17th Jul 2025 17:12
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London closed mostly higher on Thursday, with markets ultimately reassured by US President Donald Trump stating that he did not currently intend to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
"I don't rule out anything, but I think it's highly unlikely," Trump had stated on Wednesday, after suggesting on Tuesday that a USD2.5 billion renovation plan at the Fed was "sort of" a fireable offence.
Rostro's Joshua Mahony described the prevailing sentiment as a "widespread belief that to [sack Powell] would provide a particularly bad signal to financial markets".
The FTSE 100 index closed up 46.09 points, 0.5%, at 8,972.64. The FTSE 250 ended up 164.57 points, 0.8%, at 21,766.43, and the AIM All-Share closed down 3.17 points, 0.4%, at 768.93.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.4% at 896.03, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.6% at 19,167.07, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.1% at 17,523.55.
"Having seen a rapid retreat from the briefly attained 9,000 mark earlier this week, the FTSE 100 made steady progress on Thursday to put this milestone level back within reach," AJ Bell's Dan Coatsworth commented.
On the FTSE 250, Premier Foods lost 3.0%.
The St Albans, Hertfordshire-based maker of branded and non-branded food said Mr Kipling birthday tarts performed strongly in its first quarter, while gravy, stock and soup proved less than popular amid the recent heatwave in the UK.
Sales edged up 0.2% to GBP239.7 million in the three months ended June 28, but grocery sales fell 2.8% to GBP174.4 million. Meanwhile, new categories revenue jumped 38% in the quarter, while Sweet Treats branded sales were up 11%.
On AIM, Empyrean Energy surged by over 400%.
The oil and gas development firm said the operator of the Mako field has signed a gas sales agreement with state-owned electric utility company PT PLN Energi Primer Indonesia.
The deal signed by Conrad Asia Energy Ltd covers the current Duyung production sharing contract, which house Mako, and allows for the sale of up to 111 billion British thermal units per day.
Ixico rose 13%.
The London-based medical research firm said it expects to report revenue of at least GBP6.3 million for the year ending September 30, ahead of expectations. This would be up at least 8.6% on an annual basis.
Ixico added that it expects this growth in revenue to continue into 2026, "moving the company towards medium-term profitability".
The pound was quoted lower at USD1.3414 at the time of the London equities close on Thursday, compared to USD1.3473 on Wednesday.
This followed the UK jobless rate growing to 4.7% in the three months to May, despite consensus expecting it to remain unchanged at 4.6%.
"This morning has provided yet another harsh reality check for the [Bank of England] and [Chancellor] Rachel Reeves, with the latest jobs report seeing a four-year high for unemployment, the highest claimant count change in 11-months, and the lowest wage growth in almost three years," Mahony warned. "Coming hot off the heels of yesterday's unwelcome CPI rise that puts the UK as having the highest inflation rate in the G7, the BoE are clearly in a sticky situation.
"Between negative growth, rising inflation, a black hole in the public finances, and now higher unemployment, we are looking at an economy that needs help but where both the treasury and central bank have their hands tied."
The euro stood at USD1.1594, down against USD1.1708. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JPY148.48 compared to JPY147.97.
In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 1.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended up 1.4%.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday signed a treaty that is set to free up school exchange visits and passport e-gates. The agreement was also signed by Foreign Secretary David Lammy and his German counterpart Johann Wadephul.
Starmer described the 'Kensington Treaty' as "evidence of the closeness of our relationship as it stands today" as well as a "statement of intent, a statement of our ambition to work ever more closely together".
Stocks in New York were higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4%, the S&P 500 index up 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.8%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.45%, narrowing from 4.48%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.99%, narrowing from 5.06%.
The US Department of Labor on Thursday reported that a lower number of Americans filed for new unemployment benefits last week, defying expectations of an increase.
Seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims stood at 221,000 in the week that ended July 12, down by 7,000 from 228,000 a week earlier, which was revised up from 227,000. The FXStreet-cited market consensus had pencilled in an increase to 235,000.
The four-week moving average of initial claims, which smooths weekly volatility, decreased by 6,250 to 229,500.
On an unadjusted basis, initial claims rose 8.1% from the previous week to 260,900 in the week that ended July 12.
Brent oil was quoted at USD68.94 a barrel at the time of the London equities close on Thursday, up from USD67.87 late Wednesday.
Gold was quoted lower at USD3,338.20 an ounce against USD3,371.80.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Diploma, up 341.00p at 5,245.03p, Ashtead Group, up 146.00p at 4,825.00p, Spirax, up 125.00p at 6,145.00p, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, up 110.00p at 7,120.00p, and Whitbread, up 97.00p at 3,121p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were AstraZeneca, down 124.00p at 10,312p, British American Tobacco, down 60.00p at 3,813.00p, Endeavour Mining, down 60.00p at 2,172.00p, InterContinental Hotels, down 40.12p at 8,563.88p, and easyJet, down 30.80p at 495.00p.
On Friday's economic calendar, Germany has producer inflation; there is current account and construction data from the eurozone; and the US has building permits and the Michigan consumer sentiment index.
On Friday's UK corporate calendar, Bridgepoint releases its half-year results and United Utilities holds its annual general meeting.
And on the global corporate calendar there are half-year results from American Express, Comerica, Kone and others.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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IxicoPremier FoodsEmpyreanDiplomaAshtead GroupSpirax-SarcoCoca-cola Euro.WhitbreadAstrazenecaBritish American TobaccoEndeavour MiningInterContinental HotelseasyJet