- FTSE 100 rises 104 points to 8,971
- London index hit all-time intraday high of 8,973
- Bitcoin hits record high overnight around $112K
- Miners rebound, wider optimism for markets
4.46pm: All-time highs
The FTSE 100 index has bagged a new closing high as well as earlier notching up a new intraday record.
After the closing trades were all totted up, 15 minutes after the index closes, the London benchmark was confirmed to have added 108.64 points, or 1.23%, to reach 8,975.66, its highest ever closing level.
An intraday high record high of 8,979.4 was reached during the session.
Here's a summary from market strategist Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill: "The UK stock market reached a new all-time high on Thursday, propelled by significant increases in the mining sector.
"The FTSE has risen approximately 9.3% this year, on track to achieve its best annual results in four years.
"The general sentiment in major European markets is notably positive today, fuelled by hopes of a possible trade agreement between the US and the European Union. EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic mentioned that there has been substantial progress on a framework trade deal, and an agreement could potentially be reached within days."
4.29pm: Blue chip winners and losers today
The FTSE 100 leaderboard looks like this:
- Rio Tinto PLC 4%
- Glencore PLC 3.9%
- Ashtead Group PLC 3.8%
- Anglo American PLC 3.8%
- Smith & Nephew PLC 3.6%
- Whitbread PLC 3.4%
- Weir Group PLC 3.1%
- British American Tobacco PLC 3%
- AstraZeneca PLC 2.6%
- Spirax Group PLC 2.3%
Losers on the day are here:
- Land Securities Group PLC -2.5%
- Hiscox Ltd -1.7%
- SSE PLC -1.7%
- Babcock International Group PLC -1.65%
- Centrica PLC -1.6%
- Severn Trent PLC -1.3%
- Admiral Group PLC -1.3%
- Sage Group (The) PLC -1.2%
- Rolls-Royce Group PLC -0.9%
- Kingfisher PLC -0.85%
3.50pm: Bid battle over Warehouse REIT
Shares in Warehouse REIT PLC (AIM:WHR) are up 2.5% after Blackstone came back with a revised offer, after appearing to have lost out when the REIT's board agreed a merger with fellow FTSE trust Tritax Big Box REIT PLC (LSE:BBOX).
The Warehouse REIT board flagged an announcement from Blackstone increasing its cash offer to 113.4p and including a right for shareholders to receive and retain Warehouse REIT's fourth interim dividend of 1.6p per share, which is expected to be paid later this month.
Directors are reviewing the revised terms of this new Blackstone offer with advisers.
Blackstone's bid vehicle, Wapping Holdings, is also buying a 10.49% stake in Warehouse at the 113.4p price.
3.18pm: Four arrested over M&S hack
Four people have been arrested over suspected involvement in the Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS) cyberattack, along with hacks of Co-op and Harrods, according to the The National Crime Agency (NCA).
The NCA said a 20-year-old female, two 19-year-old males and another aged 17 were apprehended in the West Midlands and London this morning "on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences, blackmail, money laundering and participating in the activities of an organised crime group".
Having been arrested at their home addresses and had their electronic devices seized for digital forensic analysis, all four remain in custody for questioning, the agency said.
2.55pm: Mixed on Wall Street, big names down, Delta Air Lines impresses
It was a mixed start on Wall Street today.
The Dow Jones started lower but then rose, now up 0.1%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up in initial trades but quickly dropped below the waterline, down 0.2% and 0.6% respectively.
Delta Air Lines is a notable riser, up 12% after its earnings report beat expectations and restored its financial guidance as demand improved.
But all the very biggest names are in the red, Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Broadcom and Berkshire Hathaway.
2.19pm: BAT is top pick
Citi has named British American Tobacco PLC (LSE:BATS) its top pick among European staples, raising its target price to £39 and arguing that earnings momentum is starting to turn in the company’s favour.
The US bank sees revenue for the first half growing 1.1%, but reckons the second half could be more interesting, expecting earnings growth to accelerate as new product categories are expanded.
The launch of glo-Hilo, its new heated tobacco device, is expected to help steady the company’s performance in that segment.
Meanwhile, in the US, a possible crackdown on illicit vape sales could allow BAT’s Vuse brand to claw back share, giving another boost to sentiment.
BATS shares are up 2.75.
1.52pm: US jobs data
US jobless claims remain low, new data shows.
Claims dropped to 227,000 last week, from 233,000 the week before, data from the Department of Labor showed.
This was better than expectations of 235,000.
