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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Convatec Group PLC | 244.2 | 5.6% |
| United Utilities Group PLC | 1,159.5 | 3.5% |
| Unilever PLC | 4,692.0 | 3.3% |
| Coca-Cola Europacific Partners PLC | 6,840.0 | 3.0% |
| Imperial Brands PLC | 3,141.0 | 2.8% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Polar Capital Technology Trust PLC | 388.5 | -3.2% |
| Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC | 1,026.0 | -3.2% |
| Easyjet PLC | 508.4 | -2.0% |
| ICG PLC | 2,162.0 | -1.7% |
| Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC | 1,066.0 | -1.6% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 Year |
| FTSE 100 INDEX | 9,288 | 1.1% | 12.1% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 44,938 | 0.0% | 9.9% |
| DAX INDEX | 24,277 | -0.6% | 31.6% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 42,610 | -0.7% | 12.2% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 9,019 | 1.1% | 12.6% |
| Copper (Comex) | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 63.22 | 0.81% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 67.30 | 0.69% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 3,336 | -0.4% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 450 | -0.3% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 called to open +17 points this morning at 9,305. The UK 100 is called to open slightly higher on Thursday, ahead of the UK’s public sector net borrowing data. The UK’s blue-chip index looks set to break the 9300 barrier for the first time, having closed above 9200 yesterday to set a fresh all time closing high.
The S&P and Nasdaq dipped on Wednesday, pressured by a broad decline in tech. Investors also weighed mixed retail earnings results and the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes release. The broad market index slipped 0.24% to close at 6,395.78, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.67% and settled at 21,172.86. Wednesday marked a fourth day of losses for the S&P and a second negative session for the Nasdaq. The Dow Jones was the outlier, adding 16.04 points, or 0.04%, and settling at 44,938.31.
Asian stock markets were mixed as investors braced for three days of potentially market-moving news from the Federal Reserve’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole.
Premier Foods today announced the acquisition of ready-to-eat pulses and grains business Merchant Gourmet for an enterprise value of £48 million. The FTSE 250-listed owner of brands including Ambrosia, Batchelors, Bisto, Mr Kipling and Oxo said the acquisition met growing demand for premium, healthy and convenient meal options. The deal follows the acquisitions of The Spice Tailor in July 2022 and FUEL10K in October 2023, which Premier said have grown by double-digits every year since being taken over. Merchant Gourmet, which was founded in 1995, is forecast to generate revenues of about £28 million in the year to next March.
WH Smith today issued a profit warning after it said it had identified an overstatement of around £30 million in its North America business. The overstatement is largely due to the accelerated recognition of supplier income, which the group receives in the form of incentives and discounts. The group has instructed Deloitte to undertake an independent and comprehensive review. WHSmith now expects headline trading profit from the North America division for the financial year ending 31 August to be approximately £25 million, down from previous market expectations of about £55 million. Group headline profit before tax and non-underlying items will be in the region of £110 million.
UK
Hays (HAS)
US
Walmart (WMT) PMO
Intuit (INTU) AMC
Zoom Communications (ZM) AMC
UK
None
US
None
Jackson Hole Symposium
German HCOB PMI
EU HCOB PMI
UK S&P Global PMI
US Initial Jobless Claims
Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey
US S&P Global PMI
EU Consumer Confidence
US Existing Home Sales Change
UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 21st August 2025:
Legal & General
Mondi
Schroders
Imperial Brands
Entain
Convatec Group
InterContinental Hotels Group
Babcock international
Anglo American
UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 21st August 2025:
Plus 500
XPS Pension Group
Shafesbury Capital
Ibstock
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