23rd Jul 2025 11:53
(Alliance News) - London stocks remained higher at midday on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 extending its record high, as the US-Japan trade agreement spikes optimism for similar deals in Europe.
The FTSE 100 index was up 51.31 points, 0.6%, at 9,075.12. The FTSE 250 was up 108.56 points, 0.5%, at 22,042.82, and the AIM All-Share was up 3.83 points, 0.5%, at 773.97.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.6% at 905.40, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.6% at 19,381.65, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 17,695.38.
In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris advanced 1.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt rose 0.7%.
"News of a trade agreement between the US and Japan is fostering optimism among investors that further deals might be reached before punishing tariffs come into force," said AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould.
"The news helped drive the FTSE 100 to a new record high and saw gains in other markets across mainland Europe – with focus likely to now turn to the prospects of an agreement being forged between the Trump administration and EU."
The trade deal agreed between the US and Japan includes a 15% tariff on exports. US President Donald Trump explained that under the deal: "Japan will invest, at my direction, USD550 Billion Dollars into the US, which will receive 90% of the Profits."
The breakthrough makes Japan one of five countries to have signed an agreement – along with Britain, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines – after Trump promised in April he would get "90 deals in 90 days".
Stocks in New York were called higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called 0.5% higher, the S&P 500 index up 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite is set to rise 0.2%.
However, Exness analyst Dat Tong commented: "Despite the improved sentiment, investors remain wary. The extension of the tariff truce with other countries is still uncertain, and fears of renewed escalation continue to weigh on the greenback's broader outlook. Political pressure on the Federal Reserve and lingering doubts about its independence also contribute to the uncertainty.
"Meanwhile, US Treasury yields moved higher today across the curve as investors could move toward riskier assets. Risk appetite could be fueled by positive developments around trade negotiations and could weigh on bonds. In this regard, yields could react to any developments or setbacks in trade negotiations."
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.37%, widening from 4.34%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.94%, stretching from 4.91%.
Separately, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has denied discussing his resignation with party elders on Wednesday, as media speculation about his future intensified after a weekend election debacle. Ishiba's coalition lost its majority in the upper house in elections on Sunday, just months after suffering the same fate in the lower house, forcing him into a minority government.
The pound was quoted up at USD1.3542 at midday on Wednesday in London, compared to USD1.3508 at the equities close on Tuesday. The euro stood lower at USD1.1729, against USD1.1735. Against the yen, the dollar was trading lower at JPY146.33 compared to JPY146.49.
Informa led the FTSE 100 around midday in London, up 5.9%.
The London-based international events, digital services, and academic publishing business reported a pretax loss of GBP254.2 million in the six months to June 30, swung from a profit of GBP237.4 million a year prior.
The bottom line was hurt by goodwill impairments of GBP484.2 million in the half-year based on the current US public market valuation of Informa TechTarget and its US trading performance, and a GBP51.9 million fair value loss on an investment compared to zero a year ago.
Revenue grew 20% to GBP2.04 billion from GBP1.70 billion a year ago, reflecting further strong growth in live business-to-business events and academic markets.
Reflecting the strong performance, Informa increased full-year underlying revenue growth guidance to at least 6% from at least 5%, including 8% plus in Live B2B Events. In 2024, Informa reported underlying revenue growth of 11.6%.
Hochschild Mining was among the FTSE 250's leading risers, gaining 8.4%.
The London-based mining company that targets precious metals in the Americas said attributable production came to 161,597 gold equivalent ounces and 13.4 million silver equivalent ounces during the first half of 2025. This reflects an increase of 5.8% from 152,792 gold equivalent ounces on-year, and is 5.5% higher than 12.7 silver equivalent ounces.
Average realisable prices were USD2,832 per ounce of gold and USD33.8 per ounce of silver, up from 2024's prices of USD2,210 and USD27.0 respectively.
This is despite its Mara Rosa production plant in Brazil having been closed since June, when Hochschild announced a temporary shutdown due to "heavier-than-usual seasonal rainfall" and "contractor performance issues". A review of the site's output constraints is ongoing, Hochschild said, as repairs are carried out.
Alpha Group International surged 26% as it agreed the terms of a takeover by Corpay.
Under the terms of the acquisition, shareholders of the London-based financial services provider will receive GBP42.50 pence per share, which represents a 55% premium to Alpha's closing share price of GBP27.45 on May 1. The deal implies an enterprise value of GBP1.61 billion for Alpha.
Alpha said its directors unanimously considered the terms "fair and reasonable".
Alpha had rejected an offer from Corpay at the beginning of May, but did not at the time provide a reason. On Wednesday,
At the other end, Breedon fell 10%.
The Leicestershire, England-based building materials company said pretax profit fell 25% to GBP34.9 million in the six months to June 30 from GBP46.5 million a year prior. Revenue rose 6.7% to GBP815.9 million from GBP764.6 million a year ago, with growth driven by the acquisition of Lionmark.
Breedon said given the "difficult" first half and the macroeconomic headwinds "we now expect our result for the full year will be at the low end of the current range of market expectations." The company put the range for 2025 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation between GBP291.4 million to GBP311.5 million, growth of at least 19% from GBP245.8 million in 2024.
However, despite what he called "a challenging first half", Breedon Chief Executive said he is "confident" in the medium-term prospects for the group.
Brent oil was quoted down at USD68.19 a barrel at midday in London on Wednesday from USD68.30 late Tuesday.
Gold was quoted slightly lower at USD3,423.98 an ounce against USD3,426.29.
Still to come on Wednesday's economic calendar, eurozone consumer confidence figures and US existing home sales data.
By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
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