1.36pm: Thames Water belittles offer
Thames Water has turned down a takeover offer as having "little credibility" and is reportedly evaluating another joint bid from investment firm Muinin Holdings and The Water Retail Company.
The FT reported that Water Retail, led by ex Liberal Democrat MP Rupert Redesdale, who joined Muinin as a director last month, made a last-ditch rescue bid for the UK's largest water company.
A Thames Water spokesperson told Reuters said it had received an offer with "little credibility or viability to recapitalise the business".
The spokesperson said talks are progressing with regulator Ofwat on the rescue plan put forward by its senior bondholders, who own most of its massive $18 billion debt pile.
1.09pm: ITV agrees content-sharing partnership with Disney
ITV PLC (LSE:ITV) shares have climbed to a 1% gain, having been flat earlier, after the broadcaster and TV studio said it had formed a new partnership with Disney that will see the pair swap content.
Disney+ viewers will soon be able to watch a selection of ITV favourites under a dedicated section titled 'A Taste of ITVX', while ITVX users will get a ‘Taste of Disney+’
Disney+ customers in the UK will be able to stream ITV’s content including 'Mr Bates vs The Post Office', previous series of 'Love Island', and favourites like 'Endeavour' and 'Vera', while ITV's online platform will host previous seasons of 'The Bear', 'Andor' and 'Only Murders in the Building' and some reality TV and family favourites.
12.46pm: Losses for Wall Street futures being trimmed
US futures were in the red earlier, but have been picking up some of the good vibes from London in the past couple of hours, with Nasdaq 100 futures now gesturing to a small gain.
Futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones are both very slightly below flat.
Wall Streeet had been expected to open in the red following yesterday’s FOMC minutes that saw a wide range of views over the direction of travel for rates.
"Whilst the dominant thought is that we should see rates cut later in the year, there are members that see it prudent to keep rates steady for the course of 2025. Ultimately with Trump seemingly ramping up tariffs on a daily basis, there is plenty of cause for concern over the potential for a resurgence in price pressures over the second half of the year," says market analysts Joshua Mahony at Rostro.
"Should this lead to further hesitancy from the Fed, we could see rate sensitive stocks and gold take a hit."
Today also follows Trump’s latest announcement of a 50% tariff on Brazil which came after the US close yesterday.
It should come as a "particularly concerning development", says Mahony, though the President gave his justification in wanting to end the court case against Brazil's ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, highlighting that he sees tariffs as a weapon to wield anytime he wants to get his way, irrespective of trade relations.
"The concerning thing about this is that it indicates the potential for Trump to announce fresh tariffs throughout his entire term rather than simply a short-term period of volatility aimed at levelling up the playing field on trade," says Mahony.
With Trump’s reiteration that he will enact a 50% copper tariff on 1 August, Mahony notes that the record differential between the London and New York copper futures having built up this week, "US consumers and businesses are facing up to higher prices in the coming years".
"After all, it will take time for the lure of higher prices to feed through into new exploration and fresh mining operations. Whilst it may benefit the US economic stability over the long-term, there is a risk that we see input prices rise across electronics, construction, transportation, and industrial goods."
12.19pm: FTSE holding onto gains, bitcoin treasury stocks boosted
London's blue-chip index is continuing to push around high, hitting a record intraday peak of 8,730 not long ago.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 is up 0.4% compared to its big sibling's 1.2% advance.
On the Continent, the DAX is up 0.1% in Frankfurt, while the CAC has added 0.6% in Paris, though the Madrid and Milan benchmarks are both in the red, down 0.6% and 0.1% respectively.
Back in the UK, the growing consort of small-cap stocks pursuing Bitcoin treasury strategies are doing well from the crypto's new record high.
After New York-listed Microstrategy and Coinbase were both up over 4% yesterday, London-listed capAI PLC (LSE:CPAI) is up 38%, while TAO Alpha, which yesterday appointed a renowned YouTuber as its bitcoin strategist, is up 18% today and 47% this week.
Anemoi International Ltd (LSE:AMOI) and Bluebird Mining Ventures (LSE:BMV), whch are also newly dabbling in crypto, are also up in mid-teens.
11.51am: Limited impact of Brazil tariff forecast
The 50% tariff on Brazil threatened by Donald Trump would have only a limited impact on the South American country's economy, according to simulations run by Oxford Economics in a report released today.
"Even under full retaliation, Brazilian GDP would be expected to undershoot our 2026 baseline by about 0.1%," says Felipe Camargo, lead global economist at Oxford Economics, author of the report.
