Markets Overview:

The UK 100 called to open -7 points this morning at 9,129.   The UK 100 looks set to open lower this morning, this follows news after hours yesterday that US President Donald Trump signed an order imposing a universal 50% tariff on copper, according to a White House press statement.

The S&P gave up earlier gains and closed lower on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalled the central bank isn’t ready to cut rates, as it assesses the impact of President Donald Trump’s higher tariffs on the inflation picture.  The broad market index slipped 0.12% and closed at 6,362.90. The Dow Jones fell 171.71 points, or 0.38%, closing at 44,461.28. The Nasdaq gained 0.15% and ended at 21,129.67. At their session highs, the S&P 500 was up by as much as 0.4%, while the Dow was up 0.2%.

Asian equities slipped on Thursday, weighed down by weaker-than-expected Chinese activity data and a plunge in copper prices, while the yen firmed after the Bank of Japan raised its inflation forecast for the fiscal year and held rates steady.  The revised forecast suggested cautious optimism that Japan’s trade deal with the U.S. would help the economy avert a steep downturn and set the BOJ on a path to hike interest rates later in the year.

The yen firmed 0.6% to 148.62 per U.S. dollar immediately after the central bank maintained short-term interest rates at 0.5%, as expected, by a unanimous vote.  Japanese shares showed little reaction to the decision and were last up 0.9%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.7%, though it was still on track for its fourth consecutive monthly gain in July.  Stocks in Hong Kong and China led declines after official PMI gauges showed weaker-than-expected economic activity during July.

Company News & Broker Comments:

Company News:

Anglo American on Thursday reported a $1.9 billion loss in the first half, and said it continued to restructure the business, with the divestment of its coal and ailing diamond units still underway.  The London-listed miner is restructuring its business to mainly focus on copper and iron ore following bigger rival BHP’s failed attempt to take it over last year.  The company declared an interim dividend of $0.07 per share, down from $0.42 a year earlier, reflecting negative earnings at its platinum and steelmaking coal divisions, with no contribution from diamond unit De Beers.  It posted a $1.9 billion loss for the first half, from a $672 million loss in the same period a year ago.  Core earnings or EBITDA of $3 billion for its copper, iron ore and De Beers businesses was above the $2.9 billion expected by analysts.

British American Tobacco reported a 1.7% rise in first-half profit at constant currency on Thursday, beating expectations, helped by a return to growth of its business in the United States and demand for its Velo nicotine pouches.  BAT and peers such as Philip Morris, Imperial Brands, and Altria are trying to capture a bigger share of the vapes, tobacco heating products and oral nicotine pouches market to offset declining sales of traditional tobacco products.  The maker of Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarettes said revenue in the U.S. grew 3.7% at constant currency, with Velo helping sales of its new categories products rise 3.9%.  It reported adjusted diluted earnings of 162 pence per share for the six months to June 30, compared with 159.4 pence a year ago, and a company-compiled consensus of 154.8 pence.

Haleon lowered its annual organic revenue growth forecast to 3.5% on Thursday, citing weaker performance in the United States.  The Sensodyne toothpaste-maker had previously expected organic revenue growth to be in a 4% to 6% range for the year.

The London Stock Exchange Group on Thursday announced a share buyback program of 1 billion pounds ($1.33 billion) for the second half after reporting a better-than-expected rise in first-half profit, driven by strong performance across its businesses.  The company said total income, excluding recoveries, in the first half was 4.49 billion pounds, up 7.8% on an organic constant currency basis. Analysts were expecting a 7.5% increase on average, according to a company-compiled poll.

Next today gave another lift to its profits guidance after reporting a stronger-than-expected sales performance in the second quarter to 26 July.  Full price sales rose 10.5% versus last year, some £49 million ahead of its previous estimate for growth in the period of 6.5%.  The outperformance in the UK follows better than expected weather and trading disruption at rival Marks & Spencer.  International sales grew faster than expected, mainly because digital marketing proved more effective than anticipated.  The company increased its guidance for full price sales in the second half from 3.5% to 4.5%. This adds a further £27 million to its forecast.  It has lifted full year guidance for pre-tax profit by £25 million to £1.105 billion.

Rentokil Initial reported a solid performance for the first half of 2025, with a 3.1% increase in group revenue and a strong free cash flow conversion rate of 93%. The company is seeing positive results from its sales and marketing initiatives in North America, particularly in organic lead generation, and plans to continue its integration efforts to achieve cost reductions and improve operating margins. Despite some declines in operating profit and basic EPS, the company’s strategic focus on organic growth and integration is expected to align with market expectations for the year.

Rolls-Royce today lifted full year guidance after reporting a 50% increase in underlying operating profit to £1.7 billion for the first six months.  The engines giant now expects £3.1 billion-£3.2 billion of underlying operating profit and free cash flow in the range £3 billion and £3.1 billion.  It intends to pay an interim dividend of 4.5p share in September.  Chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic said: “Our multi-year transformation continues to deliver.  “Our actions led to strong first half year results, despite the challenges of the supply chain and tariffs. We are continuing to expand the earnings and cash potential of Rolls-Royce.”

