29th Jul 2026 12:01
(Alliance News) - European equities came under pressure heading into Wednesday afternoon, despite a solid start, though the FTSE 100 managed to hit a record high as corporate earnings impressed.
A slide in SK Hynix shares in Seoul ensured worries over chip stocks remained rife. US shares are set to open mixed ahead of the evening's Federal Reserve decision and in the wake of Apple, a port in the storm in the face of the semiconductor strife, hitting a USD5 trillion valuation overnight.
The FTSE 100 index rose 27.83 points, 0.3%, at 10,898.85 on Wednesday, and hit a record intraday high of 10,951.06. The FTSE 250 edged up just 9.82 points at 24,014.60, and the AIM all-share fell 2.54 points, 0.3%, at 765.40.
The Cboe UK 100 rose 0.2% at 1,082.32, the Cboe UK 250 edged up 0.1% at 20,942.28, and the Cboe small companies was 0.3% higher at 18,656.43.
In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 fell 0.2%. The CAC 40 was down 0.5% in Paris.
"The FTSE 100 is sneaking above the all-time closing high from 28 February in early trading on Wednesday, helped by its lack of exposure to technology and AI stocks, and a slew of strong corporate results, with index heavyweights Standard Chartered, Reckitt Benckiser and Rio Tinto all delivering either better-than-expected profits, or bumper cash returns to shareholders, or both," AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould commented.
"Standard Chartered hiked its dividend by two thirds and unveiled a new USD1 billion share buyback, while Reckitt increased its payment by 5% and added a fresh GBP500 million buyback to the mix, with Rio Tinto chipping in a 43% increase in its first-half shareholder distribution."
Lender StanChart, which also raised guidance, added 2.6%. Consumer goods firm Reckitt was up 2.9% while miner Rio Tinto added 2.4%. Production figures from fellow miner Glencore also impressed, with the stock adding 3.9%.
But it was tougher going in Paris, with luxury firm Hermes slumping 11% on the back of its results, while food and drinks company Danone shed 4.2%. Gucci owner Kering jumped 12%, however, as its numbers released after the closing bell on Tuesday fuelled hope of a turnaround at Gucci.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is called down 0.2%, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite up 0.2%.
Apple on Tuesday reached a market capitalisation above USD5.000 trillion, consolidating its spot above Nvidia as the world's most valuable company. The company's shares hit an intraday all-time high of USD342.89 in New York on Tuesday.
The achievement comes less than a year after the Cupertino, California-based iPhone maker reached the USD4.000 trillion mark. It is only the second firm to hit a USD5 trillion, after Nvidia achieved that accolade back in October.
Nvidia shares are down roughly 5% this week.
Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya commented: "Apple's market cap now sits just below USD5 trillion, while Nvidia's has fallen to USD4.77 trillion. This is perhaps the clearest example yet of capital flowing out of the biggest AI spenders. That rotation initially benefited companies in the AI supply chain, but now even that trade is fading."
Semiconductor firm SK Hynix shed 9.6% in Seoul on Wednesday, adding to its 15% slump on Tuesday.
"Another thing investors don't want to hear is higher spending. To that end, SK Hynix doubled down on its aggressive investment plans, saying capital spending will remain elevated as it expands HBM and next-generation memory production to meet long-term AI demand," Ozkardeskaya commented.
Sterling fetched USD1.3294, easing from USD1.3306. Against the euro, it faded to EUR1.1666 from EUR1.1674. The single currency was lower against the dollar at USD1.1388 from USD1.1397. Against the yen, the buck was flat at JPY163.68.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury widened to 4.63% early Wednesday afternoon from 4.59% at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. The 30-year yield stretched to 5.11% from 5.09%.
The Federal Open Market Committee meeting kicked off on Tuesday. A decision from the US central bank comes at 1900 BST on Wednesday, followed by a press conference with Chair Kevin Warsh.
A hold would leave the federal funds rate target range at 3.50-3.75%, marking the Fed's fifth consecutive meeting without a change in rates.