"Brazil runs, and will continue to run, a significant trade deficit with the US," Camargo adds, saying the Trump administration's move "seemingly driven by political factors, especially when contrasted to other countries".
10.58am: Mining rebound not just about copper, but China
Some reactions to the FTSE 100's record highs today.
With thse gains being driven by major miners like Glencore and Rio Tinto, Nikos Tzabouras, market analyst at Jefferies' Tradu.com online platform, notes that trade and geopolitical tensions are also lifting gold prices.
"Trump’s 50% duty on copper imports sent NY prices soaring to new record highs, which can be a boon for producers of the non-ferrous metal," he says.
"However, these miners that sell copper primarily in LME prices can be at a disadvantage compared to US rivals like Freeport-McMoran."
The mining bounce today is not just about copper, says mining analyst John Meyer at SP Angel, who notes that improving China sentiment has also helped lift iron ore, which is being seen in Shanghai with property equities surging on rumours spreading of a high-level meeting next week to boost the sector.
Iron ore prices jumped 4% overnight, he notes, with the Singapore 62% Fe index now climbing over $104 per tonne, while wider steelmaking sentiment has been improving in China on plans to crack down on excessive competition and supply in various sectors, including steel.
Xi Jinping made a statement this week on industries being "currently caught in a wave of anti-overcapacity leading to rising prices", Mayer also flags, while coking coal futures have also risen in China to their highest level since May.
Steel inventories are sliding in China, suggesting better-than-expected demand amid a historically weak seasonal period.
Following a Bloomberg story on property measures, the China real estate index climbed 11% overnight, with parallels drawn to a 2015 conference to support urban planning and infrastructure, with analysts suggesting the potential for the development of shantytown areas in China.
Additionally, Bloomberg reports that Chinese high-yield bond issuance has risen 23% in 2Q25, on expectations of an economic recovery going forward.
10.05am: FTSE surge continues, bitcoin hits new high too
The gain for the Footsie is above 100 points now, up 1.1%.
Miners are continuing to drive the gains, Anglo American is up 5.3%, Glencore 4.75% and Rio Tinto 4.6%, while further back giants like AstraZeneca is up 2.3%, with several others up more than 1%.
In fact, in the FTSE top 20 largest companies, only Rolls-Royce, BAE and National Grid are in the red.
Elsewhere, bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $111,925, with the cryptocurrency recovering from recent dips and topping a previous high from 23 May.
Bitcoin is up nearly 20% so far this year, while there are reports suggesting there were $340 million in liquidations of short positions around the time it hit the record high.
9.57am: Basis trade worries
Basis trade worries have been flagged by market analyst Neil Wilson at Saxo, after the Bank of England said hedge funds’ leverage in the gilt market is raising the risk of destabilising selloffs.
"Basis trades, which exploit the difference between cash bonds and gilt futures, has been talked about a lot regards the US Treasury market but now the BoE is also seeing the problems in the UK. Last week’s gilt selloff was likely a case in point."
A "small number" of hedge funds accounted for 90% of net gilt borrowing, said the BoE, so it is consulting on ways to reduce financial stability risks in repo markets.
"Watch this," says Wilson, with regard to fiscal problems in the UK.
Sterling has risen from a more-than-two-week low, recapturing $1.36.
He's looking for sterling to break higher "but GDP figures tomorrow could show slowing".
UBS has lowered its pound forecast, citing fiscal/economic risks.
Finally, crude oil has slipped off a two-week high after the largest inventory build since January. EIA data showed a 7-million-barrel rise in crude stocks, despite a 1.3mn drop in imports. Brent is down 0.4% at $69.9.
9.07am: Record high for FTSE
The FTSE 100 has continued its charge higher, and has notched a new all-time intraday high, up 1% to a record peak of 8,956.53.
Miners remain the top risers, followed by WPP and names like Spirax, Rentokil, Mondi and British American Tobacco.
Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining are also up, with safe-haven gold extending gains as tariff talk continues and Brazil is the latest country at the centre of the US trade offensive.
US record high, Dax record high, FTSE 100 record high, bitcoin record high. Tariffs? Meh. It's a odd world.
— Chris Beauchamp (@ChrisB_IG) July 10, 2025
"US futures look set to give back some of yesterday’s gains," says market analyst Victoria Scholar at Interactive Investor, noting that the latest Fed meeting minutes revealed that most participants noted "the risk that tariffs could have more persistent effects on inflation".
