- FTSE 100 up 21.68 points to 10,879.38
- HSBC increases profits amid calls for bank windfall tax
- BP, Smith & Nephew, Travis-Perkins, ConvaTec, AG Barr also report results
5.15pm: SpaceX earnings eyed
The FTSE 100 finished Tuesday’s session higher, adding almost 22 points at just over 10,879 as investors on both sides of the Atlantic look ahead to SpaceX’s first earnings results as a public company.
"The euphoria of $200 a share has been replaced with plentiful negativity down at $108. This feels like a binary moment for the stock – good results could reignite the mania we saw around the IPO, but a miss tonight would spark a new rout that could take it below three figures,” says IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.
"With another lockup expiring two days from now the selling might turn into a torrent."
4.09pm: HSBC flat, BP and Shell tumble, while miners and defence well bid
As Tuesday's session in London comes close to wrapping up, shares in the Footsie's biggest companies are all over the place.
The biggest, HSBC, is almost perfectly flat now, after dropping as much as 2% earlier on the back of Q2 results that saw the resumption of share buybacks after a nine-month pause, where some felt the $1 billion was a bit small.
Elsewhere, second-largest Shell and eighth-placed BP are down 2.3% and 4.4% as Brent crude oil pulled back 4% to just above $80. BP is still not shelling out on buybacks despite profits doubling, but some critics, including Donald Trump, think the industry's profits are too big and should face a windfall tax.
AstraZeneca, now in third place after falling around 18% over the past month, has fought back a tad, up 2.1%.
Other risers among the heavyweights include miners Rio Tinto and Glencore, up 3.4% and 2.6%, followed by Rolls-Royce and BAE up either side of 2%, with other lenders such as Barclays and Stan Chart also well bid.
Top of the leaderboard are copper producers Antofagasta and Anglo American, up 7.4% and 5.8%.
"Coppper may be poised to extend gains," says Neil Welsh, metals specialist at brokerage Britannia Global Markets, with futures pushing back toward $14,000 a ton after advancing just over 3% in July.
He says the reason is that the market "looks to be tightening".
About 200,000 metric tons of copper arrived in the US in July, the biggest monthly inflow in over a decade, as traders position ahead of Trump's tariff decision on refined imports.
"Furthermore, mine supply is set to stay tight in 2026, with evidence of contraction, as disruptions at Kamoa-Kakula, Grasberg and other sites offset new output."
3.35pm: More Astra deal thoughts
Pharma analysts are still chewing over the AstraZeneca merger reports from yesterday.
Citi told clients that a large chunk of deal risk is already in the share price after Monday's sharp fall, while Deutsche Bank sees clear parallels with the drugmaker's Alexion acquisition five years ago.
Citi, which maintains a 'buy' rating, said AZ's existing pipeline sets it up to beat its $80 billion revenue target for 2030, so a deal would likely dilute growth between 2025 and 2030 given Bristol Myers Squibb faces the loss of exclusivity on blockbusters Eliquis and Opdivo in 2028.
The bank does see some portfolio logic, with overlapping therapy areas aiding synergies and a deal potentially supporting growth after 2030, when the company hits its largest patent cliffs.
UBS makes a similar point.
"We believe some investors may have interpreted the potential of any discussions as an indication of AZ mgmt's reduced confidence in its own pipeline potential.
"We can clearly see significant therapeutic category adjacencies that could drive significant SG&A savings in a potential deal scenario. However, we note AZ's most challenging period of profit pressure from patent expiries falls in 2031-33E (Imfinzi, Tagrisso, Calquence).
"As such, the market will likely focus on whether potential merger synergies presumably around 2030E (2027 close + 3Y) could address this dip."
Deutsche Bank, which has a 'sell' rating and an 11,500p target, framed the situation as déjà vu of the Alexion deal in 2020: a cost synergy-driven acquisition of a value-rated US peer, partly financed by AstraZeneca's higher multiple, at a moment when its own medium-term revenue targets were looking a stretch.
