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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| NatWest Group | 705.8 | 3.2% |
| Polar Capital Technology Trust | 626.5 | 2.5% |
| Pershing Square Holdings | 3,808.0 | 2.4% |
| Metlen Energy & Metals | 46.2 | 2.2% |
| BAE Systems | 2,094.0 | 2.2% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| IG Group Holdings | 1,460.0 | -14.4% |
| Melrose Industries | 454.3 | -4.4% |
| JD Sports Fashion | 89.5 | -4.1% |
| Experian | 2,790.0 | -3.7% |
| Informa | 885.8 | -3.1% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 Year |
| UK 100 INDEX | 10,868 | 0.3% | 19.8% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 52,485 | 0.5% | 20.4% |
| DAX INDEX | 25,629 | 0.1% | 9.4% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 64,362 | 4.0% | 57.8% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 8,977 | 0.1% | 3.6% |
| Commodity | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 84.67 | 1.29% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 87.93 | 1.21% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 4,046 | 1.4% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 647 | 0.1% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 is called to open +35 points at at 10,903. Stocks in London are set to open higher on Monday as hopes for renewed US-Iran diplomacy offset caution following a joint US-Japan intervention to strengthen the yen.
US President Donald Trump said fresh negotiations with Iran will begin on Monday after he decided to hold off on military strikes in favour of pursuing a deal to end the war, now entering its sixth month.
Trump said Iran, alongside US partners Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, had urged him to delay what he claimed would have been “the biggest attack since World War II”. He said the talks would focus on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy supplies, and ultimately on Iran’s denuclearisation.
Meanwhile, Iran said it was nearing an agreement with Oman over a new shipping route through the strait, where a tanker reported an explosion nearby on Sunday, underlining the continued volatility in the region.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.5%, the S&P 500 up 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.0%.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 1.2%, elsewhere in Asia on Monday, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.8%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong edged down 0.1%, after data showed China’s manufacturing expansion lost momentum in July.
AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb are considering merging in a deal worth USD400 billion, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The Cambridge, England-based drug maker and its Lawrenceville, New Jersey-based peer recently held talks about a potential combination of their businesses, according to people familiar with the matter cited by the FT.
Easyjet – The takeover panel has agreed to extend the deadline for US investment fund Castlelake to consider a firm offer for UK airline EasyJet. Castlelake’s 690p per share offer was recommended by the Easyjet board until Apollo came in with a 715p cash offer which the airline’s board has now recommended. The regulator has now agreed to extend Castlelake’s deadline to 5pm on 7 August to align with Apollo’s deadline. EasyJet has been providing diligence access to both companies. Apollo has confirmed that it would agree to satisfy any conditions relating to merger control and EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation clearances relating to the proposed transaction which has been seen as a sticking point to an airline acquisition. The proposed offer made on 8 July represents a premium of 81% to the closing price of 394p at the close of business on 28 May, the last day prior to the offer from Castlelake submitted on 4 July. Apollo will finance the deal from Apollo funds. Barclays has provided a letter to Apollo indicating that it is “highly confident” of being able to arrange the required debt financing for the offer.
UK
Senior (SNR) – 2026 Interim Results
US
Palantir Technologies Inc Ordinary Shares – Class A (NASDAQ:PLTR) AMC
Snap Inc Class A (NYSE:SNAP) AMC
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRTX) AMC
UK
BP (BP.) – Q2 2026 Results
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) – H1 2026 Results
ConvaTec Group (CTEC) – Interim results
Rotork (ROR) – Interim results
Smith & Nephew (SN.) – Q2/H1 2026 Results
HSBC (HSBA) – Interim Results
US
Ball Corp (NYSE:BALL) PMO
Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) PMO
McDonald’s Corp (NYSE:MCD) PMO
Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK) PMO
Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) PMO
Spotify Technology SA (NYSE:SPOT) PMO
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) AMC
Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN) AMC
Arista Networks Inc (NYSE:ANET) AMC
Booking Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:BKNG) AMC
Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:GILD) AMC
Lucid Group Inc Shs (NASDAQ:LCID) AMC
Pinterest Inc Class A (NYSE:PINS) AMC
Space Exploration Technologies Cor (NASDAQ:SPCX) AMC
Upstart Holdings Inc Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:UPST) AMC
US ISM Manufacturing PMI
UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 6th August 2026:
BT Group
Reckitt Benckiser Group
Informa
Lloyds Banking Group
Schroders
Barclays
SEGRO
Unilever
RELX
Standard Chartered
AstraZeneca
St. James’s Place
Rolls-Royce Holdings
UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 6th August 2026:
Jupiter Fund Management
Telecom Plus
Man Group
Inchcape
Lancashire Holdings
Avon Technologies
Helios Towers
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