- FTSE 100 closes up 21 points at 9,164
- Glencore results disappoint, but commits to London listing
- L&G and Coca-Cola bottlers fall despite profits growth
- Hiscox tops leaderboard as buyback topped up
4.55pm: FTSE 100 edges higher
The FTSE 100 closed out Wednesday’s session up 21 points at 9,164.
One major gainer was Fresnillo, which added 7.6% as a weaker US dollar pushed precious metals higher.
“It's fairly certain that any Trump nominee who makes it on to the Fed board will push for lower rates, so markets have switched to selling the dollar again, continuing a theme from Friday,” chief market analyst Chris Beachamp said.
“With precious metals making headway again, Fresnillo is once again near the top of the leaderboard, having already posted a very impressive return this year that puts the rest of the FTSE 100 in the shade.”
4.09pm: FTSE 100 held in channel as big names fall
The FTSE 100 has moved sideways in a channel around 12-23 points above where it finished yesterday.
Insurer Hiscox remains top riser, up 8.7%, followed by precious metals miner Fresnillo as gold bounced of a multi-week low, with silver prices also rising.
Diageo, after yesterday's results and comments from analysts today, such as those at UBS who said the numbers highlighted improving earnings visibility for the drinks group, thanks to a renewed push on productivity.
Vodafone and BP are also being lifted by analyst comments, the latter after its results yesterday lifted expectations a little.
Citi said Vodafone's newly published management incentive plan targets were a key signal for investors, pointing to “strong cash flow progress in the coming years".
Fallers were led by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Coca-Cola HBC, down 9.1% and 6.8% after the pair's interims.
Glencore is down 4.8% after profits fell more than expected.
L&G fell 2% despite profits seeming to beat expectations, though analysts at UBS said "net profit headwinds [were] a drag again", noting that profit after tax was down 57% versus estimates, and shareholder equity came in 25% below forecast, despite strong operating profit and surplus generation.
In geopolitical news, President Trump is due to speak to Ukraine counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky today after today's meeting between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Russia's Vladimir Putin.
Bloomberg reports that the Trump administration is considering imposing new sanctions on Moscow's secretive oil tanker fleet and several associated entities, which does not imply any progress in the Putin talks.
Elsewhere in trade, Brazil has also requested a WTC consultation over US tariffs, according to the Folha De Sao Paulo newspaper.
BRAZIL REQUESTS CONSULTATIONS AT THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION REGARDING U.S. TARIFFS
— First Squawk (@FirstSquawk) August 6, 2025
3.31pm: Trump ramps up India tariff
The White House has announced that President Trump signed an executive order adding a new 25% tariff on India, which takes the total levy to 50%.
Trump said: “I determine that it is necessary and appropriate to impose an additional ad valorem duty on imports of articles of India, which is directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil.”
This order, the White House said, establishes a process for similar tariffs to be imposed on "other countries that directly or indirectly import oil from the Russian Federation".
India's main exports to the US include generic pharmaceuticals, textiles, apparel, leather goods and jewellery.
2.57pm: US stocks up, led by Nasdaq
Wall Street stocks have inched higher at the open, led by gains in tech.
The Dow Jones has dallied with negative territory in the first half hour, just above flat currently at 44,140.
The S&P 500 is up 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite has advanced 0.4%.
Small caps also joined the move higher, with the Russell 2000 adding 0.6%.
Market sentiment was supported by earnings, Disney and Airbnb.
Arista Networks was the top riser on the S&P, up 15% as second-quarter earnings overnight exceeded analysts' expectations, with optimistic guidance and full-year revenue outlook lifted.
Match Group was up 12% after its earnings too, reporting that its Tinder dating app was showing early indications of a potential turnaround.
Apple is up on expectations about a news announcements, while McDonald's is up 2%.
2.29pm: FTSE 250 falls flat
The FTSE 100 is continuing to edge up, but the FTSE 250 has fallen flat.
There are a few of the index's larger names in the red, all down between around 1% and 2% Burberry Group PLC (LSE:BRBY), Lion Finance Group PLC (LSE:BGEO), Softcat PLC (LSE:SCT) and Frasers Group PLC (LSE:FRAS).
