7th Jul 2026 12:26
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were mixed at midday on Tuesday, with strength in energy stocks offset by weakness in miners, while investors kept a close eye on developments from the Nato summit in Turkey and mounting concerns over the UK's long-term fiscal outlook.
The FTSE 100 index was up 30.39 points, 0.3%, at 10,682.16. The FTSE 250 was down 57.00 points, 0.2%, at 23,447.22, and the AIM all-share was down 4.65 points, 0.6%, at 774.09.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 1,060.12, the Cboe UK 250 was marginally lower at 20,212.46, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.3% at 18,473.25.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.6%.
Attention remained firmly on the Nato summit in Ankara, where allies unveiled billions of dollars of new defence contracts in an effort to demonstrate stronger military commitments to US President Donald Trump.
The two-day summit opened with a series of announcements covering new drones, surveillance aircraft and aerial refuelling capabilities, as Nato sought to showcase progress towards higher defence spending targets.
Secretary General Mark Rutte said allies and defence companies would sign contracts worth "literally billions of dollars", describing the investment as a boost both to collective security and to economic growth.
The announcements came as Trump continued to criticise European allies over the pace of defence spending increases and their response to the recent conflict with Iran, despite last year's agreement to raise core defence spending towards 5% of gross domestic product.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3384 at midday Tuesday, higher compared with USD1.3354 at the London equities close on Monday. Against the euro, sterling strengthened to EUR1.1702 from EUR1.1696. The euro traded at USD1.1433, up from USD1.1417, while the dollar eased to JPY161.92 from JPY162.34.
Back in the UK, the Office for Budget Responsibility warned that public debt could move onto an "unsustainable and ever-rising path" unless governments take action sooner rather than later.
In its annual Fiscal Risks & Sustainability Report, the watchdog said demographic pressures and broader economic trends were set to place increasing strain on public finances over the coming decades.
While stressing its scenarios were not forecasts because future governments would almost certainly intervene, the OBR warned that delaying fiscal tightening would only increase the scale of measures eventually required.
"The degree of tightening required to prevent debt from following an unsustainable path increases if it is delayed to future years," it said.
Within the FTSE 100, Shell rose 2.5% after raising second-quarter guidance for both integrated gas and upstream production, while saying trading in its gas division would be "significantly higher" than in the first quarter thanks to heightened volatility during the Middle East conflict.
The energy major also announced the sale of its South African downstream business to Abu Dhabi National Oil Co for an enterprise value of USD1.0 billion, marking its exit from the country's fuel retail, aviation and lubricants markets through the disposal of its network of around 580 service stations.
Mining stocks were among the weakest performers as lower gold prices weighed on the sector. Fresnillo fell 2.7%, Antofagasta lost 2.5%, Anglo American shed 2.3% and Rio Tinto declined 1.8%.
On the FTSE 250, ITV dropped 6.3% after JPMorgan downgraded the broadcaster to "neutral" following Monday's agreement to sell its Media & Entertainment division to Sky.
At the top of the mid-cap index, Keller Group surged 21% after upgrading full-year guidance and saying annual results are now expected to come in ahead of market expectations.
Victrex climbed 20% after maintaining full-year guidance alongside an 18% increase in third-quarter revenue, driven by strong demand from aerospace and electronics customers.
NCC Group gained 6.7% after proposing a capital reduction that would create around GBP225 million of distributable reserves, increasing financial flexibility.
Among smaller companies, NeoTerra Group rose 10% after reporting metallurgical test results that it said further de-risked its Monte Muambe rare earths project.
Beauty Tech Group advanced 7.2% after upgrading earnings guidance.
First Class Metals fell 22% after saying drilling at its Sunbeam project had tested around 300 metres of strike.
Stocks in New York were called mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called up 0.2%, while the S&P 500 was seen down 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite down 1.0%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.50%, widening from 4.49%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 5.00%, unchanged from Monday.
Gold traded at USD4,132.00 an ounce at midday Tuesday, down from USD4,148.94 on Monday, while Brent crude rose to USD72.95 a barrel from USD72.13.
Still to come on Tuesday's economic calendar, Canada releases trade balance data and the Ivey PMI. In the US, investors will monitor trade balance figures, the Redbook index and consumer inflation expectations.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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