8th Aug 2025 17:06
(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 edged down on Friday, on a mixed day for European equities, despite new optimism for an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 5.04 points, 0.1%, at 9,095.73. The FTSE 250 ended 20.45 points higher, 0.1%, at 21,958.55 while the AIM All-Share finished down 1.05 points, 0.1%, at 762.46.
For the week, the FTSE 100 rose 0.3%, the FTSE 250 advanced 1.2% and the AIM All-Share firmed 0.7%.
The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.2% at 910.51, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.1% at 19,353.79, and the Cboe Small Companies fell 0.3% at 17,126.54.
In Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt eased 0.1%.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3%, the S&P 500 was 0.6% higher, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.8%.
Bloomberg said Washington and Moscow are aiming to reach a deal to halt the war in Ukraine that would lock in Russia's occupation of territory seized during its military invasion.
According to Bloomberg sources, US and Russian officials are working toward an agreement on territories for a planned summit meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin as early as next week.
The US is working to get buy-in from Ukraine and its European allies on the deal, which is far from certain, the report added.
Brent oil was quoted at USD66.63 a barrel in London on Friday, up from USD66.48 late Thursday.
Elsewhere, US President Donald Trump on Thursday named the leader of his White House economic panel to fill a recently vacated seat on the Federal Reserve board, as he seeks to boost his sway over the independent central bank.
"It is my Great Honor to announce that I have chosen Dr Stephen Miran, current Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, to serve in the just vacated seat on the Federal Reserve Board until January 31, 2026," he announced on his website, Truth Social.
"In the meantime, we will continue to search for a permanent replacement," Trump added.
Miran will finish out the term of Adriana Kugler, an appointee of former president Joe Biden who announced her resignation last week.
The pound rose to USD1.3450 late on Friday afternoon in London, compared to USD1.3412 at the equities close on Thursday. The euro traded at USD1.1666, higher against USD1.1631. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY147.73 compared to JPY147.44.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was at 4.29%, widened from 4.23%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was 4.86%, stretched from 4.80%.
Back in London, gambling operators were in the red after the Guardian late Thursday reported that a rise in gambling levies is thought to be "near-guaranteed", as part of a package of tax rises in the UK autumn budget.
Ladbrokes and Coral owner, Entain fell 5.8%, Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment dropped 8.1% and William Hill owner Evoke, slid 7.2%. Casino and bingo operator Rank was 4.8% lower.
On Thursday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: "We've already launched a review into gambling taxes. We're taking evidence on that at the moment, and again, we'll set out our policies in the normal way, in our budget later this year."
Further weighing on Flutter Entertainment a mixed reaction to half year results, despite the firm raising annual guidance.
After the US market close, Flutter said Fan Duel, favourable sporting results and iGaming growth helped push sales and earnings higher in the second quarter, improving prospects for the rest of the year.
Revenue is expected to rise 23% to USD17.3 billion in 2025, the company said in a statement. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation will grow 40% to about USD3.3 billion. That's up from previous guidance of USD17.1 billion and USD3.18 billion, respectively
But Peel Hunt said Flutter's US strength is somewhat diluted by International weakness as it downgraded the stock to 'hold' from 'add'.
Noting shares have recovered well from April lows, Peel Hunt said: "There may be more upside, particularly if management can demonstrate that it can reinvigorate the aggregate performance of the International division. However, for now, we see no reason to push our valuation further."
US gold futures hit a record high after Trump's administration imposed tariffs on imports of one-kilo and 100-ounce bars.
Spot gold firmed to USD3,393.20 an ounce against USD3,387.20, while gold price futures posted a fresh all-time high around USD3,534.00 on Friday.
On the FTSE 100, GSK rose 0.9% after stating said it will receive an upfront payment of USD370 million from CureVac, following a patent settlement involving BioNTech and Pfizer over messenger ribonucleic acid vaccine technology.
The deal also will see the London-based pharmaceuticals firm collect a 1% royalty on US sales of Pfizer and BioNTech's influenza, Covid-19, and related combination mRNA vaccines from the start of 2025.
Of the upfront settlement, USD320 million will be paid in cash, with the remainder reflecting changes to GSK's existing licence agreement with CureVac.
WPP remained in free fall, down a further 6.2%, leaving it down 56% in 2025 so far.
The advertising firm has been dogged by falling sales amid threats from artificial intelligence.
On Thursday, it said pretax profit declined by 71% in the six months that ended June 30, sinking to GBP98 million from GBP338 million.
WPP cut its interim dividend per share to 7.5p, half the previous year's 15p payout.
Also in the red, Georgian-lender TBC Bank, down 5.1%, after it posted lower profit and reduced its dividend after operating expenses climbed in the first half.
The Tbilisi-based said pretax profit was GEL770.1 million, or GBP212.5 million, for the six months that ended June 30, down 4.8% from GEL733.5 million the year prior.
As a result, TBC cut its interim dividend per share to GEL1.75 from GEL2.55 a year ago.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Glencore, up 7.80 pence at 288.25p, Antofagasta, up 50.00p at 2,024.00p, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, up 160.00p at 7,030.00p, Mondi, up 21.50p at 1,079.00p and JD Sports Fashion, up 1.54p at 87.70p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were WPP, down 24.30p at 367.50p, Entain, down 58.00p at 938.00p, Intercontinental Hotels Group, down 358.00p at 8,824.00p, Rightmove, down 30.40p at 788.00p, and Sage Group, down 37.00p at 1,161.50p.
Monday's local corporate calendar sees half year results from building materials company, Marshalls. Later in the week, results are due from housebuilder Persimmon, Lloyds of London broker Beazley, insurer Aviva and betting firm Entain.
Next week's global economic calendar has US CPI, UK GDP and UK unemployment data plus an interest rate decision in Australia.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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