29th Jul 2026 09:22
(Alliance News) - European stocks moved higher on Wednesday morning, shaking off a resumption of hostilities in the Middle East, which moved the Brent price closer to USD90 a barrel, while trade in Asia still showed signs of chip sector nerves.
In London, Asia-focused lenders moved higher on the back of Standard Chartered's results, numbers from Weir and Reckitt impressed, while Burberry climbed after a filing showed Frasers has snapped up a stake in the company.
The FTSE 100 index rose 54.30 points, 0.5%, at 10,925.32 on Wednesday. The FTSE 250 lost 25.69 points, 0.1%, at 23,979.09, and the AIM all-share fell 1.79 points, 0.2%, at 766.15.
The Cboe UK 100 rose 0.4% at 1,084.57, the Cboe UK 250 edged down 0.1% at 20,917.39, and the Cboe small companies was 0.2% higher at 18,631.03.
In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 rose 0.2%. The CAC 40 was up 0.1%.
A barrel of Brent rose to USD87.17 early Wednesday, from USD84.87 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. Gold rose slightly to USD4,043.32 an ounce from USD4,035.95.
Jordan's air defences intercepted five missiles launched from Iran on Wednesday, the country's military said, hours after the US military said it had knocked down an Iranian missile barrage launched against American forces in the Middle East, shattering a brief pause in fighting.
The Jordanian military said the missiles had been "intercepted and destroyed".
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency carried a statement from the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard saying its Aerospace Force fired ballistic missiles at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base and the headquarters of the US military's Central Command in Jordan.
Hours earlier, the US Central Command said its forces "remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness", and that they had also worked with Saudi Arabia's forces to strike sites in Iraq that Tehran-backed militias have used to launch attacks in recent days.
In announcing the strikes in Iraq, the US warned that further attacks on American troops or Saudi Arabia's energy infrastructure risked additional action.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury widened to 4.61% early Wednesday from 4.59% at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. The 30-year yield stretched to 5.10% from 5.09%.
"Unsurprisingly therefore, oil and US Treasury yields are off yesterday's lows," analysts at Lloyds Bank commented.
Sterling fetched USD1.3303, easing from USD1.3306. Against the euro, it faded to EUR1.1665 from EUR1.1674. The single currency was steady at USD1.1399 from USD1.1397. Against the yen, the buck was flat at JPY163.67 from JPY163.68.
A trio of major central bank decisions are on the docket this week, kicking off with the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, before the Bank of England on Thursday and Bank of Japan on Friday.
Commerzbank analyst Antje Praefcke commented: "In all likelihood, this overall situation should lead to a 'hawkish hold' this evening. The market expects at least one interest rate hike from the Fed by the end of the year and sees a chance that more could follow next year as well. It does not want to completely rule out an interest rate hike even today, even though it sees only a low probability for this to happen."
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.5% on Wednesday. In China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.4%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong shot up 1.9%. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.0%. In Seoul, the Kospi slumped 6.0%.
"The morning bargain-hunting bounce never stood a chance once SK Hynix rolled over and Korea's concentrated AI trade began eating itself. After a brutal factor session in the US and another sharp selloff in SK Hynix, the early bargain hunting in Seoul always looked less like conviction and more like traders checking whether the floor was still there," SPI Asset Management analyst Stephen Innes commented.
"[SK Hynix's] earnings call failed to provide investors with enough clarity on shareholder returns, long-term customer contracts and the pricing attached to those agreements. The company reported a sixfold increase in quarterly profit, but the market was not interested in celebrating the rear-view mirror. Investors instead focused on plans to raise capital expenditure to at least USD31 billion and the possibility that more of the AI windfall will be reinvested in capacity rather than returned to shareholders. That is becoming the central tension running through the AI trade."
SK Hynix shares fell 9.6% in Seoul.
In the US on Tuesday, performance on Wall Street was mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.0%, the S&P 500 up 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.2%.
In London, Weir Group was the best FTSE 100 performer, adding 8.6%. The engineering group reported pretax profit in the half-year to June 30 rose 6.8% to GBP174.9 million from GBP163.8 million, while revenue was 6.2% higher at GBP1.27 billion from GBP1.20 billion.
Dettol and Harpic owner Reckitt added 5.0% as it announced a new buyback of up to GBP500 million over the next 12 months. Half-year like-for-like net revenue improved 2.6%, and for the second quarter alone, it was 4.7%.
"We accelerated like-for-like net revenue growth in the second quarter to drive a good first half performance. The strategic choices we have made are strengthening our execution, with all of our areas and categories accelerating in Q2 and a balanced contribution from volume and price/mix. The strength of our Powerbrands and strong consumer response to our recent innovations underpin these results," Chief Executive Officer Kris Licht said.
Standard Chartered shot up 4.8% after half-year results, with HSBC rising 1.9% in a positive read across. StanChart also announced a buyback and the Asia-focused lender upped guidance. HSBC releases half-year results on Tuesday.
Also among the best large-cap performers on Wednesday, Burberry rose 5.2%. A regulatory filing showed Frasers Group has built a 4.2% stake in the luxury retailer.
Elsewhere in London, Greggs jumped 9.5%. The baker posted improved half-year earnings despite a "challenging market".
Pretax profit in the 26 weeks to June 27 improved 20% to GBP76.0 million from GBP63.5 million, with revenue up 7.2% to GBP1.10 billion from GBP1.03 billion.
Greggs said it continued "to grow share and overall volumes in a challenging market".
Supporting its bottom line was a "soft" prior year figure, growth in its grocery offering and "strong cost control and the phasing of cost inflation". The grocery products include its bake at home available at some UK supermarkets.
The company said: "After a challenging 2025, we have delivered an improved sales performance and good cost control through the first half of 2026, resulting in strong profit growth. Through disciplined estate expansion and a focus on innovation, Greggs is evolving its offer further and making the brand more convenient for a wider range of customers. The outlook for cost inflation in 2026 has reduced, albeit some uncertainty remains.
"We are making great progress in building the supply chain infrastructure that will support the significant growth opportunities that lie ahead. As previously guided, the cost headwind from this increased capacity is expected to result in profits in the second half reducing year-on-year, absent a recovery in the consumer backdrop. The board's expectations for the full-year outcome are unchanged."
Cost inflation over the first half was 2.2%, it said, a level it now expects for the whole year. It had previously expected cost inflation of around 3% on a like-for-like basis.
Earnings also continued to roll in over in mainland Europe. Banks UBS and Deutsche Bank added 2.1% and 4.5% in Zurich and Frankfurt as their numbers impressed. Food and dairy products firm Danone lost 4.0% in Paris.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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