He noted that the previous $45 billion target for 2023 was ultimately met only because of the Alexion purchase.
For some more broker action we also have:
- Prudential offers sees 50% return potential but UBS sees short-term headwinds
- Deutsche Bank cuts Taylor Wimpey target on 25% profit downgrade
- Jefferies restores Johnson Matthey to 'buy'
- And JPM says Diageo boss Dave Lewis must convince sceptics as he unveils big reset
2.49pm: US stocks open higher after Palantir and Caterpillar earnings
Buyers are overpowering sellers in early trading in New York, with the S&P 500 surging 0.8% to a new record high of 7,658 and looking like it's heading higher.
Top of the early leaderboard is Palantir, which has surged 20%, while Caterpillar has jumped 10.7%.
The later is the leading driver for the Dow Jones, which is up 541 points or 1%, while the Nasdaq is up the most, surging 1.3% as semiconductor and artificial intelligence stocks rallt.
Behind Palantir on the Nasdaq 100 are ARM, Marvell, Lumentum, Sandisk, Intel, Micron, AMD and others, as chipmakers make broad gains ahead of AMD's results after the close and reac-across from Caterpillar.
Nike and Chevron are the Dow's biggest fallers.
1.36pm: Palantir and (the hungry) Caterpillar
Two big shares making big moves ahead of the US opening bell are Palantir and Caterpillar (which sounds like it could be an unusual children's storybook).
Palantir shares are up 15.6% in pre-market trading after quarterly revenue and earnings both handily beat forecasts on accelerating demand for its AI software.
Second-quarter revenue jumped 93% to $1.9 billion, ahead of the $1.8 billion expected, while adjusted earnings per share of $0.41 beat forecasts of $0.35.
US commercial revenue soared 149% to $764 million, while government revenue increased 90% to $809 million. Palantir closed 220 contracts worth at least $1 million during the quarter.
Chief executive Alex Karp described the performance as "otherworldly".
Meanwhile, Caterpillar stock is up 11% as it also enjoyed the results of booming AI demand, which has driven sales for its power-generation equipment.
Sales rose 24% to a record $20.5 billion, beating forecasts of $19.3 billion and topping $20 billion for the first time.
Adjusted EPS surged 73% to $8.17, miles above the $6.17 expected, as the margins widened to 21.9% from 17.6%.
CEO Joe Creed hailed the "milestone" of bypassing $20 billion at the top line, and said: "Strong order rates and a growing backlog reflect broadening momentum across all three of our primary segments."
1.01pm: Oil falls on US Treasury Sec comments on Hormuz
Oil prices have pulled back again, following some comments from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said a deal with Iran could be announced as soon as tomorrow.
"I think there's a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait," he said in a CNBC interview.
Brent crude, which topped $86 not long ago, is now down 3.1% on the day at $81.10 a barrel.
Reuters reported earlier that the US Army has spent nearly its entire stockpile of long-range precision missiles in five months of the Iran war.
12.29pm: US stocks seen higher
Wall Street is set to extend its rebound rally, with futures pointing to a strong opening for technology stocks and blue chips.
Dow futures are up 453 points, or 0.9%, while Nasdaq futures are pointing to a gain of 0.9%.
S&P 500 futures are 0.2% higher, which will take it to a new all-time high.
The gains follow a buoyant start to the week, when easing oil prices, stronger US manufacturing data and renewed hopes for diplomacy with Iran lifted sentiment.
But oil prices have been moving higher this morning., with Brent topping $86, after fresh reports of attacks in the Strait of Hormuz overnight.
Market analyst Daniela Hathorn at Capital.com says this is ripping up the de-escalation narrative.
"A Liberia-flagged crude tanker and a Panama-flagged VLCC were both struck overnight, with a separate explosion reported near Khasab, Oman, adding to a run of incidents that maritime security trackers are still working to confirm.
"Iran, for its part, has denied that talks with Washington have resumed at all, despite President Trump's weekend claim that a deal to reopen the strait was in progress, calling the Iranian leadership 'unbelievably duplicitous' in the process."
