- FTSE 100 up 38 points at 8,078
- BHP makes bid for Anglo American
- Wall Street falls as $200bn wiped from Meta
4.46pm: FTSE 100 closes at record high
FTSE 100 closed at new record high of 8,078.86 after it lifted 38.48 points.
It comes after the blue-chip index closed at record peaks on both Monday and Tuesday.
4.01pm: FTSE 100 slips from highs
The FTSE 100 scaled back from an all-time intraday high of 8,105 to sit 25 points higher at 8,065 in late trading.
Blue chips had notched up the record after Anglo American PLC (LSE:AAL) soared on a takeover bid from BHP Ltd, while Barclays PLC (LSE:BARC), AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN) and Unilever PLC (LSE:ULVR) climbed on the back of trading updates.
Come late trading, Anglo was up 15.2%, while Barclays, Astra and Unilever had gained 7.8%, 5.4% and 4.9% respectively.
Legal & General Group PLC (LSE:LGEN) led the fallers in the meantime, down 6.7%, with the firm’s investment wing, which is Anglo’s 11th largest shareholding, having raised concerns over the takeover bid from BHP.
Schroders PLC (LSE:SDR) followed, having fallen 5.3% as news of a growth in assets under management to £760.1 billion over the final quarter fell short of expectations, while the firm was also said to have kicked off the search for a new chief executive.
St James’s Place PLC also fell, by 5.2%, while BAE Systems PLC (LSE:BA.) was down 3.9% after receiving a boost earlier in the week on news UK defence spending would increase.
3.46pm: Steel workers to strike as Tata presses ahead with Port Talbot plan
Unions have said industrial action will go ahead after Tata rejected a plan designed to avoid thousands of job losses at its Port Talbot site in South Wales.
Following a meeting with the company on Wednesday, Unite and Community unions said action would go ahead in response to Tata’s move to shut both blast furnaces at the site.
Some 2,800 jobs are set to be cut under the move, which will see £1.3 billion invested and a state-of-the-art electric arc furnace installed.
“It would protect the majority of jobs, reduce the UK’s carbon emissions by five million tonnes a year and could kickstart a green industrial revolution in South Wales,” a Tata spokesperson said of the plan.
Community boss Roy Rickhuss responded that he was disappointed over Tata’s rejection of the cross-union’s “ambitious and viable alternative to their destructive bad deal for steel”.
He said: “We do not accept the company’s assertion our plan was too expensive.
“In fact, it would have returned the company to profits, and the additional capital expenditure needed to make it a reality could have been funded by an additional £450 million from the government - a drop in the water compared to what other European countries are investing in their domestic steel industries.
“Tata have made their decision, and our members will decide on our collective response.”
3.21pm: US GDP reading leaves fears of ‘stagflation’
Slowing gross domestic product (GDP) growth, coupled with accelerating inflation has prompted concerns over so-called ‘stagflation’ in the US economy, analysts have said.
GDP came in at 1.6% over the first quarter, figures showed on Thursday, below market expectations for growth of 2.4%.
The core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 3.7% in the meantime, ahead of the expected 3.4% increase.
“The risk is that now you may start having headlines featuring the concept of ‘stagflation’, when an economy shows signs of stagnating while prices remain elevated without reprieve,” Monex analysts noted.
Commentators from LPL Financial noted the figures may well prompt the Federal Reserve to cut base rates earlier than thought, “with July coming back into play”.
3.09pm: Anglo American bid prompts shareholder concern
BHP Ltd’s all-paper bid for Anglo American PLC (LSE:AAL) has sparked concern from shareholders, including 11th largest holder Legal & General Investment Management.
“We note with concern the news that BHP have made what we regard as a highly opportunistic approach to Anglo American,” climate solutions head Nick Stansbury said.
“As with many other UK listed companies, we believe the valuation of Anglo American to be depressed and regard the proposed exchange ratio as an unattractive proposition for long-term investors.”
Anglo soared 13.4% on the news of the offer, which would value the miner at £31.1 billion while Legal & General Group PLC (LSE:LGEN) fell 6.8%.
2.53pm: Wall Street sinks on slower GDP growth, Meta plummet
Wall Street sunk into the red as trading got underway on Thursday after gross domestic product data (GDP) showed slowing growth over the first three months of the year.
GDP climbed by 1.6% over the first quarter, against 3.4% during the final three months of last year and below market expectations for a 2.4% increase.
The Nasdaq dipped 329 points to 15,383 on the news, while the Dow Jones lost 531 points to go to 37,929 and the S&P 500 slipped 71 points to 4,999.
