FTSE Flat At Noon; Compass Group, Centrica Post Strong Gains

RTTNews | 9天前

(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks are turning in a mixed performance in cautious trade on Tuesday with investors reacting to some earnings updates, and assessing the possible move of the U.S. and the European Union in the event of the ongoing trade negotiations failing to result in any meaningful solution to the tariff issues.

The European Union is reportedly preparing to respond with a suite of retaliatory measures under its Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) following U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose a 30 percent tariff on EU goods from 1 August.

The benchmark FTSE 100, moving between 8,987.18 and 9,024.06, was down 6.43 points or 0.07% at 9,006.56 a few minutes past noon.

Compass Group is gaining 5.8%, lifted by an upward revision in the company;s revenue growth forecast. The company has also announced that it has acquired Dutch firm Vermaat for 1.5 billion euros.

Centrica is up 4% after the company confirmed a 15% stake in the Sizewell C nuclear project. The deal is expected to boost Centrica's earnings.

Glencore, Entain, SSE and Rentokil Initial are up 2.2 to 2.5%.

British American Tobacco, United Utilities, Vodafone Group, Severn Trent and Rio Tinto are among the other notable gainers.

Spirax Group is down by about 3.1%. Barratt Redrow, Croda International, EasyJet, JD Sports Fashion, Legal & General, Ashtead Group, Babcock International, Taylor Wimpey, Intertek Group and Next are down 1.2 to 2.5%.

In economic news, the UK budget deficit widened sharply in June, data from the Office for National Statistics showed.

Public sector net borrowing rose by GBP 6.6 billion from the previous year to GBP 20.7 billion in June. This was bigger than the GBP 17.1 billion shortfall forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility. Moreover, it was the second-highest borrowing in any June since monthly records began in 1993.

In the financial year to June, borrowing totaled GBP 57.8 billion, which was GBP 7.5 billion more than in the same three-month period of 2024.

At the end of June 2025, public sector net debt excluding public sector banks was provisionally estimated at 96.3% of gross domestic product.

Swiss Market Ends Moderately Lower

Despite a decent spell in positive territory till about an hour before noon, the Switzerland market turned weak and kept drifting lower as the session progressed on Thursday to eventually settle with a moderate loss.

RTTNews | 1小时39分钟前

European Stocks Close Mostly Weak As Investors React To Earnings

European markets closed mostly lower on Thursday as investors reacted to a slew of earnings announcements and digested the latest batch of economic data from the region, and also followed the developments on the trade front.

RTTNews | 2小时10分钟前

U.S. Consumer Price Growth Matches Estimates In June

A closely watched report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of June. The Commerce Department said its personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose by 0.3 percent in June after inching up by an upwardly revised 0.2 percent in May.

RTTNews | 4小时58分钟前

German Unemployment Rises In July

Germany's unemployment increased less than expected in July but the overall number of people out of work remained close to the 3 million mark due to the prolonged period of economic slowdown, official data revealed on Thursday. The number of unemployed rose by less-than-expected 2,000 from June, the Federal Employment Agency said. For July, economists had forecast an increase of 15,000.

RTTNews | 5小时41分钟前

U.S. Jobless Claims Inch Up Less Than Expected To 218,000

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged slightly higher in the week ended July 26th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The report said initial jobless claims crept up to 218,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 217,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 224,000.

RTTNews | 5小时48分钟前