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Stocks in London were mostly lower on Thursday morning ahead of US personal consumption expenditures and weekly jobless as well as GDP data, as the prices of gold and oil fell. The FTSE 100 index opened down 4.68 points at 10,456.95. The FTSE 250 was up 70.86 points, 0.3%, at 23,172.38, and the AIM all-share was down 1.6 points, 0.2%, at 775.80. The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 1,036.98, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 19,843.00, and the Cboe small companies was down marginally at 18,057.83. Top US diplomat Marco Rubio was in Bahrain on Thursday after promising Gulf allies that Washington would protect their interests as it seeks to hammer out a final settlement to end the war with Iran. The initial US-Iran deal, which sets out a 60-day negotiating process aimed at reaching a long-term agreement, failed to address Gulf nations’ long-standing concerns about Iran’s missile program and regional proxies. But Rubio insisted Washington was ‘not going to do anything that undermines the security of our allies’. Rubio and Pakistan said technical talks between the US and Iran were expected to resume in the coming days. In the UK, Chancellor Rachel Reeves says she is ‘backing’ Andy Burnham to be the UK’s next prime minister amid speculation she could be replaced if he takes office. Speaking to the BBC, Reeves would not be drawn on reports that she may accept another role. Back on the London Stock Exchange, 3i Group led the FTSE 100, up 11%. The private equity investor said non-food discount retailer Action, in which it has a 65% stake as of last month, has delivered 3.3% like-for-like sales growth for the year to date as of June 21 and has opened 105 new stores, on track with its 2026 growth plans. 3i added that Action ‘is set for a good quarter of profit growth,’ and that the rest of the private equity portfolio ‘continues to demonstrate good momentum in line with our expectations.’ Moonpig led the FTSE 250, up 9.8% after reporting its annual results. The greeting cards retailer said revenue increased 6.5% to £373.0 million from £350.1 million, while adjusted pretax profit rose 13% to £76.5 million from £67.5 million. Its total dividend increased 25% to 3.75 pence per share, and it said its expectations for the current year remain unchanged. On AIM, Volex was up 2.1%. The power and data transmission products manufacturer reported ‘record’ revenue of $1.24 billion for the year ended March 31, up 14% on-year from $1.09 billion. Pretax profit jumped 45% to $93.4 million from $64.3 million. Volex increased its final dividend by 6.7% to 3.2p from 3.0p, and said it is confident in delivering on medium-term targets set out in April. Among small-caps, Halfords was up 13%. The motoring and cycling retailer’s revenue for the 52 weeks ended March 27 rose 2.9% to £1.76 billion from £1.72 billion the prior year. Underlying pretax profit increased 4.1% to £45.4 million from £43.6 million, and Halfords recommends a total dividend of 9.0p, up from 8.8p. For financial 2027, it expects underlying pretax profit towards the top end of its consensus range of £45.7 million to £52.3 million. In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.6%. Export expectations in Germany improved slightly in June, survey results from the ifo Institute showed. The ifo index measuring sentiment in the German export sector rose to minus 3.7 points in June from minus 5.7 points in May. Survey respondents in electronics expressed optimism for an increase in exports, as did those in the beverage, pharmaceutical, and glass and ceramics industries. The pound was quoted higher at $1.3179 early Thursday, compared to $1.3167 Wednesday. Against the euro, sterling rose to €1.1603 from €1.1591 a day prior. The euro stood lower at $1.1354, against $1.1358. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JP¥161.83 compared to JP¥161.76. In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 4.6%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.3%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.7%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was down 0.7%. In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.4%, the S&P 500 down 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.4%. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.42%, widening from 4.41%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted unchanged at 4.86%. Brent oil was quoted lower at $72.78 a barrel early in London on Thursday from $73.45 late Wednesday. Gold was quoted lower at $3,973.95 an ounce against $4,014.40. Still to come on Thursday’s economic calendar, there are several US releases, including weekly jobless, personal consumption expenditures and durable goods orders data. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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