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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Easyjet PLC | 560.0 | 3.2% |
| International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. | 331.6 | 2.6% |
| Fresnillo PLC | 1,026.0 | 2.6% |
| Tesco PLC | 371.1 | 2.3% |
| Imperial Brands PLC | 2,756.0 | 1.9% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| BP PLC | 365.5 | -2.0% |
| Spirax Group PLC | 5,980.0 | -1.9% |
| JD Sports Fashion PLC | 91.2 | -1.6% |
| Melrose Industries PLC | 458.0 | -1.6% |
| Pershing Square Holdings LTD | 3,740.0 | -1.5% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 Year |
| UK 100 INDEX | 8,699 | 0.2% | 3.3% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 42,792 | 0.3% | 7.5% |
| DAX INDEX | 23,935 | 0.7% | 27.5% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 37,495 | 0.0% | -3.8% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 8,343 | 0.6% | 6.1% |
| Commodities | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 62.72 | 0.05% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 65.26 | -0.43% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 3,213 | -0.5% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 462 | -1.0% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 called to open +20 points this morning at 8,719. The UK 100 looks set to open higher this morning, adding to yesterdays gains, in the process the UK’s blue-chip index looks set to open above 8700 for the first time since late March.
The S&P posted a slim gain on Monday as Treasury yields came off their highs and investors sought to look past Moody’s downgrade of the United States’ credit rating. The benchmark added 0.09% and closed at 5,963.60, marking its sixth consecutive winning session. The Nasdaq inched up 0.02% to end at 19,215.46. The Dow Jones rose 137.33 points, or 0.32%, and settled at 42,792.07. The 30-stock index was aided by a rebound in UnitedHealth, which saw an 8% jump after a recent bout of hard selling.
Asia markets are also trading higher today, with the Shanghai Composite up 0.4% following the decision of China’s central bank to cut a key lending rate for the first time in seven months. The Hang Seng index is 1.2% higher and the Nikkei 225 up 0.3%, while the FTSE 100 index is seen about 0.4% higher after lifting 14.75 points to 8699.31 yesterday.
Greggs said on Tuesday sales growth improved as its first half progressed helped by better trading conditions and it kept its expectations for the full year. Greggs, famous for its sausage rolls, steak bakes, vegan alternatives and sweet treats, said like-for-like sales rose 2.9% in the first 20 weeks of the year having disappointed with a rise of 1.7% in the first nine weeks which it blamed on a tough macroeconomic backdrop.
SSP Group grew across a number of business lines in its half-year report as revenue soared, despite some headwinds in Europe. The FTSE 250 firm recorded £45m in operating profit – up 20% growth from the first six months of 2024. This was driven by a 9% jump in group revenue to £1.7bn, which helped offset operating costs of £1.6bn. In the UK sales were up 9%, which drove its operating profit margin – which measures how much profit a company makes from its core business operations before considering taxes and interest payments – up 120 basis points year-on-year.
Vodafone today reported annual earnings in line with guidance, with a weaker performance in Germany offset by trading across the rest of Europe and Africa. Total revenues increased by 2% to 37.4 billion euros, with service revenues up by 5.1% on an organic basis. Adjusted earnings rose by 2.5% to 10.9 billion euros. The figures follow a two-year restructuring programme, under which Vodafone has reshaped its operating footprint through the sale of businesses in Spain and Italy and its UK merger with Three. Chief executive Margherita Della Valle today said the changes have positioned the telecoms group for “multi-year growth”. Guidance for the current financial year points to adjusted earnings between 11 billion and 11.3 billion euros and free cash flow in the range of 2.6-2.8 billion euros. Vodafone added: “The current macroeconomic climate presents significant uncertainties, particularly on trade and foreign exchange rates, which may impact our financial performance in the year ahead.” As expected, Vodafone announced a total dividend for the year of 4.5 euro cents. This includes plans to pay 2.25 euro cents on 1 August.
UK
Cranswick (CWK)
SSP Group (SSPG)
Vodafone Group (VOD)
Greggs (GRG)
Smiths Group (SMIN)
Diploma (DPLM)
US
The Home Depot Inc (HD) PMO
Palo Alto Networks (PANW) AMC
UK
Marks & Spencer (MKS)
Intermediate Capital Group plc (ICG)
SSE (SSE)
Currys (CURY)
JD Sports (JD)
US
Baidu (BIDU) PMO
Medtronic (MDT) PMO
XPeng Inc ADR (XPEV) PMO
Snowflake Inc (SNOW) AMC
Zoom Communications Inc (ZM) AMC
Chinese PBoC Interest Rate Decision
German Producer Price Index
BoE’s Pill speech
Fed’s Musalem speech
UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 22nd May 2025:
DCC
Kingfisher
Bunzl
Whitbread
Imperial Brands
UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 22nd May 2025:
RHI Magnesita N.V.
NextEnergy Solar Fund
Bluefield Solar Income Fund
Keller Group
HICL Infastructure
Tritax Big Box REIT
Grainger
Spire Healthcare Group
JPMorgan Global Growth & Income
Bellway
BlackRock Greater European Inv Trust
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