Schroders has announced its half-year results for the period ending 30 June 2025, which have been submitted to the Financial Conduct Authority’s National Storage Mechanism. The company declared an interim dividend of 6.5 pence per share, payable on 25 September 2025, reflecting its commitment to returning value to shareholders. This announcement may impact the company’s financial outlook and stakeholder confidence as Schroders continues to engage with the investment community through a live webcast hosted by its executives.

SEGRO reported strong financial performance for the first half of 2025, with a 7.8% increase in like-for-like net rental income and an 11% rise in adjusted pre-tax profit. The company is experiencing growth in its development pipeline, particularly in urban spaces, and has made significant progress in its data center platform, including a joint venture to develop a fully fitted data center. The company’s strategic positioning in supply-constrained European markets supports its continued growth in earnings and dividends, with a focus on leveraging its existing portfolio and development opportunities.

Shell today announced another $3.5 billion of share buybacks for the next three months – the 15th consecutive quarter above $3 billion.  The latest return was announced alongside second quarter results showing a smaller-than-expected 24% quarter-on-quarter fall in adjusted earnings to $4.3 billion (£3.8 billion).  Cash flow from operations rose 29% over the first three months of the year to $11.9 billion (£10.4 billion). The improvement, which follows $3.9 billion of cost reductions since 2022, came despite a period of lower oil prices.

Standard Chartered announced this morning a stronger-than-expected second-quarter profit, as it benefited from strength in its wealth management and global trading units. The lender announced a $1.3 billion buyback, starting immediately, and declared an interim dividend of 12.3 cents. Standard Chartered posted an adjusted pretax profit of $2.40 billion for the June quarter, up 34% year-on-year and higher than Bloomberg estimates of $1.9 billion.  The bank’s net interest income was broadly flat at $2.7 billion. But its non-net interest income jumped 31% to $2.8 billion, buoyed by strong returns in wealth management, global markets, and global banking. Wealth management saw a 20% rise in income, while income from the global markets unit surged 47% in Q2.

Unilever has announced a drop in profit amid expensive disposals and unfavourable currency moves.  Turnover at the FTSE100 firm, which owns brands like Dove, Colman’s and Persil, was €30.1bn, down 3.2 per cent year on year.  Sales rose 3.4 per cent in the first half of the year, helped by a strong performance in Unilever’s ice cream arm, which the consumer goods giant has spun off and will list later this year as part of its simplification plan.  The standalone, listed firm will called The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC), which will house brands like Magnum and Ben & Jerry’s. Unilever will retain a 20 per cent stake in TMICC for up to five years.  Turnover in the ice cream arm, which accounts for 15 per cent of sales, grew 5.9 per cent to €4.6bn, although underlying operating profit dropped 2.2 per cent.  Led by Peter ter Kulve as CEO, the company will have a triple listing, with Amsterdam as the primary listing location and London and New York as secondary listings.  The restructuring costs associated with the demerger have been estimated at around €850m.  Food, home care, personal care and beauty sales – which each account for around 20% of turnover – grew 2.2%, 1.3%, 4.8 per cent and 3.7%, respectively.

Reporting Today:

UK

Aberdeen Group (ABDN)

Anglo American (AAL)

British American Tobacco (BATS)

Elementis (ELM)

Endeavour Mining (EDV)

Haleon (HLN)

Hammerson (HMSO)

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG)

Mondi (MNDI)

Rentokil Initial (RTO)

Rolls Royce Holdings (RR.)

Schroders (SDR)

Segro (SGRO)

Shell (SHEL)

St James’ Place (STJ)

Standard Chartered (STAN)

Unilever (ULVR)

US

AbbVie (ABBV) PMO

Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) PMO

Mastercard (MA) PMO

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) PMO

Amazon.com (AMZN) AMC

Apple Inc (AAPL) AMC

Cloudflare (NET) AMC

Illumina (ILMN) AMC

Riot Platforms Inc (RIOT) AMC

Strategy (MSTR) AMC

Reporting Tomorrow:

UK

IMI (IMI)

Melrose Industries (MRO)

US

Chevron (CVX) PMO

Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM) PMO

Moderna (MRNA) PMO

AMC Entertainment (AMC) E

In Focus Today:

Chinese NBS Manufacturing PMI

Chinese NBS Non-Manufacturing PMI

German Unemployment

EU Unemployment

US Challenger Job Cuts

German Consumer Price Index

German Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices

US Core Personal Consumption Expenditures

US Initial Jobless Claims

US Personal Income

US Personal Spending

US Chicago PMI

Today’s Ex-Dividends:

UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 31st July 2025:

Lloyds Banking Group

UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 31st July 2025:

HICL Infastructure

MONY Group

Brunner Investment Trust

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