# Strong earnings, dividend bonanza push FTSE 100 higher
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2021-08-03
Category: INVESTING
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/investing
Meta Title: FTSE 100 Gains on Upbeat Earnings, BP's 5.8% Rise
Meta Description: London's FTSE 100 edged up 0.4% on upbeat earnings, but fears of rising Delta variant cases globally temper gains. Oil stocks like BP rose, while
URL: https://financedigest.com/strong-earnings-dividend-bonanza-push-ftse-100-higherhtml

![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/2021-08-03t073635z2lynxmpeh720dartroptp4stocks-trading-europe-1736838073892-compressed.jpg)

By Shashank Nayar and Amal S

(Reuters) -London’s FTSE 100 ended higher on Tuesday as a set of upbeat earnings results supported optimism about a faster economic recovery, although gains were checked by concerns over rising Delta virus variant cases globally.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 edged up 0.4% as oil stocks rose. BP was the top FTSE 100 gainer with a rise of 5.8% as it said it would lift its dividend by 4% and ramp up [share buybacks after second-quarter profits rose to $2.8 billion](https://www.financedigest.com/abb-to-launch-1-billion-share-buyback-on-april-3.html "ABB to launch  billion share buyback on April 3").

They say that cash is king, and investors are certainly cheering BP’s decision to not only increase its dividend but [launch a fresh share buyback,”](https://www.financedigest.com/novartis-launches-new-11-billion-share-buyback.html "Novartis launches new  billion share buyback") said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

The question of whether the buybacks actually make any lasting difference has to be addressed, especially in light of the argument that BP [needs to invest](https://www.financedigest.com/5-reasons-why-women-need-to-get-into-property-investing.html "5 Reasons why women need to get into property investing") in its core operations.

The [FTSE 100 has gained](https://www.financedigest.com/londons-ftse-100-edges-higher-set-for-fourth-weekly-gain.html "London’s FTSE 100 edges higher, set for fourth weekly gain") 10% so far this year on support from a dovish central bank and re-opening optimism. However, it has traded range-bound near its 7,000 level since April this year on fears that rising coronavirus infections and a jump in [inflation could lead to less accommodative central bank](https://www.financedigest.com/swiss-national-bank-says-inflation-battle-not-yet-won.html "Swiss National Bank says inflation battle not yet won") policies.

Investors have their eyes [set on the Bank of England’s](https://www.financedigest.com/bank-of-england-set-to-hike-to-4-as-rate-peak-looms.html "Bank of England set to hike to 4% as rate peak looms") policy meeting on Thursday, seeking cues on the central bank’s stance regarding rising prices.

Both [oil stocks](https://www.financedigest.com/oil-stocks-thrust-london-shares-to-positive-2023-start.html "Oil stocks thrust London shares to positive 2023 start") and base metal miners were up 3% and 1.4% respectively while weakness in travel-related stocks, down 1.7%, capped further gains on the FTSE 100 index.

The domestically focused mid-cap index rose 0.5%, with non-life insurance [stocks Direct Line and Hiscox among top gainers following strong](https://www.financedigest.com/stocks-fall-as-strong-u-s-payrolls-muddies-rate-bets.html "Stocks fall as strong U.S. payrolls muddies rate bets") earnings.

Standard Chartered PLC jumped 1.3% after it [posted a higher-than-expected 57% jump in first-half pretax profit and announced a $250 million share buyback and a 3-cents-per-share interim dividend](https://www.financedigest.com/deutsche-post-raises-annual-dividend-warns-of-challenging-2023.html "Deutsche Post raises annual dividend; warns of challenging 2023") payout.

Travis Perkins fell 1.1% despite raising its 2021 earnings [outlook and announcing a special dividend](https://www.financedigest.com/lockmaker-assa-abloy-boosts-dividend-but-wary-on-outlook.html "Lockmaker Assa Abloy boosts dividend, but wary on outlook") of 35 pence per share, while TP ICAP dropped 1.6% after its half-year revenue slipped 5%.

(Reporting by Shashank Nayar and Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Mark Heinrich)


---
This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more.
---