Scholar observes that Fed policy members are divided over the outlook for interest rates, having refrained from cutting all year amid concerns about an upward effect on inflation from tariffs.
"Many" FOMC participants think tariff effects in the CPI have merely been delayed pic.twitter.com/sKRWrNz9FT
— Dario Perkins (@darioperkins) July 10, 2025
8.51am: Royal Mail given leeway on second-class post
Ofcom has said that Royal Mail can and its new owner EP Group will be allowed to deliver second-class letters on alternate weekdays.
First-class post will still be required to deliver letters the next working day, Monday to Saturday, and there will continue to be a cap on the price of a second-class stamp.
"We estimate Royal Mail could realise annual net cost savings of between £250m and £425m with successful implementation of this change, enabling it to invest more in improving its delivery performance."
8.28am: Jupiter, Rank and Vistry on the up, Grafton falls
There are some sharp moves on the FTSE 250 this morning too.
Jupiter is up almost 10% on the back of its acquisitive move into managing for non-profit organisations.
Casino owner Rank Group PLC (LSE:RNK) is up 4% as it said operating profits this year would be "at least" £63 million, with about £20-30 million of future prpfit upside expected from casino modernisation.
Analyst Ivor Jones at Peel Hunt said this is 9% higher than his prior forecast.
Vistry Group PLC (LSE:VTY) is up 2.9% as the housebuilder reported lower profits, as expected, but reiterated guidance that the full year will be more weighted to the second half than usual as government funding begins for the Affordable Homes Programme.
On the downward slide is Grafton Group PLC (ISE:GFTU), down 6.8% as a trading update from the building materials distributor was in-line with expectations, but with growth marginally slowing in May and June.
"We expect consensus estimates to remain unchanged," say analysts at Stifel, though UK volumes are still soft, "but positive pricing pushed like-for-like to +0.2%".
8.07am: FTSE 100 sprints higher
The FTSE 100 has sprinted 67 points higher in initial trading, led by the companies that fell yesterday: mining giants and WPP.
Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Glencore are all up over 3%, with Antofagasta rising 2.4%, while WPP has recovered a small portion of its decline, up 2.1%.
This has helped lift the index 0.8% to 8,934.
7.59am: Jupiter expands its orbit
Jupiter Fund Management PLC (LSE:JUP) has agreed to acquire CCLA, the leading asset manager in the UK for the non-profit sector, for £100 million.
It has announced plans to return 50% of 2025 performance fee revenue through dividends or share buybacks.
CCLA manages over £15 billion in assets for non-profit organisations, including charities, religious groups and local authorities, and has delivered annual net inflows to long-term funds for 15 consecutive years.
The acquisition, funded from existing cash resources, is expected to be "materially accretive" to management fee earnings per share from completion. It also expects cost synergies of at least £16 million annually by the end of 2027.
7.42am: Ed Miliband's energy plans
The government has confirmed reforms to the national pricing electricity market that is says "will create a fairer, cheaper, more secure, and more efficient energy system".
This follows the reports yesterday that Energy Secretary Ed Miliband had recommended to cabinet colleagues that the UK drops an earlier proposal adoption of zonal pricing for energy, and comes at the end of a consultation that was launched by the previous Tory government in 2022.
However, today's announcement confirms that while the UK will retain a single national wholesale electricity price, the government will work with Ofgem to review transmission charges in a way to "support generation near demand centres and reduce price volatility for investors".
The National Energy System Operator will publish a 'strategic spatial energy plan' this year to set out how to deploy new energy infrastructure across the country over the next two and a half decades.
It says that independent advice from NESO confirmed that up to £4 billion in constraint payments, which are made to power companies to reduce output when grid capacity limits, could be avoided by 2030, if network upgrades are accelerated.
Some of these projects are being developed, such as the Norwich to Tilbury transmission line, and the Sea Link offshore cable between Kent and Suffolk.
7.29am: WPP appoints NED as CEO
Having got its profit warning off its chest yesterday, WPP PLC (LSE:WPP) has appointed Microsoft executive Cindy Rose as its new chief executive, taking over on 1 September when current boss Mark Read steps down.
As well as being a non-executive director on the WPP board since 2019, Rose is currently chief operating officer at Microsoft's global enterprises arm, as part of a nine-year stint at the US tech giant.
WPP highlighted that her latest role "helps the world's largest companies use digital technology and AI to drive business transformation", following roles as president of Microsoft Western Europe and CEO of Microsoft UK.
