Market Outlook: Eyes on the Fed as UK earnings season kicks off, Barclays, Next & more

Like its US counterparts, the lender was boosted by a stand-out performance from its investment banking operations during the second quarter, which offset declines in its consumer businesses over the course of the first half. That cushioned the blow of £3.7bn in impairment charges for bad debts, although pre-tax profits were still down more than half.

Next now anticipates making a full-year pre-tax profit of £195m, with a sales decline of 28 per cent being "much better than expected". Next had previously forecast a drop of 30 to 40 per cent.

Together with French company Sanofi, the pharma group has agreed to provide 60m doses of a potential Covid-19 vaccine to the UK government. Early-stage trials are expected to start in September. GSK's half-year numbers are expected later today.

A fall in completions of more than half during the first half of the year meant the housebuilder swung to a pre-tax loss of £30m, which was exacerbated by £39m in costs related to dealing with the pandemic. During the nine weeks since construction and sales sites reopened, the sales rate has improved to 0.7 per outlet per week, from 0.3 during lockdown.

Underlying operating profits grew by 6 per cent in the first half, as the company provided more funeral services during the pandemic. Average income per funeral however fell further, as client choices were restricted because of coronavirus.

The student property developer swung into an interim pre-tax loss of £74m, which was driven by a valuation loss of £138m caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Unite raised £300m in June to pay down debt and invest in university partnerships.

The engineer's interim pre-tax profits fell 41 per cent to £63m. Weir, which is looking to reduce its exposure to oil and gas, experienced just a 6 per cent decline in orders in its minerals division, with around three-quarters of revenues being recurring. Oil and gas revenues dropped 48 per cent, however.

Adjusted cash profits grew by 30 per cent in the first half to £179m, led by £34m in capacity payments following the re-establishment of the UK capacity market.

Adjusted operating profit dropped by almost a quarter in the first half, as coronavirus led to a fall in new deals and the early termination of placements by clients operating in vulnerable sectors.

Revenue dropped by 9 per cent in the six months to 30 June, to €4.2bn (£3.8bn), while cash profits (Ebitda) tumbled by 13 per cent to €735m. This reflects the impact of Covid-19 and a drop in box prices. The final 80.9¢ dividend for 2019 was cancelled in April, but it will now be paid as the interim dividend instead.

Operating profits landed at $172m for the first half – lower than market consensus estimates of $225m. The medical devices group was badly hit during the second quarter by a pause on elective procedures.