Frasers dropped from green to red, down almost 2%, in sync with a fall at Boohoo Group PLC (AIM:DEBS).
Boohoo shares have fallen 20% in the past month and a third since May, with worries about why it is late in publishing its results for the year to February. The end of August is its deadline, but it reported in early May last year.
Shore Capital analyst Katie Cousins said she was "nervous on forecasts" as the print is "likely to reveal further struggles".
“The group is in the middle of rebranding and transitioning to a more market-focused model, as well as ensuring the balance sheet is functional, which is the likely reason for delay,” the analyst said in a recent note.
1.57pm: Claire's on the block but no one is buying
Claire’s Accessories UK could soon be up for sale, and might be of interest to several trade buyers.
It is a potential major crossroads as its American parent company files for bankruptcy protection for the second time in just over six years.
The US group, owned by a consortium including Elliott Management, has been forced to seek court protection in Delaware following fresh pressure from weak demand and ongoing supply chain issues.
In the UK, the company is reportedly working with advisers to explore options, including a potential sale or restructuring, raising questions about possible store closures.
Sky News reports that the jewellery retailer is "struggling to find a buyer" for the UK's 300 stores, with the report suggesting as many of half of the outlets will need to be closed to achieve a sale.
Prospective bidders, including Lakeland owner Hilco Capital, have "backed away" due to the chain's challenges, a senior insolvency practitioner said.
12.22pm: Nvidia chip smugglers charged
US authorities have charged two Chinese nationals with illegally exporting high-end AI chips to China without the necessary licences.
The Department of Justice said Chuan Geng and Shiwei Yang, linked to California-based ALX Solutions, coordinated shipments of advanced Nvidia graphics chips, including the restricted H100 and RTX 4090 models, over the past three years.
According to court filings, the pair used shipping hubs in Singapore and Malaysia to disguise the final destination of the goods. Payments were reportedly received from companies in Hong Kong and mainland China.
11.56am: Equity funds see outflow due to UK investors moving money away from US
UK equity funds recorded £1.13 billion in net outflows in July, marking the second-largest monthly withdrawal since the 2022 Truss mini-budget. The data, published in Calastone’s latest Fund Flow Index (FFI), shows a sharp reversal from the £98 million of outflows recorded in June.
The redemptions were driven primarily by growing bearishness toward US equities, which investors now view as overvalued and overly reliant on a handful of tech giants. As a result, global and North American equity funds experienced the heaviest selling pressure.
In contrast, Europe-focused funds attracted £280 million in inflows, benefiting from capital rotation away from US-heavy strategies.
A notable drop in buy orders for passive equity funds, especially US-weighted index trackers, contributed significantly to the overall outflows. Despite this shift, passives continued to outperform active funds in terms of investor preference.
11.07am: Mixed views on construction sector
Some analysis of the construction PMI, which pointed to the sharpest contraction in activity in more than five years.
The weakness was broad-based with all three sub-sectors – residential, commercial, and civil engineering – though the decline was most notable in housebuilding.
The survey "introduces downside risks" for Pantheon Macroeconomics's quarter-to-quarter GDP growth in Q3 of 0.2%, says economist Elliott Jordan-Doak, but he thinks construction activity is likely to improve over the coming months.
With the Bank of England likely to cut interest rates tomorrow, this will reduce borrowing costs for businesses, while the shock from tariff uncertainty will continue to fade, he says.
"Moreover, the Government’s focus on investment spending and planning reforms should also provide support to the construction industry.
"The PMI should recover over the coming months."
Matt Swannell, chief economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club, seems less optimistic.
He notes that construction PMIs have been weak this year, but "don't tally" with official estimates of construction output, which have increased across the year-to-date.
"What looks to be a string of pessimistic PMI readings should be taken with a pinch of salt, as they appear to reflect the shift in business sentiment following the changes in employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and the international trading environment," says Swannell.
