Shares in shipbroking giant Clarksons climbed by close to one tenth this morning after its stock was upgraded by Liberum Capital following a confidence-boosting first half report.

Clarksons recorded a first half underlying profit of £19.2m, down from £24.5m at the same stage in 2017.

However, the results are not a surprise given a profit warning in April and Clarksons chief executive Andi Case notes trading conditions improved in the second quarter and the positive trend is likely to continue through this year.