The net effect is that Brent and WTI have reversed course from the weekend gap and are now pushing higher.
"What's notable is that equities have remained unbothered with Wall Street futures holding onto most of their overnight gains.
"It seems stocks appear willing to treat the latest attacks as an energy-market story rather than a growth-and-inflation story, at least for now as earnings remain the bigger driver of price action.
"With roughly 85% of S&P 500 companies beating estimates and aggregate profit growth tracking above 47% this season, investors have a genuine, bottom-up reason to stay invested that has nothing to do with the geopolitical backdrop."
11.50am: Vistry tumbles as paper lays bare turnaround challenge
Vistry shares have plunged 14%, more than reversing yesterday's 7% gain.
It seems to be after a Telegraph article this morning - 'How Labour’s favourite housebuilder became a ‘corporate disaster’ - highlighted the scale of the problems facing new chief executive Adam Daniels.
The report said around 20% of Vistry's shares were on loan to short sellers, making it Britain's most heavily bet-against stock.
It pointed to reports of subcontractors being told to stop work, discounts of more than £100,000 on some homes and first-half sales of just 6,100 properties.
September's delayed half-year results are expected to show a £30 million loss, the company recently warned, saying 2026 is a transitional year focused on improving execution, generating cash and reducing debt.
11.10am: FTSE among laggards again
The FTSE 100 is again among the laggards in Europe, up 0.3% compared to Germany's DAX gaining 0.5% and Italy's FTSE MIB leading with a 1.1% rise.
France's CAC 40 and Spain's IBEX are flat, while the pan-continental Stoxx 600 has added 0.5%.
Leading the Stoxx risers is Dutch chip equipment maker BE Semiconductor, up 5.4%, while Johnson Matthey gained 5.2% after a positive write-up from Jefferies.
Miners were also firmly in demand, with KGHM, Antofagasta and Glencore rising more than 4%.
At the other end, Zalando plunged 15.3% following a revenue and earnings miss for the second quarter, with the full-year outlook narrowed.
Lufthansa dropped 10.7% after its own profit slump and more cautious guidance.
Vistry and Smith+Nephew are both big fallers too.
10.43am: Movers
Some movers from the mid-caps and smallers.
Shares in AG Barr lost 8% of their fizz after the maker of Irn-Bru revealed that supply chain failures had knocked an estimated £10 million off first-half revenue.
FIH Group has leapt 21% after striking a deal to sell its fine art logistics business Momart for £7.6 million.
Shares in Filtronic fell 10% after the radio frequency specialist reported operating profit fell to £4 million from £13.4 million, despite expanding its relationship with SpaceX during the year, taking a $62.5 million order for next-generation gallium nitride E-band technology, its largest single contract to date.
CT Automotive Group plunged 23% after the car interiors supplier warned that first-half profits would come in materially below last year.
10.21am: FTSE departure lounge
Segro has agreed final terms for its takeover by Prologis, with the deal valuing it at £13.5 billion, down from nearer £14 billion when the deal was ostensibly struck last month due to movements in the US suitor's shares and forex rates.
"Another one bites the dust," says Garry White at Raymond James. "The rush of companies that will be exiting the UK market now risks becoming a stampede."
Five other FTSE 100 companies have received formal takeover offers in the year to date, he says: Beazley, Schroders, Intertek, DCC and easyJet (though the latter is on the FTSE 250 actually, Garry).
"This compares with just one FTSE 100 company - Anglo American - that attracted substantial bid interest during 2025.
"Investors are still waiting for initial public offerings, but bidders are not hanging about. Unless the pipeline of new listings improves markedly, the London market risks becoming better known as a departure lounge than a destination."
9.45am: UK equities are '4-0 up but game not won,' says UBS
UBS strategist Sutanya Chedda says UK equities are "better placed without being fully in control", comparing the market with England's 4-0 lead over France in the World Cup third-place play-off.
