares were boosted by 8.51% to £8.10 in early trading.
Anglo Pacific maintained its dividend despite swinging to a first-half loss as royalty revenue was hurt by the 'significant decrease' in coal prices during the second-quarter caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Its shares were trading at £1.07 this morning, up by 1.33%.
Gaming content developer and licensor Gaming Realms has secured its first multi-state direct-integration agreement with its existing partner Rush Street Interactive as it continues to focus on increasing its presence in the US. The news boosted its shares by more than 4% to £0.23.
Software company Sopheon recorded first-half revenue of $13.9m - an increase on 2019 despite headwinds from the pandemic.
However, its share price dropped 8.15% in early trading to £8.45.
Technology company ProPhotonix Limited swung back into profit in 2019, according to its financial results - but has warned of considerable uncertainty ahead due to the impact of Covid-19.
Its share price was down 3.85% to just over £0.01.
Biotechnology company PureTech Health generated $245m of cash in the first half of 2020 through the sales of stakes in subsidiaries. Its H1 income after tax of $123.7m was nearly four times the level recorded in the first half of 2019.
Its shares were trading at £2.77, up by 1.47%.