14th Aug 2026 12:06
(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 underperformed continental peers on Friday, with software shares rising but impetus lacking elsewhere, leaving the blue-chip benchmark set for a weekly decline.
The FTSE 100 index was down 7.97 points, 0.1%, at 10,764.70. It is down 1.3% so far this week.
"The FTSE 100 pulled back slightly on Friday as weakness in miners, pharma, tobacco and banks acted as a headwind," AJ Bell analyst Dan Coatsworth commented.
Antofagasta lost another 5.3%, after cutting guidance on Thursday, GSK shed 2.4%, while Imperial Brands was down 1.0%.
The FTSE 250 rose 29.92 points, 0.1%, at 24,867.63. The AIM all-share barely budged, edging up just 0.05 of a point to 800.93.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 1,069.13, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.3% higher at 21,666.51, and the Cboe small companies was flat at 19,075.71.
In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up slightly, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.7%.
Sterling rose to USD1.3528 on Friday afternoon, from USD1.3498 at the time of the London equities close on Thursday. Versus the euro, it edged up to EUR1.1704 from EUR1.1701.
Against the dollar, the single currency traded at USD1.1554, up from USD1.1535. Against the yen, the dollar slipped to JPY159.15 from JPY159.33.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury stretched to 4.65% on Friday from 4.64% on Thursday. The 30-year yield widened to 5.24% from 5.21%.
Gold faded to USD4,350.58 an ounce midday Friday from USD4,369.95 late Thursday afternoon. A barrel of Brent fell to USD87.35 from USD87.87.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened Thursday to subject Iran to economic isolation "like the world has never seen before," adding that new measures are expected next week.
"It will be a combination of economic isolation, like the world has never seen before," Bessent told conservative television network Newsmax, adding that "the continued blockade in the Strait of Hormuz... will keep anything from going in or out of the Iranian ports."
"Watch this space for more announcements coming next week," he said.
Bessent described a two-pronged approach featuring financial pressure and a physical blockade of the ports.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is called down 0.2%, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite up 0.1%.
Workday shares rose 1.7% in pre-market dealings, having surged 18% on Thursday.
It is in discussions for a possible takeover by the private equity firm Silver Lake, Reuters reported on Thursday.
Confidential talks between Workday and Silver Lake have taken place over the past few months, and remain ongoing, the sources said, with no certainty a deal will materialise. SAP rose 5.0% in Frankfurt in a positive read across.
In London, Experian jumped 6.8%, Sage rose 4.3% and Relx was up 4.2%.
"It's interesting to note that the top five risers on the FTSE 100 included Sage, Experian and Relx – all united by markets fears earlier this year about how AI could disrupt their respective businesses, which led to share price weakness. The fact investors are fishing around these names would suggest there is still decent risk appetite to go bargain hunting. That might also explain why gambling group Entain featured in the top risers, with its shares trading a little over eight times earnings," AJ Bell analyst Dan Coatsworth commented.
Ladbrokes Coral owner Entain was up 3.8%, also among the best FTSE 100 performers.
Aviva rose 1.0%. It said it enjoyed a "strong" first half of 2026 as it backed its longer-term outlook.
The London-based insurer and wealth manager said operating profit was GBP1.33 billion in the six months that ended June 30, up 24% from GBP1.07 billion a year before, as insurance revenue climbed 23% to GBP13.48 billion from GBP10.99 billion.
Operating profit topped Visible Alpha consensus of GBP1.25 billion. Operating earnings per share were up 10% to 31.8 pence from 29.0p.
"Aviva's results in the first half of 2026 were very strong," Chief Executive Officer Amanda Blanc said.
Blanc said Aviva is making "very good progress" with the integration of Direct Line, an acquisition it sealed in July of last year.
"We are confident that we will meet our three-year financial targets in 2028 and expect 75% of our earnings to be capital-light by that point," she said.
GB Group plunged 27%. It cut its revenue growth aim, as it grapples with tough trading conditions in the Americas Identity arm. The identity verification and fraud prevention company said revenue for the year ending March 2027 is to rise between 1% and 3%, the outlook cut from mid-single digit growth previously.
"First quarter revenue in Americas Identity was only marginally below our plan, but growth has not improved in the second quarter as we have seen higher than expected volume attrition on a few material customers. While our sales pipeline remains strong, the time required to convert opportunities into recognised revenue given our normal sales cycle means the impact of this attrition is unlikely to be mitigated within the current financial year," the firm said.
"We will continue with the one-off GBP6 million investment announced in June to accelerate GBG Go's innovation roadmap and we are focused on mitigating the attrition headwind with strong cost control," it added.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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