14th Aug 2025 12:06
(Alliance News) - London stocks remained muted at midday on Thursday, beaten by its European peers, as UK economic growth top expectations and investors begin to weigh potential tax changes in this year's autumn Budget.
The FTSE 100 index was down 7.67 points, 0.1%, at 9,157.56. The FTSE 250 was down 22.65 points, 0.1%, at 21,828.91, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.69 points, 0.1%, at 758.23.
The Cboe UK 100 was slightly lower at 917.75, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.1% at 19,232.51, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.2% at 17,118.62.
The UK economy registered a larger-than-expected advance in the second quarter of the year, numbers published on Thursday showed, potentially raising the bar for further interest rate cuts and easing some pressure on the government.
A decent June gross domestic product expansion suggests a strong start to the third quarter could be in the offing, but the second quarter growth slowdown compared to the third suggests things may still be "tepid", said Deutsche Bank analyst Sanjay Raja.
The Office for National Statistics on Thursday said UK GDP rose 0.3% in the second quarter from the first, slowing from a 0.7% expansion in the first three months of the year.
According to market consensus cited by FXStreet, growth of 0.1% on-quarter had been expected for the three months to June.
Meanwhile, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said that decisions around taxes will have to wait for the autumn Budget, amid reports that the Treasury is looking to raise more money from inheritance tax.
Reeves told reporters that decisions will be made "in the round" and her priority "is to get our economy firing off all cylinders".
Earlier this week, the Guardian reported that officials are examining whether tightening rules around the gifting of assets and money could help address the UK's multi-billion-pound fiscal shortfall.
The UK chancellor said: "We haven't even set the date yet for the Budget, but the key focus of the Budget is going to be to build on numbers that we've seen today to boost productivity and growth and prosperity all across the country.
"That is my number one priority as chancellor, to get our economy firing off all cylinders so that working people in all parts of the country will feel the benefits of that economic growth."
In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt advanced 0.4%.
"Mainland European indices are leading the way higher, with the FTSE 100 lagging behind despite a raft of better-than-expected data out of the UK," commented Rostro analyst Joshua Mahony.
"The US administration continues to put pressure on the Fed, with Trump calling for rates to be slashed to 1% while Scott Bessent has announced that there are 11 candidates for the chair role. Could we see a period where each of those 11 candidates compete to show they are the most dovish critical of Powell? With US earnings season largely complete (>90% reported), trade fears abating, and the Fed entering a more dovish phase, it comes as no surprise to see equity markets in good shape."
Stocks in New York were called marginally lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called flat, the S&P 500 index down 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite also down 0.1%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.22%, narrowing from 4.23%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.80%, trimmed from 4.83%.
The pound was quoted up at USD1.3585 at midday on Thursday in London, compared to USD1.3566 at the equities close on Wednesday. The euro stood lower at USD1.1695, against USD1.1713. Against the yen, the dollar was trading down at JPY146.47 compared to JPY147.24.
Admiral led the FTSE 100 around midday, up 4.8%.
The Cardiff-based insurer said pretax profit rose 67% to GBP516.1 million in the six months to June 30 from GBP309.8 million the year prior. It said turnover was flat at GBP3.10 billion, but that insurance revenue grew 18% to GBP2.47 billion from GBP2.09 billion.
Reflecting the earnings progress, Admiral increased the half-year dividend by 62% to 115.0p per share from 71.0p, ahead of the 105.9p expected by VA consensus. This includes a special dividend of 29.1p.
The CEO noted car insurance prices have been falling for the last 18 months due to softer inflation but added a "disciplined" approach to pricing and growth means Admiral reported a "great performance across the board".
TruFin rose 18%.
The holding company of three growth-focused technology businesses operating in early payment provision, invoice finance and mobile games publishing, said revenue in the six months to June 30 rose 40% to GBP35.5 million from GBP25.3 million a year prior.
"This strong performance has been primarily driven by continued momentum within Playstack," it added.
The firm expects adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of GBP6.7 million, more than doubling on-year from GBP2.9 million.
At the other end, the FTSE 250's Rank Group fell 4.4%.
The Maidenhead, England-based casino operator said pretax profit for the year to June 30 more than tripled to GBP53.9 million from GBP15.5 million.
Net gaming revenue grew 8.3% to GBP795.4 million from GBP734.7 million, and the firm hiked its total dividend to 2.60 pence per share from 0.85p a year earlier.
In the first six weeks of its current financial year, Rank reported 9% growth in net gaming revenue, and said it was "well placed" to meet current expectations in financial 2026.
Brent oil was quoted up at USD65.74 a barrel at midday in London on Thursday from USD65.51 late Wednesday.
Gold was quoted slightly higher at USD3,357.53 an ounce against USD3,356.28.
Still to come on Thursday's economic calendar, US PPI figures and initial jobless claims data at 1330 BST.
By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
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