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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Entain PLC | 790.8 | 3.5% |
| Airtel Africa PLC | 174.6 | 3.3% |
| Mondi PLC | 1,226.5 | 3.2% |
| Marks And Spencer Group PLC | 355.2 | 2.8% |
| Beazley PLC | 893.0 | 2.1% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Imperial Brands PLC | 2,680.0 | -7.3% |
| Spirax Group PLC | 6,190.0 | -6.0% |
| Experian PLC | 3,868.0 | -2.9% |
| Fresnillo PLC | 981.5 | -2.8% |
| Compass Group PLC | 2,540.0 | -2.5% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 Year |
| UK 100 INDEX | 8,585 | -0.2% | 1.7% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 42,051 | -0.2% | 5.4% |
| DAX INDEX | 23,527 | -0.5% | 24.7% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 37,789 | -0.9% | -1.6% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 8,298 | 0.2% | 7.0% |
| Commodities | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 61.57 | -2.50% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 64.53 | -2.36% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 3,147 | -0.9% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 461 | -0.8% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 called to open -39 points this morning at 8,546. The UK 100 looks set to open lower this morning, despite better than forecast GDP, the UK economy showed growth of 0.7% in the first quarter compared with the final three months of last year.
The S&P 500 rose modestly on Wednesday, extending a strong start to the week that pushed the benchmark into the green for the year. The broad market index inched up 0.10% to close at 5,892.58, while the Nasdaq gained 0.72% and ended at 19,146.81. The Dow Jones fell 89.37 points, or 0.21%, to settle at 42,051.06. Technology stocks climbed. Shares of Nvidia advanced more than 4%, following news that it would send Saudi Arabia 18,000 of its top artificial intelligence chips. Peer chip stock AMD also rose more than 4% on the back of a $6 billion buyback. Week to date, the S&P and Dow are up more than 4% and nearly 2%, respectively. The Nasdaq has jumped more than 6%.
Asian markets are mostly in red this morning, led by a 1% fall for the Nikkei and 0.9% for the Hang Seng.
Aviva this morning reported a strong start to the year, with growth across its business lines that has reinforced confidence in achieving its targets for this and next year. Chief executive Amanda Blanc said the acquisition of Direct Line is “firmly on track”, though the UK Competition and Markets Authority launched an investigation yesterday. With Direct Line shareholders having voted in favour of the transaction, Blanc said she expects to complete the deal in the middle of the year. The insurance giant posted a 9% increase in general insurance premiums, while the Wealth business recorded £2.3 billion in net flows, equivalent to 5% of opening assets under management, and Retirement sales climbed 4% to £1.8 billion.
ITV is maintaining a confident outlook regarding potential U.S. trade tariffs while reporting a solid start to 2025, with the British broadcaster’s Q1 results aligning with expectations despite challenging market conditions. The U.K. media giant noted in its Q1 trading update that while it “continues to assess the possibility of trade tariffs in the U.S.,” ITV Studios “only produces TV programming and therefore do not anticipate any direct impact from the imposition of tariffs on films.” Total external Group revenue rose 4% to £756 million ($1 billion), with growth in external Studios revenue more than offsetting the decline in total advertising revenue (TAR). This performance reflects the company’s increasingly diversified revenue streams. ITV Studios delivered 1% revenue growth in Q1, reaching $513 million, with external revenue surging 20% thanks to “strong demand from, and the timing of deliveries to, global streaming platforms.” This robust external performance helped offset a 26% decline in internal revenue, which was impacted by “the non-return of ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’ and ‘The Tower,’ and the year-on-year difference in phasing of production of programs such as ‘The Bay’ and ‘Grace.’”
National Grid beat annual profit estimates on Thursday, helped by higher earnings from its UK electricity transmission and New York businesses, and said it was on track to invest 60 billion pounds ($79.74 billion) in energy networks through March 2029.
United Utilities, has seen revenues jump 10% in the year to March 31, 2025, and pre-tax profits more than double – even though customers face rising bills over the next five years. Sales at the Warrington-based group were £2.145bn, up from £1.949bn, while pre-tax profits of £355m are compared with £170m the previous year. Shareholders will receive a dividend of 34.57p per share, a 4.2% increase. The group said it expects revenues for the current financial year to increase to between £2.5bn and £2.6bn in line with the final determination, adjusted for inflation.
UK
3i Group (III)
National Grid (NG.)
Premier Foods (PFD)
United Utilities Group (UU.)
Aviva (AV.)
Grainger (GRI)
US
Alibaba Group (BABA) PMO
Deere & Co (DE) PMO
Walmart (WMT) PMO
Applied Materials (AMAT) AMC
Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) AMC
UK
Land Securities Group (LAND)
Vesuvius (VSVS)
US
None
UK Gross Domestic Product
UK Industrial Production
ECB’s Cipollone speech
ECB’s Elderson speech
EU Employment Change
EU Gross Domestic Product
EU Industrial Production
EU ECB’s De Guindos speech
ECB’s Cipollone speech
US Initial Jobless Claims
US Producer Price Index
US Retail Sales
Fed’s Chair Powell speech
US Industrial Production
BoE’s Dhingra speech
Fed’s Barr speech
UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 15th May 2025:
Pershing Square Holdings
Admiral Group
Tesco
Unilever
BP
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
GSK
Shell
UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 15th May 2025:
Murray Income Trust
Spectris
PageGroup
Lancashire Holdings
Balfour Beatty
Greencoat Uk Wind
PRS REIT
Blackrock Smaller Companies Trust
Target Healthcare REIT
JPMorgan European Growth & Income
Renewables Infrastructure Group
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