"However, the sector will still face a challenging outlook. Uncertainty will linger, leading to the delay or cancellation of some construction projects, and businesses will continue to face a difficult operating environment as labour costs remain high due to ongoing labour shortages, as well as higher NICs and National Living Wage.
"The outlook for housebuilding in particular is mixed as the effects of planning reforms are counter-balanced by elevated construction costs and labour market shortages.
"Even if business surveys are overall too pessimistic, it is clear the UK economy lost momentum in the middle of 2025, and growth can be expected to be muted for the rest of this year and into next.
"Despite the recent trade agreement, higher US tariffs will leave the UK with reduced access to a key export market, while domestic demand will be restrained by ongoing fiscal tightening and some mortgagors reaching the end of fixed terms and re-financing onto higher rates."
10.12am: Tullow tanks
Tullow Oil PLC (LSE:TLW) shares have slumped over 16% as the oiler reported a $61 million first-half loss, a swing from a $196 million profit a year ago.
First-half revenue was down to $524 million from $759 million.
Shore Capital analyst James Hosie says the Ghana-focused oil producer’s results "do not include any material update on its debt refinancing plans but reiterate the groundwork management has been doing to enable progress".
Net debt of $1.64 billion is in line with his estimates and was subsequently reduced during July by circa $0.3 billion with the completion of the Gabon asset sale.
Full year guidance has also been reduced to reflect the sale of the Gabon portfolio, including around $0.1 billion in full-year free cash flow guidance to $300 million based on a Brent market prices of $65.
"This reduction is primarily driven by lower production in Ghana pushing one oil cargo sale into early FY26," says Hosie.
9.51am: Europe and US futures up too
The Footsie's 0.15% gain puts only slightly at the back of the pack in Europe, with the Frankfurt and Paris benchmarks both up 0.3%
Risk is "broadly bid" across European market, says Saxo's Neil Wilson.
"I expect we are now moving from a volatility-crushing grind up to a more two-way market again."
US futures are up, with the S&P 500 heading for a gain of around 0.3%.
Palantir (+7.8%) and Pfizer (+5.2%) rose on earnings, while Vertex and SMCI tumbled yestrday, he observes, while AMD dropped afterhours on weak China data centre sales.
"Today’s focus shifts to earnings from Disney, Uber, McDonald’s, and Airbnb, which could all move markets."
Wilson says the market is "fixated on sectoral tariffs", after President Trump said his administration is looking to introduce tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, which could eventually reach up to 250%, to be revealed "within the next week or so".
"The message from Trump’s interview with CNBC seemed to be: no Taco," says Wilson. "He plans to start with a 'small tariff' raising it to 150% and then 250% within 18 months."
9.39am: UK construction PMI falls
UK construction activity worsened in July, according to the S&P Global/CIPS PMI survey, with the index falling to 44.3 from June's six-month high of 48.8, also below the consensus forecast of 48.8.
A decline in new housing projects weighed on business sentiment.
"Underlying data highlighted marked decreases in volumes of work carried out across all three monitored sub-sectors, but a considerable drag came from a fresh drop in residential building," S&P Global said.
9.20am: FTSE 100 and 250 both higher
After just over an hour, the FTSE 100 is trading slightly higher, with blue-chip results sparking some gain and some losses.
Lifting the index, oil prices are trading higher, with Brent up 1.1% to $68.4, rebounding from five-week lows after Trump threatened tariffs on India over its buying of Russian oil.
The FTSE 250 is up 80 points at 21,981, with the mid-cap index up 0.3% to the blue-chip benchmark's 0.2%.
Brickmaker Ibstock is one of the top risers, up 3.5% on its interim results, while interdealer broker TP Icap is bottom of the list, down 6.3%.
"This was a good performance from TCAP", says analyst Stuart Duncan at Peel Hunt, "although activity levels are inherently difficult to predict and unlikely to remain at 1H levels."
Metro Bank Holdings PLC (LSE:MTRO) results are flagged by market analyst Victoria Scholar at Interactive Investor, as the lender reported a trebling of profits versus the previous half year as revenues grew 22% and operating costs fell.
