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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Howden Joinery Group PLC | 773.0 | 4.6% |
| Entain PLC | 648.8 | 3.3% |
| BAE Systems PLC | 1,729.5 | 2.9% |
| Kingfisher PLC | 286.9 | 2.8% |
| HSBC Holdings PLC | 855.6 | 2.6% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Associated British Foods PLC | 2,034.0 | -9.2% |
| BP PLC | 353.2 | -2.4% |
| Ashtead Group PLC | 3,993.0 | -2.4% |
| Spirax Group PLC | 5,775.0 | -1.6% |
| IMI PLC | 1,747.0 | -1.6% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 Year |
| UK 100 INDEX | 8,463 | 0.6% | 3.9% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 40,528 | 0.8% | 5.6% |
| DAX INDEX | 22,426 | 0.7% | 23.8% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 35,840 | 0.4% | -6.7% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 8,071 | 0.9% | 5.3% |
| Commodities | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 60.26 | -2.88% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 64.08 | -2.70% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 3,322 | -0.7% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 485 | -0.8% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 called to open +14 points this morning at 8,476. The UK 100 looks set to open slightly higher once more this morning, as the UK’s blue chip index looks to continue its longest run of positive sessions for 8 years.
House prices in Britain fell by 0.6% in April, according to data released by mortgage lender Nationwide on Wednesday. This decline was stronger than anticipated by economists. The monthly drop in house prices was not predicted by a previous poll of economists, which had suggested a flat rate for the month. When comparing house prices to the same period from the previous year, there was a 3.4% increase. However, this was lower than the consensus prediction, which anticipated a 4.1% annual increase.
Stateside yesterday saw The Dow Jones rise, hitting its highs of the day as the White House said a major trade deal was close to being announced. The blue-chip Dow climbed 300.03 points, or 0.75%, to close at 40,527.62. The S&P gained 0.58%, ending at 5,560.83. Both indexes posted a sixth straight positive day, marking the longest win streak since July for the Dow and since November for the S&P 500. The Nasdaq advanced 0.55%, settling at 17,461.32.
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Wednesday as traders digested a number of pieces of key economic data in the region. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei rose 0.14% while the Topix added 0.5%. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.2% and the Kosdaq dipped 0.25%. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 traded flat. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 0.53% while China’s CSI 300 traded flat after China’s manufacturing activity fell more-than-expected into contractionary territory in April.
Barclays today reported slight beats on the top and bottom line, boosted by stronger investment bank performance. A 19% rise in pre-tax profit to £2.7 billion, adding that it is confident in delivering financial and distribution targets for 2025 and 2026. Chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan said the company was well placed to support customers and clients and “deliver strong risk-adjusted returns in a wide range of macroeconomic scenarios”. Barclays’ investment bank income increased 16% in the first quarter, while the US consumer bank division improved 1% on the back of card balance growth. UK income increased 14%, driven by the use of structural hedges against interest rate volatility and the acquisition of Tesco Bank.
GSK said on Wednesday it was “well positioned” to respond to any potential financial impact from sector-specific tariffs if they were implemented and it had identified options within its supply chain and productivity initiatives to mitigate any hit. The update came as the company reported first quarter results showing a 5% rise in core operating profit to £2.5 billion. It continues to expect 2025 turnover growth of between 3% and 5% and core operating profit growth in the range of 6% to 8%.
OSB Group’s first quarter performance was in line with expectations and the Group is on track to meet its full year guidance. Originations were £1.1bn (Q1 2024: £1.0bn) in the first quarter. The Group’s net loan book was £25.2bn (31 December 2024: £25.1bn) as we maintained pricing discipline and focus on higher-yielding specialist sub-segments of Commercial, Asset Finance, Bridging and Development Finance. Retail deposits remained broadly flat at £23.8bn (31 December 2024: £23.8bn) and TFSME balance outstanding was £810m as at 31 March 2025 (31 December 2024: £1.4bn). Three months plus arrears balances were 1.7% as at 31 March 2025, unchanged from the end of 2024, in line with modelled expectations. The Group has repurchased £15.7m worth of shares under the £100m share repurchase programme1 which is due complete no later than 10 March 2026.
Smith & Nephew this morning posted Higher Q1 Revenue & affirmed it’s full year 2025 Guidance.
UK
Aberdeen Group (ABDN)
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CCH)
Haleon (HLN)
OSB Group (OSB)
PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH)
Segro (SGRO)
Smith & Nephew (SN.)
Taylor Wimpey (TW.)
GSK (GSK)
Barclays (BARC)
US
Automatic Data Processing (ADP) PMO
Caterpillar Inc (CAT) PMO
Etsy (ETSY) PMO
Meta Platforms (META) AMC
Microsoft Corp (MSFT) AMC
Qualcomm Inc (QCOM) AMC
Teladoc (TDOC) AMC
UK
Endeavour Mining (EDV)
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG)
Persimmon (PSN)
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY)
US
Amgen (AMGN) PMO
Eli Lilly and Co (LLY) PMO
The Estee Lauder Companies (EL) PMO
Mastercard (MA) PMO
McDonald’s Corp (MCD) PMO
Moderna (MRNA) PMO
Airbnb (ABNB) AMC
Amazon.com (AMZN) AMC
Apple Inc (AAPL) AMC
Block Inc (XYZ) AMC
Coinbase Global (COIN) E
Riot Platforms Inc (RIOT) AMC
Strategy (MSTR) AMC
Twilio (TWLO) AMC
Chinese PMI
German GDP
German Retail Sales
German Unemployment
EU GDP
German CPI
US ADP Employment Change
US PCE
US GDP
UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 1st May 2025:
Glencore
Centrica
UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 1st May 2025:
Senior
Inchcape
Greggs
Elementis
JD Wetherspoon
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