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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Smith & Nephew PLC | 1,331.0 | 15.3% |
| Fresnillo PLC | 1,520.0 | 6.0% |
| Diageo PLC | 1,904.0 | 4.9% |
| Melrose Industries PLC | 575.0 | 4.9% |
| BP PLC | 417.5 | 2.8% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| RELX PLC | 3,814.0 | -2.3% |
| Lloyds Banking Group PLC | 80.8 | -2.2% |
| 3I Group PLC | 4,029.0 | -2.0% |
| Games Workshop Group PLC | 16,040.0 | -1.8% |
| Experian PLC | 3,859.0 | -1.8% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 Year |
| UK 100 INDEX | 9,143 | 0.2% | 13.9% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 44,112 | -0.1% | 13.1% |
| DAX INDEX | 23,846 | 0.4% | 37.4% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 40,813 | 0.7% | 17.6% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 8,844 | 0.8% | 15.1% |
| Copper (Comex) | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 65.56 | 0.61% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 68.07 | 0.64% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 3,377 | -0.1% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 440 | 0.4% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 called to open +36 points this morning at 9,178. The UK 100 looks set to open higher again this morning, building on the positive momentum seen from the UK’s blue-chip index.
In Asia this morning, most stocks indices are in green, with India’s Sensex again the exception, down 0.2%.
Stateside yesterday saw the broad market index dropped 0.49% and closed at 6,299.19, while the Nasdaq shed 0.65% to end at 20,916.55. The Dow Jones shed about 61.90 points, or 0.14%, settling at 44,111.74. The market has seen a whirlwind past few days, with the Dow falling more than 500 points Friday after the latest jobs report signalled that the labour market has been weakening for months. The blue-chip index then recovered those losses Monday, surging almost 600 points.
Ibstock reported strong volume growth in the first half of 2025, driven by market recovery, particularly in the new-build residential sector. Despite a decrease in profitability due to cost inflation and increased costs for restoring network capacity, the company remains optimistic about future growth. Strategic investments in network capacity and sustainable production technologies position Ibstock well for capitalizing on market recovery. The company anticipates further volume growth in the second half of the year and expects adjusted EBITDA for the full year to be between £77 million and £82 million. Ibstock is also making progress in its diversified growth strategy, with significant contributions expected from Ibstock Futures in the coming years.
Glencore reported a 14% drop in first-half adjusted core profit on Wednesday, weighed down by weaker coal prices, lower copper production, and operational challenges at some of its mines. The company, which had considered shifting its primary listing from London, said it will retain the listing in the UK, citing that a move to the United States would not add value for shareholders.
Legal & General today reported half-year core earnings per share growth at the top end of its targeted range of 6-9%. Operating profit beat City expectations following a 6% rise to £859 million. The performance was driven by L&G’s institutional retirement division, which improved operating profit by 11% to £618 million. Asset management fell by 6% to £202 million, reflecting the impact of market volatility and weakening of the US dollar. However, the division’s revenues rose 2% amid a continued pivot towards higher margin products. Total assets under management stood at £1.1 trillion, of which 43% is outside the UK. The retail arm’s profit rose 3% to £237 million after the customer base grew to 12.4 million and workplace pension assets surpassed £100 billion. An interim dividend of 6.12p a share is 2% higher than a year earlier, in line with L&G’s intention to return more than £5 billion to shareholders over the 2025-2027 period.
THG warned that underlying profits are likely to fall again this year, despite improved sales in the past two months for its nutrition and beauty arms. The owner of the Hut Group also said it has agreed to sell its Claremont Ingredients business to Italy’s Nactarome Group for £103 million, in order to cut debt, but is expected to reduce group EBITDA by £5 million in 2025 and £10 million in 2026. THG said adjusted EBITDA was roughly £24 million in the first half, down from £37.1 million a year ago. Second-half group adjusted EBITDA is expected to be around £50 million, bringing the full-year total to approximately £74 million, down from £92.1 million in 2024 and £111.3 million in 2023.
UK
3i Group (III)
4imprint Group (FOUR)
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CCH)
Glencore (GLEN)
Ibstock (IBST)
Legal & General Group (LGEN)
Quilter (QLT)
Hiscox (HSX)
US
McDonald’s Corp (MCD) PMO
Novo Nordisk (NVO) PMO
Shopify (SHOP) PMO
Uber Technologies (UBER) PMO
The Walt Disney Co (DIS) PMO
Unity Software (U) PMO
Airbnb (ABNB) AMC
Jackson Financial (JXN) AMC
Occidental Petroleum (OXY) AMC
UK
Harbour Energy (HBR)
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK)
Serco Group (SRP)
Flutter Entertainment (FLTR)
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG)
WPP (WPP)
US
Eli Lilly and Co (LLY) PMO
Merck & Co (MRK) PMO
Viatris Inc (VTRS) PMO
Block Inc (XYZ) AMC
Gilead Sciences (GILD) AMC
Pinterest (PINS) AMC
Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) AMC
The Trade Desk (TTD) AMC
Twilio (TWLO) AMC
German Factory Orders
EU Retail Sales
Fed’s Cook speech
Fed’s Daly speech
UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 7th August 2025:
BT Group
Ashtead Group
Informa
RELX
Reckitt Benckiser Group
NatWest Group
Barclays
AstraZeneca
Standard Chartered
Rolls-Royce Holdings
SEGRO
St. James’s Place
UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on7th August 2025:
Avon Technologies
Jupiter Fund Management
GCP Infrastructure Investments
Inchcape
Man Group
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