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Stocks in London were mostly higher on Friday morning despite pub chain Wetherspoon suffering a share fall as it noted cost pressures; meanwhile Princes Group which is behind the Napolina and Flora brands plans to list in London. The FTSE 100 index opened up 38.82 points, 0.4%, at 9,466.55. The FTSE 250 was up 131.60 points, 0.6%, at 22,179.06, and the AIM All-Share was up 3.17 points, 0.4%, at 792.12. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 946.52, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.6% at 19,407.12, and the Cboe Small Companies was 0.3% higher at 17,757.78. In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.2% higher. Consumer staples company Princes Group said it intends to float on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. The Liverpool, England-based firm is positioning itself as an ‘international platform’ in the UK and European food and beverage market, and expects to be eligible for the FTSE UK indices immediately following admission. Princes reported £2.1 billion in pro forma revenue in 2024, and pro forma adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £122.3 million. Pro revenue was GBP 964.2 million in the first half of 2025, the firm added. The planned trading launch comes as the company pursues a ‘tangible’ mergers & acquisitions pipeline, and ‘reflects long-term confidence in business,’ Princes said. Sterling was at $1.3456, up from $1.3415 at the London equities close on Thursday. The euro traded at $1.1731, up from $1.1697 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was slightly higher at JP¥147.42 versus JP¥147.37. In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 1.9%. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 0.6%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney gained 0.5%. Financial markets are closed in China on Friday for National Day. In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.2%, the S&P 500 gained 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.4% higher. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury narrowed to 4.10% on Friday from 4.11% on Thursday. The yield on the 30-year was unchanged at 4.70%. In London, Diploma gained 3.4% after RBC raised it to ’outperform’ from ’underperform’ with a price target of 6,000p from 4,500p. RBC said over the next 12 months, it sees the supplier of specialised technical products and services as one of the ‘safest’ growth names in the wider sector, with ‘limited value’ elsewhere at the ‘quality end’. Schroders climbed 3.4%. Citigroup raised the financial services firm to a ’buy’ rating from ’neutral’, with a price target of 435 pence, up from 420p. The bank pointed out Diploma’s track record in terms of organic growth, earnings before interest, tax and amortisation margins, cash conversion and importantly, return on invested capital, speaks for itself. At the other end of the index, Tesco fell 1.2% as the stock retreated slightly after gaining 5.3% on Thursday, after the retailer reported a strong set of results. On the FTSE 250 index, JD Wetherspoon fell 3.8% as it reported a rise in annual earnings, but noted that sales growth has eased in recent weeks and cost hikes ‘may have a bearing’ on its new financial year. The Watford-based pub firm currently expects a ‘reasonable outcome’ for the new year, however. Wetherspoon achieved a 10% pretax profit hike to £81.4 million in the year ended July 27, up from £73.9 million. Revenue improved 4.5% to £2.13 billion from £2.04 billion. It represents the firm’s best pretax profit outcome since financial 2019, before the onset of Covid-19. Total sales, meanwhile, are up 17% compared to that pre-pandemic year. ‘However, costs of energy and wages, which have a heavy influence on all other input prices, rose more than sales, so that profits and earnings, while having made a strong recovery, are still below pre-pandemic levels,’ the firm explained. On the AIM market, ECR Minerals rose 7.0%. The Australia-focused gold exploration and development company said it will move to finalise the acquisition of licence ML 3665, or the Raglan project, which is a fully permitted alluvial gold project and operation located near Raglan in Queensland, Australia. It said a visit to the site was ‘very satisfactory’ and provides confidence. Gold was higher at $3,864.30 an ounce early on Friday from $3,830.85 late Thursday. Brent oil was trading higher at $64.55 a barrel from $64.42. Still to come on Friday’s economic calendar is the UK composite PMI reading, due shortly. Later there will be readings from the US and Canada. September’s US employment report will not be released on Friday due to the ongoing US government shutdown. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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