29th Jul 2025 12:18
(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 was higher at midday on Tuesday, boosted by well-received earnings, while peers in Europe were back on the up after struggling at the start of the week as Monday's initial lift from a US-EU trade agreement proved short-lived.
The FTSE 100 index was up 63.08 points, 0.7%, at 9,144.52. The FTSE 250 was down 58.94 points, 0.3%, at 21,982.86, and the AIM All-Share was down 2.42 points, 0.3%, at 768.57.
The Cboe UK 100 was 0.9% higher at 914.39, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.2% at 19,209.67, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.3% at 17,797.41.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.6%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 1.4%. They had ended down 0.4% and 1.0% on Monday.
"The FTSE 100 enjoyed another good start, lifted by positive market reaction to AstraZeneca's numbers and Games Workshop delivering yet another strong set of results," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
"It's a busy week for corporate earnings in the UK and US, and investors have plenty of news to digest. The latest set of UK results were generally well-received apart from Barclays' numbers which didn't trigger the all-important upgrade to guidance from management."
He added: "Gains were recorded across all the major European indices, with investors sitting more comfortably after the US/EU trade agreement at the weekend."
The pound was quoted at USD1.3355 at midday on Tuesday in London, down from USD1.3403 at the equities close on Monday. The euro was down at USD1.1574, against USD1.1620. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY148.53, slightly higher compared to JPY148.45.
Chinese and US delegations met for their second day of trade negotiations in Stockholm, with both sides said to be aiming to extend a truce due to end in two weeks' time.
Neither side has so far made public any information about what has gone on in the talks, which started on Monday.
The negotiations are happening in the wake of a US-EU trade deal struck over the weekend that set US tariffs on most EU imports at 15%, but none on US goods going to the EU.
The truce between China and the US, the countries with the worlds two top economies, has temporarily set US duties on Chinese goods at 30%, and Chinese levies on US ones at 10%.
That accord, reached in Geneva in May, brought down triple-digit tariffs each side had levelled at the other after a trade war sparked by US President Donald Trump spiralled into a tit-for-tat bilateral escalation.
Stocks in New York were called to open higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called up 0.1%, the S&P 500 index 0.3% higher, and the Nasdaq Composite to rise 0.5%.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury narrowed to 4.40% from 4.42% at Monday's market close. The yield on the 30-year slimmed to 4.94% from 4.96%.
In London, Games Workshop led the FTSE 100 and was 4.7% higher.
The Nottingham, England-based fantasy game figurine maker and retailer said pretax profit jumped 29% to GBP262.8 million in the financial year that ended June 1 from GBP203.0 million a year ago.
Revenue rose 17% to GBP617.5 million from GBP525.7 million. The total dividend payment for financial 2025 was GBP5.20, up 24% from GBP4.20 the year before.
AstraZeneca, the largest FTSE 100 constituent, rose 3.4%.
The Cambridge, England-based pharmaceuticals company said pretax profit jumped 30% to USD3.13 billion in the second quarter of 2025 from USD2.40 billion a year prior, or by 34% at constant currency.
Revenue rose 12% to USD14.46 billion in the quarter from USD12.94 billion a year ago, or by 11% at constant currency, ahead of Visible Alpha consensus of USD14.31 billion.
Sales were driven by double-digit growth in Oncology and BioPharmaceuticals with increases across all major geographic regions.
Croda International was down 7.0%. The specialty chemicals maker posted improved revenue for the first half, though impairments limited its bottom line.
Croda's pretax profit in the first half of 2025 fell 19% to GBP85.5 million from GBP106.1 million, despite revenue improving 4.9% to GBP855.8 million from GBP815.9 million. Adjusted pretax profit rose 8.4%, however, to GBP138.0 million from GBP127.3 million.
Revenue fell slightly short of the company-compiled consensus of GBP857.0 million. It beat on profit, however, as the adjusted pretax profit consensus stood at GBP136.6 million.
Chief Executive Officer Steve Foots said: "We have identified a further GBP60 million of cost savings, taking the total to GBP100 million of annualised savings by the end of 2027. There is much more to do but our strategic and operational focus is creating a stronger platform for further progress and our outlook for the full year is unchanged."
On the FTSE 250 index, Shaftesbury Capital gained 3.2% as it said interim profit doubled, mainly due to a sharply higher revaluation gain.
Pretax profit rose to GBP173.0 million in the six months that ended June 30 from GBP86.3 million a year earlier.
The gain on revaluation and sale of investment property was GBP146.7 million, multiplied from GBP53.2 million.
Inchcape lost 8.6%.
The car dealer said it was "excited" about the future, despite declaring a lower interim dividend as profit declined.
Revenue declined 8.6% to GBP4.32 billion from GBP4.73 billion. It cut its interim dividend by 16% to 9.5 pence from 11.3p.
The company noted a "fast-moving tariff situation" as it continues efforts to diversify trading across geographies and boost partnerships with original equipment manufacturers.
Elsewhere, Forterra gained 11%.
The clay and concrete product manufacturer reported increased earnings for the first half of the year, with demand for most products ahead of its own expectations.
Revenue was up 20% to GBP195.1 million in the six months to the end of June from GBP162.1 million a year ago. Pretax profit jumped 82% to GBP16.6 million from GBP9.1 million.
Forterra raised its interim dividend by 90% to 1.90p per share from 1.00p a year prior.
It said the higher revenue was driven by strong volume growth and modest selling price progression. It expects 2025 adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be ahead of its previous guidance.
Card Factory was up 6.7% as it agreed to buy funkypigeon.com from WH Smith for GBP24 million. Funkypigeon is an online personalised card and attached gifting business, which has generated an average of GBP32 million revenue and GBP5 million Ebitda over the last two years.
"This acquisition marks a significant step forward in cardfactory's strategy to build a scaled, competitive digital presence in the celebration occasions market," said CEO Darcy Willson-Rymer.
WH Smith was down 2.0%.
Brent oil was quoted at USD69.35 a barrel at midday in London on Tuesday, down from USD69.65 late Monday. Gold was higher at USD3,322.30 an ounce against USD3,314.26.
Still to come on Tuesday's economic calendar, there is a US job openings and labour turnover report at 1500 BST.
Over in Copenhagen, Novo Nordisk shares slumped 15%. The pharmaceutical firm lowered its sales growth outlook for 2025 to an 8-14% range, from 13-21% previously. Operating profit growth between 10-16% is now expected, its forecast knocked from 16-24%.
"The lowered sales outlook for 2025 is driven by lower growth expectations for the second half of 2025. This is related to lower growth expectations for Wegovy in the US obesity market, lower growth expectations for Ozempic in the US GLP-1 diabetes market, as well as lower-than-expected penetration for Wegovy in select IO markets," it warned.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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