29th Jul 2025 09:18
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened mixed on Tuesday, as an earnings boost at AstraZeneca was well received by investors and supported the blue-cap index.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 11.70 points, 0.1%, at 9,093.14. The FTSE 250 was down marginally by 0.82 points at 21,950.74, and the AIM All-Share was down 2.61 points, 0.3%, at 770.41.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 909.61, the Cboe UK 250 was up marginally at 19,259.27, and the Cboe Small Companies was 0.1% higher at 17,768.78.
The UK's car market is on track for its strongest year since before the coronavirus pandemic, according to new analysis.
Online vehicle marketplace Auto Trader Group PLC said it expects two million new and 7.75 million used cars to be sold across the whole of 2025, as older, budget-friendly models drive growth.
The total of 9.75 million would be a 3% increase on last year's figure of 9.5 million, 1.9 million new and 7.6 million used.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 1.0%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.7% higher.
In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.1% while the S&P 500 closed 1.13 points lower. The Nasdaq Composite finished up 0.3%.
In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.8%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was 0.3% higher, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.2%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.1%.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3332 early on Tuesday in London, down from USD1.3403 at the equities close on Monday. The euro was down at USD1.1553, against USD1.1620. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY148.58, higher compared to JPY148.45.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury was unchanged at 4.42%. The yield on the 30-year was also unchanged at 4.96%.
In London, AstraZeneca climbed 2.0% as it reported positive interim figures.
The pharmaceutical company said its "strong momentum in revenue growth" has continued through the first half of the year.
Total revenue increased 9.5% to USD28.05 billion in the first of 2025 from USD25.62 billion a year ago. Pretax profit jumped 26% to USD6.53 billion from USD5.20 billion, while diluted earnings per share surged 31% to USD3.44 from USD2.63.
Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot said: "As we enter our next phase of growth, we have pledged USD50 billion to continue to grow in the US, which includes the largest manufacturing investment in AstraZeneca's history, set for Virginia. This landmark investment reflects not only America's importance but also our confidence in our innovative medicines to transform global health and power AstraZeneca's ambition to deliver USD80 billion revenue by 2030."
Games Workshop was the best performer on the blue-cap index and rose 3.3%.
The manufacturer of miniature war games reported increased earnings for the 2025 financial year.
Revenue climbed 17% to GBP617.5 million from GBP525.7 million, while pretax profit jumped 29% to GBP262.8 million from GBP203.0 million.
"After a record year, we remain focused on delivering our operational plans and working tirelessly to overcome any significant obstacles that get in the way," said Chief Executive Officer Kevin Rountree.
Peel Hunt said the business had a strong year, with all key geographic regions in growth.
ConvaTec gained 0.8%, as it raised its dividend and reiterated its outlook as interim earnings grew.
The medical products and technologies company said revenue rose 6.0% in the first half to USD1.18 billion from USD1.11 billion a year ago.
Pretax profit jumped 32% to USD137.4 million from USD104.0 million. It increased its interim dividend by 3.0% to 1.88 US cents per share from 1.82 cents.
On the FTSE 250 index, Paragon Banking was the worst performer and fell 8.3%.
The bank lowers its financial 2025 mortgage lending advances guidance to GBP1.6 billion from between GBP1.6 billion and GBP1.8 billion, but left its other guidance unchanged.
In the third quarter, Paragon Banking said commercial lending volumes were in line with expectations, while loan balances were up 4.8% from a year ago.
Shore Capital cut Paragon Banking to a 'hold' rating from 'buy'.
In other stocks, Versarien fell 27%.
The firm said it has not received a suitable offer for its UK Technology companies during a sales process.
As a result, it said it expects Versarien Graphene will shortly be placed into administration and Cambridge Graphene and 2-DTech will start the process of voluntary liquidation.
Versarien Korea has ceased all operations, it added.
It said Versarian PLC, Gnanomat and the still up for sale Total Carbide will remain.
The company said this move extends its forecast runway through to the end of August to allow further time for the proposed strategic investment to be closed, though there is no guarantee it will.
Should this investment not be received, Versarien said it plans to appoint Leonard Curtis to conduct an accelerated sale process of the remaining assets.
Elsewhere in Europe, Air Liquide was 2.2% higher in Paris as it reported improved first half earnings, and the industrial gas supplier affirmed its annual outlook.
The firm said net profit in the first six months of the year rose 7.2% to EUR1.80 billion from EUR1.68 billion a year earlier, in line with consensus.
Revenue improved 2.7% year-on-year to EUR13.72 billion from EUR13.38 billion, largely in line with the consensus of EUR13.73 billion.
Gold was higher at USD3,319.90 an ounce early Tuesday from USD3,314.26 at Monday's close. Brent oil was trading at USD69.25 a barrel, down from USD69.95.
Still to come on Tuesday's economic calendar, there is mortgage approvals data for the UK at 0930 BST, before the US house price index at 1400 and a Conference Board consumer confidence report.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Games WorkshopConvaTecAstrazenecaParagon GroupVersarien