This report is not a personal recommendation and does not take into account your personal circumstances or appetite for risk.
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Bunzl PLC | 2,366.0 | 3.4% |
| Experian PLC | 3,532.0 | 2.5% |
| London Stock Exchange Group PLC | 11,610.0 | 2.2% |
| Vodafone Group PLC | 72.0 | 2.1% |
| Babcock International Group PLC | 756.0 | 2.1% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| DCC PLC | 4,754.0 | -4.5% |
| Entain PLC | 551.5 | -3.2% |
| Rentokil Initial PLC | 342.8 | -2.1% |
| Polar Capital Technology Trust PLC | 266.5 | -1.7% |
| Diploma PLC | 3,786.0 | -1.6% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 Year |
| UK 100 INDEX | 8,329 | 0.6% | 3.8% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 38,985 | 2.1% | 2.6% |
| DAX INDEX | 21,294 | 0.4% | 19.2% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 34,221 | -0.2% | -8.9% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 7,817 | 0.0% | 1.7% |
| Commodities | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 64.42 | 2.12% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 67.50 | 1.87% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 3,396 | -0.8% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 490 | 2.5% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 called to open +107 points this morning at 8,436. The UK 100 looks set to open sharply higher this morning, this comes after US Treasurer said yesterday that the trade war with China was not “sustainable” and a suggestion at a possible de-escalation of Chinese tariffs.
Stateside yesterday saw the Dow Jones rise 1,016.57 points, or 2.66%, to close at 39,186.98. The S&P gained 2.51% and settled at 5,287.76, while the Nasdaq rose 2.71% to end at 16,300.42.
Asian stock markets mostly advanced on Wednesday, buoyed by investor relief after U.S. President Donald Trump signaled he has no intention of removing the Federal Reserve Chair. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.7% in morning trading to 34,797.22. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.6% to 7,943.00. South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.2% to 2,515.19. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.7% to 21,927.92, while the Shanghai Composite (000888.SS) was little changed, down less than 0.1% at 3,298.33. Trump had previously said he could fire Fed chair Jerome Powell after the Fed paused cuts to short-term interest rates. But Trump told reporters Tuesday, “I have no intention of firing him.”
Croda International reported first quarter Group sales of 442 million pounds, up 8% from prior year and up 9% at constant currency. The Group said overall, adjusted profit before tax in the first quarter was in line with its expectations. Croda International said the Group’s encouraging start to the year means that 2025 outlook is unchanged. The Group continues to expect to deliver 265 million pounds to 295 million pounds of adjusted profit before tax at constant currency. Croda will report half year 2025 results on 29 July 2025.
Quilter has reported an 181% increase in core net inflows in Q1 compared to last year, due to lower year-on-year outflows. In a quarterly trading update, the firm said core net inflows for the first three months of 2025 stood at £2.28bn, 181% higher than Q1 in 2024 and 16% higher than the record fourth quarter of 2024. The high net worth segment delivered £119m net inflows, while the platform business saw £2.29bn with the IFA channel in this segment seeing significantly higher new flows compared to last year. Group assets under management and administration (AUMA) reached £119.6bn by the end of March, in line with the £119.4bn reported at the end of 2025. This reflects reported net inflows of 7% of opening AUMA.
Reckitt Benckiser, the maker of Dettol and Lysol cleaning products, on Wednesday missed first-quarter like-for-like net sales growth estimates, as fewer people bought its products in Europe and North America. The company maintained its full-year outlook and expects like-for-like net sales growth of 2%-4%.
THG notes the recent media speculation surrounding Myprotein and confirms that it received and rejected a wholly unsolicited, largely unfunded, highly conditional and non-binding proposal from Selkirk to acquire Myprotein. The Proposal ascribed a headline value to Myprotein of £400m – £600m on a cash-free, debt-free basis. The majority of the consideration offered was in the form of newly issued Selkirk shares, and the remainder of the consideration would have been payable in cash from a new equity and debt issuance, which was largely unfunded and without appropriate detail on its source. The Board considered that the Proposal fundamentally undervalued Myprotein and its prospects, and in addition carried significant execution complexity and risks, in particular the ability of Selkirk to raise sufficient funding. On this basis, the Proposal was unequivocally rejected by the Board. THG confirms that there has been no further engagement with Selkirk since the Proposal was rejected. Following the Ingenuity demerger on 2 January 2025 and its recent successful refinancing, the company has reduced its gross and net debt, secured long-term banking facilities and is focused on executing its growth and cash generation strategy. The Group’s preliminary results and Q1 trading update are expected to be announced on or around 30 April 2025.
UK
Quilter (QLT)
US
AT&T (T) PMO
Boeing (BA) PMO
CME Group (CME) PMO
GE Aerospace (GE) PMO
Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) PMO
International Business Machines (IBM) AMC
QuantumScape (QS) AMC
ServiceNow (NOW) AMC
Philip Morris International (PM) PMO
Newmont (NEM) AMC
Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) PMO
UK
AJ Bell (AJB)
ASOS (ASC)
Inchcape (INCH)
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP)*
RELX (REL)
Spirent Communications (SPT)*
St James’s Place (STJ)
Unilever (ULVR)
US
Merck & Co (MRK) PMO
PepsiCo (PEP) PMO
Procter & Gamble (PG) PMO
Willis Towers Watson (WTW) PMO
Alphabet Inc (GOOG) E
Gilead Sciences (GILD) AMC
Intel Corp (INTC) AMC
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) PMO
US IMF Meeting
German PMI
EU PMI
UK PMI
German 10-y Bond Auction
BoE’s Pill speech
Fed’s Goolsbee speech
US PMI
BoE’s Governor Bailey speech
BoE’s Breeden speech
Fed’s Beige Book
UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 24th April 2025:
Haleon
Hiscox
Rightmove
Spirax Group
Legal & General Group
UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 24th April 2025:
Foresight Solar Fund
ME Group International
Bankers Investment Trust
Hammerson
Morgan Sindall Group
PPHE Hotel Group
Drax Group
Derwent London
Shaftesbury Capital
Bakkavor Group
Vesuvius
Kier Group
Rotork
Bridgepoint Group
Bodycote
Haworth Trust
Alpha Group International
International Public Partners
Supermarket Income REIT
City of London Investment Trust
For any help you may require placing trades or in terms of market information, put a call in to our trading floor – it’s all part of the service.
This research is produced by Accendo Markets Limited. Research produced and disseminated by Accendo Markets is classified as non-independent research, and is therefore a marketing communication. This investment research has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote its independence and it is not subject to the prohibition on dealing ahead of the dissemination of investment research. This research does not constitute a personal recommendation or offer to enter into a transaction or an investment, and is produced and distributed for information purposes only.
Accendo Markets considers opinions and information contained within the research to be valid when published, and gives no warranty as to the investments referred to in this material. The income from the investments referred to may go down as well as up, and investors may realise losses on investments. The past performance of a particular investment is not necessarily a guide to its future performance.