Validus Risk Management’s Ryan Brandham noted the GDP figure was “particularly surprising given the perceived strength of the economy”.
He added: “Despite this, price components came in higher than expected.
“This combination of slower growth alongside higher prices is worrying. If higher prices persist, the Fed will find it hard to cut rates to support growth.”
Almost $200bn wiped of Meta’s value
Adding pressure on Thursday was a near 14% drop in Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, ETR:FB2A, SWX:FB)’s share price after a first-quarter trading update on Wednesday evening disappointed.
This equated to almost US$200 billion lost from Meta’s market cap, as investors appeared to flee over higher-than-expected spending on artificial intelligence and full-year guidance... Read more
2.46pm: US growth slower than expected
US gross domestic product grew slower than expected over the first three months of the year, by 1.6%.
Markets had been anticipating growth of around 2.4%, with the figure also marking a slowdown against the last quarter of last year, when GDP increased by 3.4%.
“Despite consumption remaining strong, inventory accumulation was subdued,” Evelyn Partners strategist Nathaniel Casey noted.
“However, if consumers keep spending and consumption remains strong, we expect this will increase during the coming quarters as businesses look to replenish stock.”
He added: “Once again, the US consumer remained resilient over much of the quarter, regardless of the heightened interest rate environment.”
1.45pm: Google taking market share as ad spend grows
Advertising spend in the UK increased last year, but big technology companies appeared to take all the gains, data revealed on Thursday showed.
In total, UK advertising grew 6.1% to £36.6 billion over the year, according to figures from The Advertising Association and Warc.
However, search and online display advertising were among the few segments to fuel the growth, up 11.9% and 11.3% respectively, alongside broadcasting video on demand.
This meant Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)-owned Google benefitted the most, as search advertising spend hit £14.7 billion.
Social medias, such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Alphabet-owned YouTube, received a boost from the increase in online ad spending to £12.9 billion.
Television advertising spend fell 8.9% to £4.9 billion in the meantime, while radio and cinema were among other segments facing a dip.
“Our latest survey of media owners confirms 2023 as a challenging year for most, with few properties recording gains and spend instead further consolidating within search and online display formats - particularly social media,” WARC director James McDonald said.
“Combined, these digital staples are on course to account for almost four in five pounds spent on advertising in the UK next year, up from a share of 51% just five years ago.”
1.20pm: Stellantis boss warns net zero rules could see carmaker ditch UK
Stellantis NV (NYSE:STLA, EPA:STLA) boss Carlos Tavares has warned the carmaker could ditch Britain over obligations to sell an increasing proportion of electric vehicles (EVs) annually.
Tavares called the rules, which come under the zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate, “terrible” for the UK, adding they could see Stellantis, which makes the likes of Vauxhall cars, leave.
“It’s very simple. The ZEV mandate is [forcing] carmakers to have a growing EV sales mix every year,” he said in a briefing on Thursday.
“The problem is the natural demand of the market today in the UK on EVs is half of the mandate.”
Under the mandate, carmakers are required to ensure an increasing proportion of annual their sales are electric cars, stretching to 80% by 2030 and 100% by 2035.
Tavares said he had urged the government to scale back the rules in a meeting on Wednesday, with Telegraph-cited sources suggesting Stellantis may restrict UK sales.
“If your mandate is imposing on you a level of [...] sales mix that is double the natural demand of the market, and if the ZEV mandate puts me in a corner by saying, ‘if you don’t meet this, I’m going to kill you with fines’, the consequence is that everybody will start pushing the BEV, which then totally destroys profitability,” he added.
“You would not expect Stellantis to support a red ink business.”
1.05pm: Housebuilders climb after Persimmon sees orders pick up
Housebuilders enjoyed gains on Thursday after Persimmon PLC (LSE:PSN) reported an increase in first quarter sales and indicated improving conditions ahead.
“Trading over recent weeks has been encouraging,” chief executive Dean Finch had said, “giving us confidence for the remainder of the year”.
This came as the housebuilder reported an 18% uptick in its forward order book, after prices improved over the first three months of the year but completions still fell... Read more
Persimmon was up 1.9% on the news, with rivals Taylor Wimpey PLC (LSE:TW.), Barratt Developments PLC (LSE:BDEV), Bellway PLC (LSE:BWY) and Redrow PLC (LSE:RDW) climbing 1.6%, 1.3%, 1.1% and 1% respectively.
12.09pm: Wall Street seen lower as Meta slumps
Wall Street looked to be dragged lower by a slump in Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, ETR:FB2A, SWX:FB) shares overnight after the technology giant disappointed with guidance in Wednesday’s first quarter update.