She previously worked at Vodafone's UK consumer business, was executive director of digital entertainment and media sales at Virgin Media and spent 15 years at Disney.
7.23am: Brazil gets tariff escalation, but market music plays on
London stocks have been called higher despite a fresh set of aggressive trade announcements from Donald Trump after the US close.
"Just when you thought it was safe to emerge from the July 9th tariff deadline day," says macro strategist Jim Reid at Deustche Bank.
First, the US President confirmed overnight that the 50% copper tariff will come into place on August 1, and second, he announced a 50% tariff on goods from Brazil.
The first is important "given its applications across various products", says Reid, and the second is significant escalation "as it broke with the trend of tariffs being broadly in line with the Liberation Day levels set on April 2" as Brazil had a 10% tariff at that time.
It follows Trump’s threats to place higher levies on the BRICS over recent days.
In currency markets, the Brazilian real weakened by 2.3% against the US dollar yesterday, its biggest decline since Trump's 'Liberation Day'.
The White House also updated on several other countries, including Algeria, Libya, Iraq, and Sri Lanka all being subject to 30% levies. The Philippines was the only other one in the top 50 US trading partners, given a 20% rate.
"Newswires remain hectic," adds market analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya at Swissquote Bank. "It’s all tariffs, tension, and chaos - but markets have an extraordinary capacity to adapt.
"Trade developments are quickly becoming the new normal; they no longer hammer sentiment the way they once did.
"What could jolt markets is when all this starts showing up in the data — through slower growth or higher inflation. Until then, the music plays on."
7.15am: FTSE 100 to come out flying
The FTSE 100 is expected to be firing on all cylinders on Thursday, after the London index missed out on the returning optimism the day before as miners acted as a handbrake.
Futures are suggesting there will be a 42-point gain at the open, adding to the almost 13 points put on the day before to close at 8,867.
Overnight, there were gains across Wall Street, led by the Nasdaq's 0.9% rise as microchip leader Nvidia became the first $4 trillion company.
That also saw the S&P 500 rise 0.6% and the Dow Jones 0.5%.
Asian markets are mixed this morning, with the Hang Seng and domestic Chinese stocks higher, but Japan's Nikkei and India's Sensex down 0.6% and 0.4% respectively.
Back in the UK, the RICS survey on house prices is out.
The net balance of surveyors who were saying house prices had risen over the past three months was unchanged at -7 in June, better than the consensus forecast of -9.
May’s reading was revised up to -7 from -8 previously.
6.15am: FTSE LIVE: Thursday 10 July
Among FTSE 350 companies, DCC PLC (LSE:DCC), Severn Trent PLC (LSE:SVT) and Vistry Group PLC (LSE:VTY) are among the scheduld reporters.
Housebuilder Vistry is one of the best-performing shares in the sector so far this year, helped by the government’s plans to allocate £39 billion to affordable homes in coming years, though they are still down around 50% from a year ago, after firing off a succession of profit warnings last year.
In its most recent update, the company went some way to helping repair its reputation, reporting an improvement in its sales rate and progress with cleaning up its balance sheet.
Dr Martens PLC (LSE:DOCS) is another mid-cap share that has stepped higher in recent weeks, which was on the back of full-year results published a month ago that showed a 10% fall in revenue and a sharp fall in profits, as expected, with investors impressed with a more positive outlook on the US.
Today's trading update will make it clearer whether the early optimism was justified and whether guidance will need to be tweaked.
One of the first companies to report in the US earnings season is expected to be Levi Strauss & Co (NYSE:LEVI), where market analyst Michael Hewson at MCH Market Insights said tariffs should be a big focus.
First-quarter numbers from the jeans maker created a fair degree of volatility with the shares briefly slipping to their lowest levels in five years before rebounding strongly. "Coming as they did just after the announcement of the various liberation day tariffs, that is understandable given how susceptible these sorts of fashion brands are to the imposition of tariffs on their products," says Hewson.
There has been an expectation that while Levi's will face an impact from tariffs, "the strength of the brand would allow these to be mitigated to some extent by the ability to increase prices, along with a robust supply chain", Hewson added.
FTSE 100 and other announcements expected:
Trading updates: DCC, Dr Marten's, Grafton Group, Severn Trent, Vistry Group
Finals: Trifast
Overseas earnings: Delta Air Lines, Levi Strauss
Economic announcements: RICS Housing Market Survey (UK), Continuing Claims (US), Initial Jobless Claims (US)