25th Apr 2025 12:02
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London were mixed at midday on Friday, taking heart from a strong retail sales print and consolidating gains after a strong week.
The FTSE 100 index was down 5.05 points, 0.1%, at 8,402.35. It has risen for the last nine trading days, its best run since December 2019.
The FTSE 250 was up 69.64 points, 0.4%, at 19,574.60, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.21 points, 0.3%, at 671.99.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 836.61, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.4% at 17,115.30, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.1% at 15,282.45.
In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris firmed 0.7%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt climbed 0.8%.
"Another strong session on Wall Street yesterday lifted spirits at the end of the trading week, resulting in small but welcome gains across much of European equities markets on Friday," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
"The past three weeks have been chaotic and investors have been subjected to a whirlwind of events. That chaos is now easing away and replaced by a tentative feeling of serenity. Donald Trump could easily turn markets back on their head with a single remark, but for now, we can embrace a moment of calm," he added.
Stocks in New York were seen mixed on Friday after Thursday's strong gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called down 0.1%, the S&P 500 index 0.3% higher, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.3%.
Alphabet is 5.6% higher in pre-market trading after well-received first quarter results, which beat expectations.
The Mountain View, California-based technology conglomerate, which owns Google, said net income jumped 46% to USD34.54 billion in the quarter ended March 31 from USD23.66 billion a year prior.
Diluted earnings per share climbed 49% to USD2.81 from USD1.89, beating LSEG consensus of USD2.01.
Revenue increased by 12% to USD90.23 billion from USD80.54 billion a year ago, exceeding LSEG consensus of USD89.12 billion.
Kathleen Brooks at XTB Research said the results are a "clear sign that Google’s investments in AI are paying off and they come at a good time for the company."
The pound was quoted higher at USD1.3310 at midday on Friday in London, compared to USD1.3292 at the equities close on Thursday. The euro edged higher, at USD1.1356, against USD1.1351.
Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JPY143.27 compared to JPY142.72.
Back in the UK, there was mixed economic news.
Positively, UK retail sales rose for the third month in a row, comfortably outstripping expectations,
According to the Office for National Statistics, UK retail sales volumes rose by 0.4% in March, against a 0.7% growth in February. This outperformed an FXStreet-cited consensus for a 0.4% decline in sales.
Sales by clothing and outdoor retailers were boosted by good weather, said the ONS, though gains were partly offset by falls in supermarket sales.
Sales volumes rose by 2.6% over the year to March, far exceeding a 1.8% FXStreet-cited consensus and accelerated from a 2.2% rise in the year to February.
But separate figures published by research company GfK showed that consumer confidence fell four points to minus 23 this month, the lowest level for well over a year.
Rob Wood at Pantheon Macroeconomics noted the retail sales growth came ahead of the US tariff news.
"The question is how much rising uncertainty will hit consumers. We think the central case is for only a modest hit and would downplay the drop in confidence this morning. For instance, households’ major purchase intentions - the part of the consumers' confidence survey most correlated with retail sales - fell only two points, with larger drops focused in worries about the general economy which have less relevance for actual spending. Uncertainty will crimp spending, but there is only so much that UK consumers care about US tariffs on China," Wood remarked.
On the FTSE 100, WPP fell 1.7% after reporting revenue of GBP3.24 billion for the first quarter of 2025, down 5.0% from GBP3.41 billion a year before. On a like-for-like basis revenue fell 0.7%.
Excluding pass-through costs, revenue declined 7.8% to GBP2.48 billion for the three months that ended March 31 from GBP2.69 billion a year prior, or by 2.7% on a LFL basis.
"Our financial performance in [the first quarter] was in line with our expectations, reflecting macroeconomic challenges and the timing of new business, and we expect these factors to continue in [the second quarter] with performance anticipated to improve in the second half," said Chief Executive Officer Mark Read.
"While WPP is not itself directly affected by tariffs, they will impact a number of our clients as well as the broader economy, CEO Read cautioned.
But he added that so far, WPP has not seen any "significant" change in client spending.
Gold miners Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo were weak features, down 2.4% and 1.2% as the gold price eased, continuing its volatile progress.
The yellow metal traded at USD3,302.88 an ounce at midday on Friday compared to USD3,324.20 late Thursday.
Mobico shocked investors as it said it expects to suffer a "significant" annual loss due to write-offs of goodwill, as it also announced the long-awaited sale of its North America School Bus business.
Shares in the Birmingham, England-based public transport operator plunged 30%.
Panmure Liberum said the sale price of the US bus division of around GBP457 million was "light" of its assumption of GBP615 million, and includes a USD70 million earn out - "which is clearly not guaranteed to be paid in full."
Looking ahead, Mobico expects to report 2024 adjusted operating profit at the lower end of guidance, with School Bus expected to contribute around GBP9 million to profit.
Bookmaker Evoke eased 1.5% after reporting revenue of GBP437.2 million in the first three months ended March 31, up 1.4% from GBP431.2 million in the prior year, in line with the company's guidance.
However, Evoke's UK revenue fell 1%, with lower sports revenue offsetting a 3% increase in gaming. The company added that both were impacted by the introduction of additional safer gambling measures.
Full-year revenue growth of Evoke is expected to be consistent with the company's mid-term target of 5% to 9% annual growth.
Brent oil was quoted higher at USD65.83 a barrel at midday in London on Friday from USD66.10 late Thursday.
Still to come on Friday's economic calendar, Canada retail sales at 1330 BST.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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