Shares in the Facebook and Instagram owner were down 14% in pre-market trading.
Meta had said spending on artificial intelligence would be higher than expected for the year, while revenue would sit between $36.5-$39 billion, against consensus of $38.5 billion... Read more
Futures had The Dow Jones falling 222 points on Thursday’s open following the news, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 looked to fall 167 and 31 points respectively.
“This highlights how pre-release performance and the company’s outlook are often more important than the numbers themselves,” Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony said on Meta’s earnings.
“All eyes turn towards Microsoft and Alphabet whose numbers are released after the close today,” he added.
Also on the cards for Thursday was US gross domestic product data, with markets expecting growth of 2.5% over the first quarter.
11.45am AstraZeneca strips Shell of UK's most valuable company title
AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN)’s 5.7% climb following Thursday’s first-quarter earnings print has made the pharmaceuticals giant Britain’s most valuable company, overtaking oil major Shell.
AstraZeneca posted a robust set of financial results that sent its share price higher, meaning its valuation has increased by a quarter since mid-February.
As it stands, Astra’s market capitalisation is now around £184.61 billion, edging out Shell’s £184.57 billion... Read more
11.36am: Critics say Labour railway nationalisation plan ‘lacking in detail’
The Labour Party has been met with scrutiny after unveiling plans on Thursday morning to renationalise some UK rail companies if it were to win the next election.
According to the Institute of Economic Affairs, the proposal, which would see companies taken into public ownership as existing contracts run out, is “lacking in detail”.
"The huge omission from these 'plans' is how to handle an oversized, often overpaid and relentlessly militant workforce and boost productivity,” the right-wing think tank said in a statement.
Transport secretary Mark Harper echoed the view, adding the plan would result in higher taxes.
Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh had said “significant” savings could be made through the move, noting that the current system “was not working”.
Some private companies would continue to operate under the proposal, including rail freight firms, as other passenger operators are taken into public hands.
Four major operators are already under government control as a last resort, while most have been paid fixed fees since the pandemic to operate on UK railways, funded by the taxpayer... Read more
11.15am: Greece’s Mytilineos plans secondary listing in London
Greek industrials conglomerate Mytilineos is mulling a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange in a rare boost for the City which has seen some flee recently.
Athens-listed Mytilineos confirmed on Thursday that plans were being drawn up for the move within the next 12 to 18 months.
The listing in Athens would be retained as part of this, with the plan being mulled under a “comprehensive strategic review,” according to Mytilineos.
This comes as London has faced an exodus of companies leaving the City, including Tui recently, alongside CRH PLC (LSE:CRH, NYSE:CRH) and Flutter Entertainment PLC (LSE:FLTR) moving primary listings.
Metallurgy, energy and engineering-focused Mytilineos has previously been involved in infrastructure projects in the UK, spanning the likes of solar farms and power lines.
Mytilineos has a market capitalisation of almost €5.3 billion (£4.5 billion).
11.00am: FTSE 100 brushes new highs
The FTSE 100 hit yet another high on Thursday morning, continuing a strong week for London’s blue chips.
The index was up 53 points at 8,093 as of mid-morning, having climbed as high as 8,102 - a new intraday record.
Buoying the index was Anglo American PLC (LSE:AAL), which climbed 12.3% after news emerged of an all-paper bid by BHP Ltd, which would value the miner at £31.1 billion.
Unilever PLC (LSE:ULVR), AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN) and Barclays PLC (LSE:BARC) chalked up strong gains too, after all reported on first-quarter trading in the morning.
J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY), another of the morning’s reporters, fell 1.9% in the meantime, after a dip in merchandise sales overshadowed the supermarket’s £1 billion profit guidance for the year ahead.
Markets across Europe did not fare so well on Thursday morning, with stocks in Frankfurt, Paris and Brussels all down, while Amsterdam climbed by 1 point.
Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas were among big names reporting on the continent, with the former reporting a 10% jump in first-quarter profit as the latter beat expectations with a 2.2% slip.
Back in London, the FTSE 250 notched up a 7 point gain, as the likes of Wizz Air Holdings PLC (AIM:WIZZ) and Drax Group (LSE:DRX) climbed after reporting early on.
10.38am: Moonpig slumps as shares listed at discount
Moonpig Group PLC (LSE:MOON) fell over 10% on Thursday morning after shareholders placed some 25 million shares in the company at a discount to Wednesday’s closing price.
At 160p, the shares were priced almost 10% under Wednesday’s closing value of 177.6p, sending the price down 10.9% to 158.20p on Thursday morning.
