|
London’s blue chip index beat its European peers at Friday midday ahead of the US Michigan consumer sentiment index, while sterling, the euro and the yen all traded lower against the dollar. The FTSE 100 index was up 29.29 points, 0.3%, at 9,326.87. The FTSE 250 was up 13.00 points, 0.1%, at 21,706.75, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.27 points, 0.3%, at 769.37. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.4% at 935.06, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.2% at 19,015.28, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.3% at 17,156.10. ‘A lacklustre GDP figure is more relevant to the FTSE 250 than the FTSE 100 index given the former has a greater proportion of domestic-focused companies,’ said AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould. ‘It’s never a good look for a country to be stuck in the mud, and the GDP data will put even more pressure on chancellor Rachel Reeves to find a way to plug the gap in public finances without derailing the economy. ‘News the economy flatlined in July wasn’t a shock to investors as most economists hadn’t expected any growth. That‘s why the news didn’t cause a wobble on the UK stock market, with the FTSE 250 holding firm in early trading. However, the GDP result will do nothing to improve business sentiment, and ongoing uncertainty could lead more companies to take a cautious approach and that doesn’t bode well for UK domestic earnings and therefore share price growth.’ According to the Office for National Statistics, the UK economy tread water in July, an outcome in line with consensus, after gross domestic product advanced 0.4% in June from May. Deutsche Bank analyst Sanjay Raja believes the data is evidence of a ‘summer slowdown setting in’. The German bank had expected a decline for the month, however, so the reading was a little better than its forecast. Raja sees the UK economy growing around 1.2% this year, before picking up to 1.3% in the next. However, he sees risks ‘skewed one way: to the downside’. In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.5%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt lost 0.3%. EU countries on Friday agreed to prolong sanctions over the war in Ukraine for another six months on more than 2,500 Russian individuals and entities, including President Vladimir Putin. Ambassadors from the bloc’s 27 member states signed off on the move ahead of a deadline on Monday, after Hungary and Slovakia dropped demands to take a number of people off the blacklist, diplomats said. The sanctions which have to be renewed each six months were set to lapse next week if no deal was found. ‘We just extended our sanctions on Russia,’ EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote on X on Friday. She said Brussels was currently finalising work on a new package of sanctions ‘looking into additional curbs on Russian oil sales, shadow oil tankers, and banks’. Brent oil was quoted at $66.84 a barrel at midday in London on Friday, up from $66.42 late Thursday. Angle fell 23% around midday in London. The Guildford, England-based liquid biopsy company said, following talks with an unnamed ‘significant shareholder’, Chief Executive Officer Andrew Newland and Finance Director Ian Griffiths have stepped down from the board. ‘They remain committed and supportive of the company and intend to support the company with an orderly handover,’ Angle said. Big Technologies slipped 14%. The provider of electronic monitoring solutions reported new revelations against its former chief executive, including possible forgery of documents, which have ‘material’ adverse implications for its position in the Buddi litigation. Big Technologies said ‘further very serious matters that have come to light’ regarding the conduct of Sara Murray and persons associated with her. As a result, the company is seeking to expand its claim against Murray and others as part of a ‘strengthened case.’ The company said Murray has denied the allegations, although ‘no substantive explanation has been provided to date.’ Nonetheless, it has offered to Murray and others that the claims against them be addressed through alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation. At the other end, Atome jumped 24%. The low-carbon fertiliser developer has struck an offtake deal with Yara International, under which Yara will purchase the entire production from Villeta project. Crop nutrition firm Yara will commit to the purchase of 260,000 tonne-per-year low-carbon fertiliser production. The pound was quoted down at $1.3552 at midday on Friday in London, compared to $1.3578 at the equities close on Thursday. The euro stood lower at $1.1732, against $1.1743. Against the yen, the dollar was trading up at JP¥147.81 compared to JP¥147.06. Stocks in New York were called lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called down 0.2%, the S&P 500 index 0.1% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite broadly flat. OpenAI and Nvidia Corp are reportedly planning to unveil billions of dollars of investment into UK data centres when they accompany US President Donald Trump on his state visit next week. Sam Altman, the chief executive officer of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, and chipmaker Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang are understood to be working with London-based data centre business Nscale Global Holdings Ltd on the project, as first reported by Bloomberg. The bosses are said to be part of a delegation of US executives set to visit Britain, with the tech spending pledge expected to be one of a raft of UK investment announcements by American firms during Trump’s stay. It is thought the UK government would supply energy for the data centres project, with OpenAI offering access to its AI tools and Nvidia the chips used to power AI models. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.04%, widening from 4.01%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.65%, narrowing from 4.67%. ‘US equities closed at all-time highs on Thursday, with the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all setting new records. The rally was powered by continued strength in technology, with Tesla and Micron building on Oracle’s earlier surge to extend the week’s bullish momentum,’ commented Rostro analyst Joshua Mahony. ‘On the macro front, yesterday’s CPI release saw a concerning 0.4% rise in August, although this was overshadowed by a jump in jobless claims which rose to their highest level in nearly four years. With markets still pricing a 100% likelihood of a September rate cut, recent signs of a softening labour market have clearly overshadowed any inflation pressures to drive expectations of lower rates in the months to come. ‘However, we have seen the CME pricing for a 50bp cut drop from 12% to 7.5%, highlighting the fact that inflation remains a key concern that will likely stifle the chances of an oversized move from the Fed next week.’ Gold was quoted higher at $3,650.14 an ounce against $3,636.97. Still to come on Friday’s economic calendar, the US Michigan consumer sentiment index at 1500 BST. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
|
