3rd Sep 2026 09:15
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened mixed on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 little changed as gains for telecom stocks and positive broker calls were offset by shares trading ex-dividend.
The FTSE 100 index opened down 4.76 points, marginally lower, at 10,751.69. The FTSE 250 was down 21.44 points, 0.1%, at 24,299.44, and the AIM all-share was up 4.12 points, 0.5%, at 794.10.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 1,068.71, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.3% at 21,110.65, and the Cboe small companies was down 0.2% at 18,941.94.
In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was marginally higher.
In the FTSE 100, telecoms Airtel Africa and Vodafone were among the best performers, up 3.1% and 2.0%, respectively.
Prudential rose 1.2% after Berenberg initiated coverage of the insurer with a 'buy' rating and a 1,445 pence price target.
Associated British Foods added 1.1% following price target increases from Barclays and Citigroup.
Barclays raised its price target for the Primark owner to 1,970 pence from 1,940 pence, retaining an 'equal weight' rating. Citigroup lifted its target to 1,550p from 1,330p, while maintaining a 'sell' recommendation.
At the bottom of the index, Admiral Group fell 2.4% as its shares traded ex-dividend.
Insurer and asset manager M&G fell 1.9% after swinging to a first-half pretax loss attributable to equity holders as short-term investment fluctuations weighed on its statutory results, despite an improvement in adjusted operating profit.
Adjusted operating profit before tax rose 15% to GBP435 million from GBP378 million a year earlier, while net inflows from open business increased to GBP2.4 billion from GBP2.1 billion. Its Solvency II coverage ratio improved to 247% from 230% a year before.
However, M&G swung to a pretax loss attributable to equity holders of GBP213 million from a GBP333 million profit and to a post-tax loss of GBP165 million from a GBP248 million profit.
The company attributed the swing primarily to GBP551 million of adverse short-term investment return fluctuations, including a GBP325 million pretax hit related to proposed UK ground rent reforms.
M&G raised its interim dividend to 6.8p from 6.7p. It said it remains on track to meet its 2025-to-2027 operating capital generation target and expects low double-digit adjusted operating profit growth for the full year.
In the FTSE 250, Ithaca Energy fell 5.1% to the bottom of the index as its shares traded ex-dividend.
Ithaca will join the FTSE 100 on September 21 alongside easyJet, replacing Entain and Persimmon, FTSE Russell confirmed on Wednesday. FTSE Russell is the London Stock Exchange Group subsidiary that produces, maintains, licenses and markets stock market indices.
Hilton Food Group jumped 10% following the release of its first-half interim results.
The company upgraded its full-year adjusted pretax profit forecast to between GBP66 million and GBP71 million, from its previous guidance range of GBP60 million to GBP65 million.
Among smaller caps, Frontier Developments rose 8.9% after announcing an agreement with Disney for a new game.
Frontier said it will fully fund development of the game, which will draw on Disney's portfolio of intellectual property.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3503 early Thursday, lower than USD1.3505 at the London equities close on Wednesday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR1.1636 from EUR1.1648 a day prior.
The euro traded at USD1.1604 early Thursday, higher than USD1.1594 late Wednesday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY157.11 versus JPY158.67.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo ended down 0.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed marginally higher, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was ended down 0.6%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.5%.
In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.6%, the S&P 500 up 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.5%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.78%, narrowing from 4.79%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 5.25%, narrowing from 5.27%.
Oil prices came down a bit following the latest exchange of fire between the US and Iran, as the two countries continued to battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent oil was trading at USD94.93 a barrel early Thursday, lower than USD95.40 late Wednesday.
The US and Iran exchanged strikes on Tuesday, with US President Donald Trump saying Washington's attacks were in retaliation for Tehran's attempts to lay sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz and for firing at US service members in the Middle East over the weekend.
Donald Trump suggested the latest US attacks against Iran would likely be short-lived. Asked how long the bombing campaign could last, he told reporters on Wednesday: "I don't think too long."
Meanwhile, CNN cited US officials as saying the military escorted 40 commercial ships loaded with 18 million barrels of crude through the strait, a wartime high.
Gold was quoted at USD4,425.19 an ounce early Thursday, higher than USD4,371.82 on Wednesday.
Still to come on Thursday's economic calendar are services and composite purchasing managers' index readings for the UK and US.
The eurozone also releases producer price data, while the US publishes weekly jobless claims and trade balance figures.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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