17th Jul 2026 09:13
(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 opened higher on Friday, outperforming European peers, while political attention turned to Andy Burnham's expected confirmation as Labour leader ahead of becoming UK prime minister on Monday.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 36.39 points, 0.4%, at 10,608.72. The FTSE 250 was down 59.98 points, 0.3%, at 23,655.85, and the AIM all-share was down 5.68 points, 0.7%, at 760.50.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.6% at 1,054.35, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 20,513.46, and the Cboe small companies was marginally lower at 18,410.85.
Andy Burnham is set to be confirmed as Labour leader on Friday before becoming UK prime minister on Monday, pledging to lead an "unashamedly Labour" government focused on economic renewal, reindustrialisation and devolving more power away from Westminster.
In his first speech as party leader, Burnham is expected to argue Britain has taken "a series of wrong turns" over the past 40 years and call for a new economic path that puts "people and places at the heart of everything we do".
Burnham succeeds Keir Starmer after securing the backing of 369 Labour MPs and eight affiliated trade unions, while committing to Labour's fiscal rules and manifesto pledges not to raise income tax, VAT or national insurance.
In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris fell 0.5%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was also down 0.5%.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3461 early Friday, lower than USD1.3483 at the London equities close on Thursday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR1.1756 from EUR1.1791. The euro traded at USD1.1446, up from USD1.1444, while the dollar slipped to JPY162.28 from JPY162.43.
In London, Burberry was the worst FTSE 100 performer, falling 4.5% despite reporting a stronger first quarter and lifting its wholesale revenue guidance.
The luxury retailer posted retail revenue of GBP455 million in the 13 weeks ended June 27, up 5% from GBP433 million a year earlier, while comparable retail sales rose 5%.
Comparable sales increased 12% in the Americas, 9% in Greater China and 3% in Asia Pacific, while EMEIA declined 3%, or 1% excluding the Middle East, reflecting disruption from the US-Iran conflict.
Burberry said it delivered growth across womenswear, menswear, accessories and childrenswear for the first time in three years, led by double-digit growth in outerwear. Handbags returned to growth, while e-commerce sales rose by the mid-teens.
The company raised its first-half wholesale revenue guidance to high-single-digit growth following a positive response from partners, and continues to expect full-year revenue growth and margin expansion in line with market expectations.
CEO Joshua Schulman said: "For the first time in three years, we saw growth across our Women's, Men's, Accessories and Children's divisions, anchored by the outperformance of Outerwear.
"Our strategy is working. We are attracting a broad range of luxury customers across product categories, channels and geographies, reinforcing my confidence in the opportunities ahead."
At the other end of the blue-chip index, Vodafone rose 3.5% after Vega, the Xavier Niel family investment vehicle, confirmed on Thursday that its counterparty banks will proceed with the purchase of Emirates Telecommunications Group's entire 16.2% stake in the telecoms company.
The transaction covers 3.94 billion shares at 110.48 pence each.
On the FTSE 250, Ceres Power Holdings fell 9.2%, while Eurowag lost 7.3% after TA Associates completed a GBP30 million sale of shares.
Bridgepoint led the mid-cap index, rising 3.6% after reporting record first-half underlying results as fundraising momentum accelerated.
Underlying management and other fees rose 23% to GBP254.1 million in the six months to June 30 from GBP206.8 million a year earlier. Performance-related earnings more than doubled to GBP120.7 million from GBP57.6 million, lifting underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation by 78% to GBP227.3 million.
Pretax profit, however, fell 29% to GBP42.9 million from GBP60.6 million, reflecting higher exceptional costs related to acquisitions, while profit after tax declined 35% to GBP28.7 million from GBP44.1 million.
Among smaller caps, Itaconix jumped 17% after securing its first customer supply agreement for plastic-free detergent tablets.
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo ended 4.0% lower. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed down 3.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed down 2.0%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.5%.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.2%, the S&P 500 down 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite down 1.5%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.54%, narrowing from 4.57%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 5.07%, narrowing from 5.10%.
Brent crude was quoted at USD84.36 a barrel early Friday, down from USD84.75 late Thursday, although geopolitical tensions remained elevated.
Iranian state media said deadly US strikes overnight hit an airport, a railway station in the port city of Bandar Abbas and two bridges near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran responded by targeting US military infrastructure in Kuwait, saying it had launched drones against troop positions and logistical support facilities, while Bahrain and Qatar also reported attacks.
Gold was quoted at USD3,994.00 an ounce early Friday, down from USD4,014.58 on Thursday.
Still to come on Friday's economic calendar, the eurozone releases consumer price inflation data, while the US publishes building permits, export and import prices, and industrial production figures.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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