ING analyst Francesco Pesole commented: "Markets are pricing in 7bp, or about a 25-30% probability of a Fed hike today. That, in theory, implies a mechanical correction lower in front-end USD rates if – like we expect – rates are kept unchanged. That said, great attention will be on the vote split.
"A Fed hold should trigger an unwinding of precautionary USD positioning."
The analyst added: "In other words, unless Fed Chair Kevin Warsh surprises with a hawkish spin, or we see more than two dissenters, we think the dollar will come under pressure today."
Over on Threadneedle Street, the Bank of England is expected to hold on Thursday. The decision follows a resumption of hostilities in the Middle East, after the pause at the start of the week.
Ebury analyst Matthew Ryan commented: "On the surface, the renewed hostilities in the Middle East give real ammunition to the hawkish faction of the MPC. Yet we think that neither current oil prices nor recent economic data warrant a hasty response, either in the form of an immediate rate hike or an overly hawkish set of communications.
"Headline inflation has undershot the bank's expectations for three months running, wage pressures are softening and the labour market continues to shed jobs, rather than add them, which means that the MPC may see inflation peaking at closer to 3% than 4%. That's not to say the MPC won't strike a hawkish note on Thursday. On balance, we think the vote will land at 7-2, as it was in June, though a wider 6-3 split cannot be entirely ruled out."
Ryan added: "We do not think that the MPC will be in a rush to raise rates, and believe that risks to the pound are skewed to the downside going into this week's meeting."
A barrel of Brent rose to USD87.17 midday Wednesday, from USD84.87 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday, after a re-escalation in the Middle East. Gold fell to USD4,027.64 an ounce from USD4,035.95.
US and Saudi forces said they struck an Iraqi militant alliance on Wednesday, AFP reported, as the Middle East war expands beyond its main focus in Iran to involve the Islamic republic's proxies.
The strikes follow a short lull in direct US attacks on targets in Iran, with Tehran's allies in Yemen and beyond becoming increasingly drawn in.
Iran, meanwhile, launched missiles at Jordan, in its first attack in the region since the pause in fighting with the US began.
Back in London, Greggs shares surged 14%. The Newcastle-upon-Tyne bakery chain, famed for its sausage rolls and steak bakes, reported improved half-year earnings, with efforts to "broaden and innovate our menu" bearing fruit.
"The launch of our new Chicken Roll in April has been a standout success, broadening choice and quickly establishing itself as a customer favourite alongside our iconic Sausage Roll and Vegan Roll. We have also strengthened our hot food and pizza offer with introductions such as the Tandoori Chicken Pizza Slice, expanding choice with bolder, contemporary flavours," Greggs said.
"Importantly, menu development has contributed to our market outperformance, with Iced Matcha Lattes and the new Chicken Roll supporting like-for-like sales growth."
Pretax profit improved 20% to GBP76.0 million in the 26 weeks to June 27 from GBP63.5 million a year before, with revenue up 7.2% to GBP1.10 billion from GBP1.03 billion, beating GBP73.1 million and GBP1.09 billion consensus, respectively, as cited by JPMorgan.
The half-year dividend was held at 19.0p per share, and Greggs said its expectations for the full-year outcome are unchanged.
Cost inflation over the first half was 2.2%, it said, a level it now expects for the whole year. It had previously expected cost inflation of around 3% on a like-for-like basis.
On AIM, Hargreaves Services added 4.2%. The provider of services for environmental, infrastructure and property sectors said pretax profit in the year to May 31 more than doubled to GBP40.3 million from GBP17.5 million, with revenue up 33% to GBP351.4 million from GBP264.4 million.
"The year just ended was a one of strong operational and financial performance for Hargreaves. We delivered continued progress across the group, maintained financial discipline, and returned significant capital to shareholders through both dividends and share buybacks. With a strong balance sheet, high-quality businesses and growing opportunities in infrastructure-related markets for our Services division, we enter the new financial year well positioned to deliver further growth and long-term value for all stakeholders," Chair Roger McDowell said.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Hargreaves ServGreggsStandard CharteredReckittGlencoreRio Tinto