Exponent Private Equity, LCP VIII Holdings, Strategic Partners, LGT Capital Partners, GoldPointPartners, K Athena Investment, Storebrand International and Aberdeen Standard Investments were among the shareholders to place the stock.
This represented around 7.3% of Moonpig’s issued share capital, according to Bloomberg.
9.45am: FirstGroup hit on rail nationalisation proposal
FirstGroup PLC (LSE:FGP) shares dipped on Thursday morning after Labour unveiled plans to nationalise the UK’s railways if it won the next election.
The company, which owns Avanti West Coast, Great Western and South Western, sat 2.3% lower on Thursday, after having fallen as much as 7.7% early on following the news.
Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh announced Labour’s plans on Thursday, which would see the party bring trains into state ownership within five years of being in power.
Passenger services would be renationalised as contracts expire, Labour proposed, while open access operators would be allowed to continue operating privately.
Most companies are currently paid fixed fees to operate on UK railways, with bills footed by the taxpayer, while four major operators are already under government control as a last resort.
9.30am: Sainsbury’s non-food exposure still a lag - analyst
J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY)’s results appeared to be overshadowed by a fall in general merchandise sales over the course of last year, analysts have pointed out.
FTSE 100-listed Sainsbury’s had said underlying profit would top £1 billion this year as it hailed progress in its strategic shift toward prioritising grocery sales.
However, shares fell 1.1% on the update, which showed pre-tax profit grew 1.6% to £701 million on stronger grocery sales, as general merchandise and clothing revenue fell 0.5% and 6.4% respectively.
“Despite the positivity, Sainsbury’s does carry much higher exposure to general merchandise, which isn’t faring so well,” Hargreaves Lansdown’s Sophie Lund-Yates said.
This includes through the likes of Argos, and the supermarket’s clothing and homeware brands, Tu and Habitat.
Lund-Yates added sales had been downtrodden “partly because of where we are on the economic merry-go-round,” but may also have partly reflected “specific stocking decisions”.
9.08am: WH Smith falls as high street struggle eats into profit
WH Smith PLC (LSE:SMWH) fell 7.8% on Thursday morning after unveiling a fall in interim operating profit.
Group pre-tax profit fell from £45 million to £28 million in the six months to February, the retailer announced on Thursday.
This was in spite of an 8% jump in revenue to £926 million, fueled by a 13% increase from WH Smith’s travel business, which has shops in the likes of airports and train stations.
Travel profit climbed 6% to £50 million, but fell 8% to £22 million in WH Smith’s high street business as revenue declined.
“The struggle on the high street is likely to persist, with our experts forecasting continued decreases in like-for-like sales,” Third Bridge analyst Yanmei Tang commented... Read more
8.46am: The morning so far
The FTSE 100 index is on the front foot again amid a packed day for company news.
Blue chips including AstraZeneca, Barclays, Sainsbury’s and Unilever all delivered a top set of financial results, leading to low-to-mid-single-digit rises in all of their share prices.
But it was Anglo American that led the risers with a walloping 13% rally on its share price.
This follows a shock bid approach from BHP Ltd. Terms of the offer were not disclosed, though Anglo, valued at £29 billion, said the deal would require the demergers of its platinum and iron ore businesses.
Anglo called it an “unsolicited, non-binding and highly conditional” all-share buyout proposal.
The London Stock Exchange Group used a trading update to tout the benefits of the capital markets and data group’s partnership with Microsoft.
Chief executive David Schwimmer noted “strong progress in our Microsoft partnership, with a number of products expected to be in external pilot or general release this half”.
LSEG shares, however, didn’t join the party, instead dipping 0.3%.
Housebuilder Persimmon saw new home completions fall slightly in the first quarter on a year-to-year comparison, though this was in line with expectations. Shares were up 0.8%, buoyed by a forward order book up 18%.
On the macroeconomic front, UK car production presented some fairly glum figures.
Year-on-year production declined 27.1% to 59,467 units in March 2024, breaking six consecutive months of growth.
But that was a sideshow to the string of quality earnings prints, leading the FTSE 100 to add 40 points to 8,080 at the time of writing. This is just seven points off the all-time high achieved yesterday.
8.28am: Stocks bounce higher
The FTSE 100 bounced higher in early exchanges despite opening flat at 8am.
At the time of writing, the blue-chip index was up 38 points to 8,078, nearing yesterday’s all-time high.
A robust set of results from FTSE 100 constituents has supported the market.
Top morning risers include Anglo American (thanks to a shock bid from BHP), AstraZeneca, Unilever and Barclays.
