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Blue chip stock indices in London, Paris and Frankfurt were higher at Tuesday midday, while the Office for National Statistics announced a two-week delay in the publication of UK retail sales; meanwhile the US dollar was relatively steady. The number of companies going bust across England and Wales remained elevated last month, new data shows, as pressures intensify for firms grappling with higher costs. Official data from the Insolvency Service showed there were 2,081 company insolvencies in July, edging up by 1% compared with June. The number of compulsory liquidations was slightly higher than in June and up 11% compared with the same month in 2024. Compulsory liquidations happen when a company is forced to close when it cannot pay money owed to creditors. July’s figure was also a quarter higher than the monthly average across 2024, the data showed. The level of firms facing insolvency has remained elevated since reaching a 30-year annual high in 2023. Experts said firms are being challenged by ‘relentless uncertainty’ in the global economic environment. Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics has said it was delaying the release of UK retail sales figures, which were due to be published on Friday, so it can carry out further ‘quality assurance’ work on the data. The UK’s statistics agency said retail sales figures for July will now to be released on September 5, two weeks later than previously planned. An ONS spokesperson told the Financial Times that further information would be provided when the full data was released. It is the latest setback for the ONS which had to correct April’s consumer price index after finding an error stemming from a vehicle excise duty calculation. The FTSE 100 index was up 9.78 points, 0.2%, at 9,177.52. The FTSE 250 was up 90.77 points, 0.2%, at 21,840.34, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.71 points, 0.2%, at 762.87. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 919.99, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.4% at 19,203.70, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.3% at 17,115.73. On the FTSE 250, Cranswick was up 1.4%, despite Tesco and Asda Stores suspending supplies from one of the Hull, England-based meat producer’s pig farms. The Mail on Sunday reported allegations of animal cruelty at Somerby Top Farm in Lincolnshire, following ten months of covert filming by an animal rights group. Cranswick’s shares previously plummeted in May after UK supermarkets suspended supplies from another Lincolnshire farm, where workers also appeared to have been filmed abusing the pigs. On AIM, Power Metal Resources gained 11%, while Guardian Metal Resources rose 4.3%. Minerals explorer Power Metal has sold its entire remaining stake in Nevada-focused tungsten explorer Guardian Metal. An investment fund managed by Duquesne Family Office LLC bought the 24.7 million Guardian Metal shares for £13.6 million, or 55 pence each, increasing Duquesne’s stake to 14.8%. Power Metal noted that its original investment in Guardian Metal was £1.9 million, and it sold its holding in two disposals worth £22.8 million in total, a nearly 12 times return. Tribal Group continued to lead AIM at midday, up 21%, after it reported that pretax profit rose to £5.6 million in the six months to June 30 from £1.0 million the year prior, although revenue only grew 0.9% to £45.3 million. The Bristol, England-based educational software and services provider said it is ‘increasingly positive’ about delivering full year results ahead of current market expectations. These are for revenue of £89.9 million, adjusted Ebitda of £14.6 million and net debt of £4.9 million. At the other end, Aptamer lost 8.5%. The synthetic binder developer said it intends to exercise warrants over a total of 36.0 million new shares at 0.2p each, raising £72,000. Helium One Global lost 7.4%. The helium explorer and project developer will be issuing 199.7 million new shares, having received conversion notices worth £1.0 million in total. The conversion price of 0.5007p per share represents a discount of around 20% to the stock’s closing mid-price on Friday. In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.8%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.3%. The eurozone’s balance of payment’s surplus rose in June, figures from the European Central Bank showed. The single currency area’s current account recorded a €35.83 billion surplus in June, up 13% from €31.76 billion in May but down 28% from €49.71 billion the year before. This was ahead of FXStreet-cited market consensus, which had expected a decline to €30.3 billion. Over the 12 months to June, the current account surplus reached €318 billion, equal to 2.0% of the eurozone’s gross domestic product. This compared with €386 billion, or 2.6% of GDP, a year earlier. The pound was quoted at $1.3523 at midday on Tuesday in London, up compared to $1.3517 at the equities close on Monday. The euro stood at $1.1686, up against $1.1667. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JP¥147.71 compared to JP¥146.96. ‘The US dollar was relatively steady on Tuesday, with investors positioning ahead of the Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole symposium later this week,’ commented Exness analyst Inki Cho. ‘Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak and could provide fresh signals on the path of interest rates. A more cautious approach could underpin the greenback, while doveish remarks would likely place renewed selling pressure.’ Stocks in New York were called lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called down 0.1%, the S&P 500 index down 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.1%. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.33%, narrowing from 4.35%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.93%, narrowing from 4.95%. Brent oil was quoted lower at $65.80 a barrel at midday in London on Tuesday from $66.07 late Monday. Gold was quoted higher at $3,342.56 an ounce against $3,334.83. ‘However, gold’s upside potential could be limited,’ commented Traze analyst Osama Al Saifi. ‘US President Donald Trump signalled progress in diplomatic efforts after meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. ‘Hopes of arranging a trilateral summit raised cautious optimism over a potential framework for peace, which could weigh on gold prices.’ Al Saifi also noted Hamas’ acceptance of a ceasefire proposal, and the inauguration of Uganda’s first large-scale gold mine. Still to come on Tuesday’s economic calendar is Canada’s consumer price index read and data on US building permits. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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