Earnings forecasts for 2026 and 2027 fell 1% and 1.2% last month, while analyst revisions remain negative, particularly among small and mid-cap stocks.
Fund flows are also still weak, while higher interest rates continue to weigh on domestically focused businesses.
Chedda's financial model is flashing a recovery signal, "but it is not yet an all-clear" for domestic firms, with the most facvoured companies being those able to absorb higher rates.
"Domestics outperformed internationally exposed companies over the latest month, but the FTSE 250 still carries greater gilt sensitivity and downside capture, despite stronger aggregate balance sheets and dividend coverage.
"The FTSE 100 offers global revenues and greater drawdown resilience, while the FTSE 250 offers less crowding, cheaper enterprise-value multiples and more optionality if domestic confidence broadens."
For now, he says, "this remains a stock and theme selection call, not a mechanical shift from large caps into domestic beta", ie stock picking is key.
9.26am: Travis Perks up
Shares in Travis Perkins (LSE:TPK) have surged 15% on the back of interim results that showed progress in the builders merchant's turnaround.
Group revenue fell 1.8%, and 0.7% on a like-for-like basis, with a 3.2% volume decline offset by the return of price inflation at 2.5%. Adjusted operating profit was flat once property profits were stripped out.
Peel Hunt analyst Sam Cullen says: "We do not expect material changes to forecasts. The UK backdrop remains extremely challenging, with depressed volumes and continued operating cost pressures.
"However, the business is seeing encouraging signs regarding the turnaround. Market conditions in H2 are likely to be similar to H1, though price inflation (particularly for oil derivatives) remains a key variable."
8.58am: Calls for bank windfall tax to cut energy bills
Trade unions and campaigners have seized on the timing of HSBC's resumption of buybacks to argue there is "now a mountain of evidence" that lenders can afford to pay more tax.
The TUC wants higher taxes on bank profits to fund a social tariff that would bring down household energy bills as the conflict with Iran puts further pressure on prices.
Campaign group Positive Money calculated that HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest made a combined £29.2 billion in the first half, up 21% year on year.
It estimated that a 38% windfall tax on their UK profits – matching the rate imposed on oil and gas companies – could raise £19 billion this year.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said higher interest rates had brought "mortgage misery and bigger bills" for households while banks are "rolling in it".
Positive Money urged Andy Burnham to "break with his predecessors by resisting the demands of City lobbyists and reclaiming these lost billions with a windfall tax on bank profits".
8.47am: HSBC buyback 'smaller than expected'
HSBC shares are down 0.7% now, despite buybacks being resumed and a second dividend for the year being approved after profits exceeded analyst estimates.
Explanation comes from analyst Joseph Dickerson at Jefferies, who says it was a "modestly lower buyback than we expected", which "may underwhelm".
But he adds: "The direction of travel for consensus estimates looks to be slightly upwards following a 6% PBT beat in Q2 with notable balance sheet growth."
There was no consensus forecast on buybacks, though Dickerson says he expected $2 billion, "which seemed to align with investor expectations", but says "the broader point is that HSBC grew loans by 5% YoY (constant fx) led by the CIB and UK business".
With management flagging higher variable pay in the second half and investments to capture revenue growth in 2027 this "should still support modest consensus earnings revisions, factoring in an incremental $500 million of cost saves".
8.29am: HSBC to face political pressure
For HSBC, where shares are flat now, market analyst Kathleen Brooks at XTB highlights net interest income rising by 9% as HSBC "capitalises on elevated global interest rates".
She also flags that as around $2 billion of the increase in profits was down to one-off items, "investors may worry that this will not be repeated".
"However, profitability levels remain high, and the company expects its return on tangible equity, its main measure of profitability, to stay at 17% for this year."
Brooks adds that the results "could be clouded by calls for higher taxes" as there "is political pressure on PM Andy Burnham to tax banks more, and HSBC’s results and high profit levels could add to calls for a higher levy on the sector, which could act as a counterweight to banking stocks later on Tuesday".