8.18am: LSEG pushes forward with Microsoft partnership
Capital markets and data company London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LSE:LSEG) touted the benefits of the group’s partnership with Microsoft in a Thursday trading update.
Chief executive David Schwimmer noted “strong progress in our Microsoft partnership, with a number of products expected to be in external pilot or general release this half”.
“We are now picking up the pace of migrating our datasets onto the Microsoft platform, which will transform access to our data for customers. We look forward to further progress in the rest of the year," he added.
Total income in the first quarter grew 6.4% on an organic basis, or 7.3% when including the effects of M&A.
LSEG completed £500 million in share buybacks in the first quarter and is targeting a full £1 billion for the whole year.
Equities returned to growth in the quarter and were up 1.6%, with gains in secondary trading partly offset by lower market activity.
Shares were trading flat in early exchanges.
8.10am: Anglo receives ‘unsolicited’ offer from BHP
Anglo American PLC (LSE:AAL) has confirmed a shock bid approach from BHP Ltd.
Terms of the offer were not disclosed, though Anglo, valued at £29 billion, said the deal would require the demergers of its platinum and iron ore businesses.
Anglo called it an “unsolicited, non-binding and highly conditional” all-share buyout proposal.
"The board is currently reviewing this proposal with its advisers," investors were told, as it cautioned: "There can be no certainty that any offer will be made nor as to the terms on which any such offer might be made."
Under takeover rules, BHP, which is valued at just shy of £120 billion, has until 5pm on May 22 to lodge a formal offer.
If it goes ahead, the deal would be the biggest transaction in the sector since Glencore and Xstrata's £43 billion merger 11 years ago.
7.59am: AstraZeneca results tick the boxes
Britain’s leading pharmaceuticals company AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN) hit the mark in today’s first-quarter earnings print.
Total revenue increased by 19% at constant exchange rates to $12.7 billion, driven by an 18% increase in product sales.
This trickled down to a 22% year-on-year increase in operating profits to $3.1 billion and a 13% increase in earnings per share to £2.06.
AstraZeneca’s suite of oncology products was the top performer, with sales adding 26% year on year.
Notable developments in the quarter included positive trial results for Imfinzi and Tagrisso in lung cancer, and several US and EU approvals for other drugs.
AstraZeneca reiterated its full-year guidance of low double-digit to low teens percentage growth in both total revenues and EPS.
The group said the total dividend for the year will increase by $0.20 per share to $3.10.
Chief executive Pascal Soriot, whose executive remuneration has been a matter of hot debate, called it “a very strong start in 2024”.
“Our strong pipeline momentum continued and already this year we announced positive trial results for Imfinzi and Tagrisso that were unprecedented in lung cancer, the data from both of these studies will be presented during the ASCO plenary in June.
“We are also looking forward to seeing the results of several other important trials throughout the year.”
7.32am: Barclays faces mortgage margin pressure in robust first-quarter results.
Barclays posted an expectedly robust set of first-quarter results today, though mortgage pressures were evidently the fly in the ointment.
Firm-wide net interest income came to £1.55 billion, representing a year-on-year decrease of around 4%, while profit before tax for the group was £2.27 billion, down from £2.6 million last year.
“Continued structural hedge momentum was more than offset by mortgage margin pressure and adverse deposit dynamics reflecting wider market trends,” said Barclays.
Net interest margins in the UK consumer division were 3.09% compared to 3.2% in the first quarter of 2023. The UK corporate banking divisions saw NIMs fall 10 basis points to a flat 5%, while private banking and wealth management fell 11 basis points to 5.07%.
Firm-wide CET1 capital stood at a healthy 13.5%. Return on tangible equity (RoTE) was down from 15% to 12.3%.
Barclays does not expect to increase its total dividend for the year, instead emphasising share buybacks to support shareholder returns. £10 billion is expected to be returned to shareholders by end-on-play 2026.
7.09am: FTSE 100 seen flat in pre market
Futures contracts have the footsie opening a couple of points lower at 8,033 when markets open today.
London's blue-chip index closed 4.43 points lower at 8,040.38, despite spending most of the day at a record high, with Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill’s warning that interest rate cuts could be some ways off spoiling the party.
On today’s macroeconomic calendar, UK car production presented some fairly glum figures.
Year-on-year production declined 27.1% to 59,467 units in March 2024, breaking six consecutive months of growth.
Exports plunged 35.9% to 39,472 units, though this accounted for at least two thirds of total production.
A big day for company updates is afoot, with AstraZeneca, LSEG, Unilever, Barclays, Sainsbury’s and WPP all expected to report.