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Stock prices in London were higher on Thursday midday ahead of a slew of US data including jobless figures and retail sales, following Xi-Trump talks in China after which Xi was invited to the White House in September. The FTSE 100 index was up 31.73 points, 0.3%, at 10,357.60. The FTSE 250 was up 143.26 points, 0.6%, at 22,671.64, and the AIM all-share was down 1.28 points, 0.2%, at 815.92. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.6% at 1,030.05, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.8% at 19,586.90, and the Cboe small companies was down 0.3% at 18,304.67. In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.6%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 1.3%. Geopolitics remained firmly in focus after the White House said US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had held a ‘good’ meeting and agreed that the Strait of Hormuz ‘must remain open’. Iran has largely blocked shipping through the vital waterway - through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas normally passes - since the outbreak of war with the US and Israel on February 28. ‘The two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy,’ the White House said. Following the talks, Trump said he had invited Xi to visit the White House on September 24. China is directly affected by the disruption. More than half of the crude imported by sea into China comes from the Middle East and mainly transits through the strait, according to maritime analytics firm Kpler. According to the White House readout, Xi expressed an interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China’s reliance on the strait in future. Beijing’s own statement on the meeting did not reference such an interest. For its part, the White House statement did not mention any discussions between the two leaders on Taiwan, the self-ruled island claimed by Beijing and a sensitive topic in US-China diplomacy. Brent oil was quoted at $105.71 a barrel at midday in London on Thursday, lower compared with $107.33 late Wednesday. The pound was quoted at $1.3512 midday Thursday, little changed from $1.3520 on Wednesday. Against the euro, sterling edged up to €1.1543 from €1.1542 a day prior. Across the Atlantic, stocks in New York were called higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called up 0.6%, the S&P 500 index up 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.2%. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.46%, narrowing from 4.50%, while the yield on the US 30-year Treasury eased to 5.03% from 5.05%. A slew of US data is due later in the session. Initial jobless claims are scheduled for 1330 BST, with consensus expecting 205,000, up from 200,000 the previous week. US retail sales are also due at 1330 BST, with markets forecasting a 0.5% month-on-month rise in April after a 1.7% increase in March. Export prices are expected to rise 1.1% month-on-month in April, following a 1.6% gain in March, while import prices are forecast to increase 1.0% after rising 0.8% previously. Back in London, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has delayed any move to launch a leadership challenge against Prime Minister Keir Starmer, according to the FT. Allies said his plans are on hold for now, though they claimed pressure on the prime minister to quit is intensifying. Starmer’s supporters argue Streeting has not secured the 81 MPs needed to trigger a formal contest. Meanwhile, The Telegraph reported that Streeting allies claimed Cabinet ministers will go to Downing Street in the afternoon and demand Starmer to resign. Attention has also turned to other potential contenders. Angela Rayner said she has been cleared by HM Revenue & Customs over a £40,000 unpaid tax issue, removing a possible obstacle to entering a contest, though she stopped short of confirming any bid. On the FTSE 100, Legal & General led the gainers, up 5.6%, followed by Standard Life, up 2.6%, and National Grid, up 2.2%, as the utility said it will invest £70 billion over five years as earnings rise. 3i Group was among the biggest fallers, down 13%, after the private equity investor said the second half of its financial year had been ‘challenging’. Burberry Group fell 4.0%, extending losses after its recent results update. On the FTSE 250, Spire Healthcare soared 46% after saying it has received a 250p-per-share takeover proposal from funds advised by Toscafund Asset Management LLP and would be minded to recommend the offer if a firm bid is made. The shares had closed at 150.40p on Wednesday. Spire said Toscafund, its second-largest shareholder, is undertaking confirmatory due diligence, and discussions remain at an early stage. At the bottom of the FTSE 250, PageGroup and Partners Group Private Equity were among the worst performers, down 5.0% and 4.0% respectively, as their shares traded ex-dividend. Among smaller caps, TheraCryf jumped 16% after reporting progress in its Ox-1 addiction programme. The drug development company said its Ox-1 blocker has shown potential for class-leading performance in binge eating disorder and added that the first toxicology species in the programme has been well tolerated. Gold was quoted at $4,700.47 an ounce, compared with $4,690.487 on Wednesday. Still to come on Thursday’s economic calendar are US weekly jobless claims, retail sales, export and import prices, business inventories for March and US EIA natural gas stocks. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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