"Metro has been carrying out some major strategic changes including the sale of a portfolio of residential mortgages to NatWest last year. Metro Bank has been trying to focus less on the high street retail business, and more on the corporate, commercial and SME lending where it enjoyed a record £1 billion of new business. This is Metro’s second consecutive strong half year performance after it returned to profitability in February."
Scholar notes that the lender has also been subject to takeover speculation lately, with the FT reporting an approach by private equity firm, Pollen Street Capital, one of the owners of rival lender Shawbrook, which has shown merger interest in Metro before.
Metro shares initially surged 4.5% at the open but have since dropped into the red.
8.59am: Glencore rules out New York listing move
Glencore shares are continuing to fall - has that got anything to do with boss Gary Nagle committing to the group keeping its London listing and nixing a move across the Atlantic?
"London is where we are happy," Nagle told reporters on this morning's earnings call.
"We don’t believe there is a value-accretive proposition to move exchanges right now."
Back in February, Nagle had said Glencore was studying whether moving to a New York listing would benefit its shares.
However, this morning he revealed that the move had been ruled out, with uncertainty about whether the company would be added to the S&P 500 index "a big factor in our calculation" along with "significant" costs associated with a move of listing.
Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG, says London's listing authorities will "breathe a sigh of relief" over the decision.
He adds that it was "a gloomy update overall from Glencore, which has suffered from the dire performance of coal prices, though recent improvement there and in cobalt provides hope that they can turn the ship around in the second half".
8.34am: Glencore misses and L&G beats, but both shares down
Glencore PLC (LSE:GLEN) is down 3.6% in early trading after the giant commodities trader and miner reported first-half profits below expectations, mainly due to weaker coal pricing and lower copper production.
The Swiss-headquartered group revealed flat revenues of $117.4 billion, which was stronger than forecast, but adjusted EBIT of $1.8 billion was down 37% and well short of the $2.56 billion expected.
Shares in Legal & General Group PLC (LSE:LGEN), meanwhile, are down 2.9% despite the life insurer seeming to report first-half profits ahead of expectations as it continues to enjoy the fruits of a boom in pension risk transfers.
Core operating profit was up 6% to £859 million and core operating earnings per share climbed 9% to 10.94p, which was the top end of its targeted 6-9% range.
CEO António Simões hailed an "excellent six months", with new business volumes strong across divisions.
Profit taking could be the explanation, with the shares having been on the up this year to reach a one-year high.
8.15am: FTSE 100 starts higher, but Glencore and L&G apply brakes
The FTSE 100, as it has most mornings lately, rattled off a fairly strong start in initial deals, up over 36 points, before dropping back slightly to a gain of 17 points at just over 9,160.
Top riser to get things going is Hiscox Ltd (LSE:HSX), up 8.6% after reporting that it generated excess capital during the first and is returning a further $100 million via an upsized share buyback.
Another insurer, Beazley PLC, is also seeing its shares lifted 2.5% from read-across.
Diageo PLC is up 3.1% as investors and analysts continue to swill around yesterday's results.
Big fallers are all those reporting results today, led by bottlers Coca-Cola Europacific Partners PLC (LSE:CCEP, NASDAQ:CCEP) and Coca Cola HBC AG (LSE:CCH), down 10.1% and 7.7%.
Glencore and Legal & General are next. More on them in a sec.
7.56am: Nowt new from Novo
Falling star, Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) has announced earnings, offering little new after a turbulent week that saw it slash its 2025 outlook and announce a new CEO.
The twin announcements from the Danish group, which was Europea's largest company until earlier this year, wiped almost $100 billion from Novo’s valuation, which has tumbled 52% in the year to date (not good for those foolish to have backed it in this year's Xmas stock picks contest!).
“We are taking measures to sharpen our commercial execution further, and ensure efficiencies in our cost base while continuing to invest in future growth,” said departing chief executive Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen.
Second-quarter sales of $11.9 billion were up 18% increase year-on-year, but slightly below analysts’ forecasts. Earnings before interest and tax rose 29% to $5.2 billion.