8.15am: FTSE 100 opens higher thanks to miners and defence
The FTSE 100 has opened in the green, up 44 points to 10,902, thanks to strength from miners and defence stocks.
Copper miners Antofagasta and Anglo American are top of the early risers, up 3.5% and 2.7%, with Glencore not far behind.
Defence contractors Babcock and BAE Systems are up over 2% too. Rolls-Royce is a little below that.
HSBC, the index's largest company, is up 0.4% at the moment, after its results. In fact of the index's top 20 largest names, only Unilever and Compass are in the red at this moment.
AstraZeneca has rebounded 1.9% after yesterday's big fall that saw it lose second place in the index to Shell.
Smith & Nephew is the big faller today, down 6.5% after cutting its top-line guidance.
8am: Smith + Nephew cuts revenue forecast
Smith & Nephew has cut its full-year revenue growth guidance after weakness in its US orthopaedics and wound care businesses in the second quarter.
The FTSE 100 medical technology group now expects annual revenue growth of around 4%, down from its previous forecast of around 6%.
Guidance was maintained for trading profit, free cash flow and return on invested capital.
7.42am: BP profits more than double
BP more than doubled second-quarter profits as higher oil and gas prices and stronger refining margins offset lower production and increased exploration write-offs.
Underlying replacement cost profit rose to $5.7 billion from $2.4 billion a year earlier and $3.2 billion in the first quarter. Reported profit attributable to shareholders increased to $3.9 billion from $1.6 billion.
Operating cash flow climbed 73% year on year to $10.9 billion, despite a $1 billion working capital build. Net debt was cut to $22.3 billion from $25.3 billion at the end of March, slightly exceeding guidance.
Unlike its larger peer Shell, there is no buyback, though the board upped the quarterly dividend 4% to 8.66 cents a share.
7.31am: HSBC profits beat forecasts
HSBC has unveiled a fresh $1 billion share buyback after first-half profit rose 23% to beat forecasts, supported by growth in net interest income and its wealth business.
The FTSE 100's largest company reported pre-tax profit of $19.5 billion for the first six months of 2026, up 23% from a year earlier.
Profit for the second quarter jumped 60% to $10.1 billion, beating the consensus estimate of $9.51 billion. The jump was flattered by the $2.1 billion Bank of Communications charge taken a year earlier.
The Asia-focused bank lifted expected credit losses $400 million to $2.4 billion, including charges relating to UK fraud exposure, Hong Kong commercial property and uncertainty caused by the Middle East conflict.
FTSE 100 Live: Second attempt at making some August gains
London stocks are expected to open higher on Tuesday as markets build on hopes that diplomacy could ease tensions between the US and Iran, while in company news there are results from HSBC and BP, and later the maiden numbers from SpaceX.
FTSE 100 futures are up 39 points, pointing to a recovery after the index slipped 10.35 points to 10,857.70 on Monday. The decline was largely due to a 9% fall for AstraZeneca.
Wall Street provided a strong handover, with the Dow Jones rising 1.3%, the S&P 500 gaining 1.5% and the Nasdaq climbing 2.1%. Lower oil prices, stronger US manufacturing data and fading concerns about a hawkish Federal Reserve helped the S&P close within touching distance of its record high.
Asian markets are mostly higher, led by a 0.9% rise for South Korea’s Kospi, with the Shanghai Composite up 0.5% and the Nikkei 225 gaining 0.4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is down 0.7%.
Jim Reid at Deutsche Bank said markets this week were enjoying a rare combination of “falling oil prices, lower inflation expectations, stronger growth data, declining bond yields, and rising equities all at the same time”.
After falling almost 5% on Monday, Brent crude is up 1.2% at $84.75 a barrel this morning after Iran denied it was holding negotiations with Washington.
Other corporate results due today include Smith & Nephew, Fresnillo, ConvaTec, Domino's Pizza and Travis Perkins (LSE:TPK), while in the US there are earnings from AMD, Pfizer and Booking Holdings. Attention will also be on the US JOLTS job openings report, trade figures and factory orders.