The company also reiterated its full-year sales guidance.
7.44am: Is this a profit warning from THG?
THG PLC warned that underlying profits are likely to fall again this year, despite improved sales in the past two months for its nutrition and beauty arms.
The owner of the Hut Group also said it has agreed to sell its Claremont Ingredients business to Italy's Nactarome Group for £103 million, in order to cut debt, but is expected to reduce group EBITDA by £5 million in 2025 and £10 million in 2026.
THG said adjusted EBITDA was roughly £24 million in the first half, down from £37.1 million a year ago.
Second-half group adjusted EBITDA is expected to be around £50 million, bringing the full-year total to approximately £74 million, down from £92.1 million in 2024 and £111.3 million in 2023.
7.31am: Oxford Nano goes legal Down Under
Oxford Nanopore Technologies PLC (LSE:ONT) says it has launched legal action against MGI Australia in the country's federal court for infringing four of its Australian patents following the announcement of the launch of its 'Cyclone SEQ WT-02' there.
The FTSE 250 company said its decision was "carefully considered" and reflects its "responsibility to protect the intellectual property that underpins its sensing platform, which is now widely used across research and applied sectors in Australia".
7.16am: FTSE 100 set for another solid start
Another solid start is expected for the FTSE 100 on Wednesday, potentially fuelled by a further torrent of results, after Wall Street stocks fell overnight.
The London benchmark is up 37 points on the futures market, after it put on just over 14 points to finish at 9,142.7 yesterday.
Across the pond, disappointing US services sector data caused a new ripple of doubt, sending the S&P 500 0.5% lower and the Nasdaq Composite dropping 0.65%, while the Dow Jones fell 0.1%.
Pharma and chip stocks were hit after Donald Trump said in an interview with CNBC that tariffs on semiconductors and pharma would be revealed "within the next week or so".
In Asia this morning, most stocks indices are in green, with India's Sensex again the exception, down 0.2%.
Market analyst Jim Reid at Deutsche Bank notes that President Trump escalated his threats to impose higher tariffs against India for buying and selling Russian oil, saying he would "very substantially" raise tariffs on India within "the next 24 hours".
Trump also said that the EU would face 35% tariffs if the bloc does not follow through on its promise to invest $600 billion in the US and spend $750 billion on US energy by 2028.
"It seems like another lifetime when the center of the trade war was between the US and China," adds Reid, "but in a mollifying development Trump said yesterday that trade talks with China were 'very close to a deal' on an extension of the current trade truce and that he has 'a very good relationship' with President Xi, with the two set to meet 'before the end of this year'."
What to watch on Wednesday 6 August
In the immediate aftermath of Donald Trump's 'liberation day', Glencore PLC shares sank to their lowest in over four years, though they have since rallied over a third.
The clouds may be lifting after a rough patch of results and a slump in coal prices, one set of analysts recently suggested, with a turnaround expected as production ramps up sharply in the second half of 2025, driven mainly by copper.
Elsewhere, there are two FTSE 100-listed European Coca-Cola bottlers, including £33 billion Coca-Cola Europacific Partners PLC, and a handful of insurers, including Legal & General Group PLC and Hiscox Ltd.
Analysts at UBS expect to see shareholder returns prioritised at L&G, forecasting that they will return over 35% of its market value to shareholders through dividends and buybacks over the next three years.
US and overseas results include Disney, McDonald's, Uber and Novo Nordisk, after its massive profit warning a week earlier).
Announcements expected:
Interims: 4imprint Group, Coca-Cola HBC, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Georgia Capital, Glencore, Hiscox, Ibstock, Lancashire Holdings, Legal & General Group, Quilter, TP ICAP Group, Tritax Big Box REIT, Vesuvius
Overseas announcements: McDonald's, Novo Nordisk, Shopify, Uber Technologies, Disney, Unity Software (all premarket), Airbnb, Jackson Financial, Occidental Petroleum (all afterhours)
Economic announcements: Construction PMI (EU, UK), Retail Sales (EU), MBA Mortgage Applications (US), EIA Crude Oil Changes (US)