(Alliance News) – Stock prices in London opened higher on Thursday, with strong corporate earnings from Admiral, Persimmon and Metlen offsetting pressure from a raft of stocks trading ex-dividend.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 20.77 points, 0.2%, at 10,909.07. The FTSE 250 was down 15.41 points, 0.1%, at 24,617.22, and the AIM all-share was up 0.72 points, 0.1%, at 782.50.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 1,083.08, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 21,421.50, and the Cboe small companies was down 0.2% at 18,787.49.
In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.6%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.1%.
Iran and Oman have agreed a shipping route through the strategic waterway and are finalising arrangements for its joint management, Tehran’s foreign ministry said. However, Iranian officials stressed that any reopening would depend on Washington ending what Tehran describes as its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said talks with Oman were progressing but cautioned that even if an agreement is reached, it would not necessarily mean the strait would be safe for all vessels.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump dismissed reports of munitions shortages, insisting the US had “massive amounts” of weapons and that defence companies were rapidly expanding production.
Brent crude was quoted at USD79.82 a barrel early Thursday, up slightly from USD79.47 late Wednesday.
Back in London, a number of heavyweight stocks traded ex-dividend, weighing on the FTSE 100. Relx fell 2.6%, St James’s Place lost 1.9%, Segro gave up 1.5%, Schroders declined 1.2%, and Lloyds Banking Group slipped 0.7%.
Admiral Group topped the FTSE 100, rising 4.9%.
The insurer reported first-half pretax profit from continuing operations of GBP429.2 million, down 18% from GBP521.0 million a year earlier, while earnings per share fell to 109.0p from 132.5p and return on equity declined to 45% from 57%. Turnover was broadly unchanged at GBP3.11 billion.
Admiral cut its interim dividend to 70.5p per share from 115.0p but announced a GBP45.0 million share buyback, taking total shareholder distributions linked to first-half earnings to GBP258.8 million.
It added that travel insurance profit increased despite disruption caused by the Middle East conflict, which affected energy supplies, shipping routes and aviation.
Persimmon followed, up 3.5%.
The housebuilder reported a 15% rise in both revenue and pretax profit during the first half and said it remains on track to deliver growth in line with market expectations in 2026 despite affordability pressures in the UK housing market.
Revenue rose to GBP1.73 billion from GBP1.50 billion, while pretax profit increased to GBP168.0 million from GBP146.7 million. New home completions climbed 13% to 5,189, while the interim dividend was maintained at 20p per share.
Persimmon said forward sales strengthened to GBP1.91 billion across 8,200 homes by August 2, from GBP1.86 billion across 8,098 homes a year earlier.
It added that the UK government’s planning reforms still need to translate into faster progress on the ground but said it remains well positioned for further growth.
The York-based housebuilder says the UK housing market continues to face affordability constraints and a long-term undersupply of homes, adding that government planning reforms need to translate into faster progress on the ground, but believes it remains well placed to drive further growth.
Metlen Energy & Metals rose 3.0% after posting record first-half results and reaffirming both its full-year and medium-term earnings guidance.
Revenue increased 11% to EUR3.99 billion, while pretax profit climbed 25% to EUR363.1 million.
In the FTSE 250, WPP surged 24% after reporting better-than-expected interim results.
Harworth Group jumped 20% after receiving a 172.5 pence-per-share cash takeover proposal from Peel Pepper, a company owned by Peel Holdings Group.
The offer values Harworth’s equity at around GBP582.9 million. Peel, which already owns just under 30% of Harworth through its Goodweather subsidiary, said the proposal offers shareholders certainty in cash. The bid represents a 20% premium to Wednesday’s closing price and a 36% premium to the three-month volume-weighted average price.
OSB Group slumped 15% after warning that persistent funding cost pressures could modestly affect its 2027 return-on-tangible-equity target alongside its interim results.
Among smaller companies, Wellnex Life more than doubled.
The company reported fourth-quarter revenue of AUD7.0 million, up from AUD5.1 million in the previous quarter, while gross profit rose to AUD2.0 million from AUD1.5 million.
It also agreed to sell its Pain Away business for AUD21.3 million in cash, with proceeds expected to eliminate all outstanding debt.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3460 early Thursday, slightly lower than USD1.3466 at the London equities close on Wednesday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR1.1660 from EUR1.1663 a day prior.
The euro traded at USD1.1544 early Thursday, slightly lower than USD1.1545 late Wednesday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY157.86, higher versus JPY157.58.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo closed down 0.9%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended 0.6% higher, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed 1.6% lower. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.5%.
In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.5%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2% and 0.8%, respectively.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.62%, narrowing from 4.63%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 5.17%, unchanged from Wednesday.
Gold traded at USD4,262.90 an ounce early Thursday, up from USD4,255.64 on Wednesday.
Still to come on Thursday’s economic calendar are the UK construction PMI, eurozone retail sales, Irish unemployment, and US weekly jobless claims and wholesale inventories.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News senior economics reporter
Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com
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St James’s Place 
Segro 
Lloyds 
Schroders 
Admiral 
Metlen Energy 
WPP 
Harworth Gp 
OneSavings Bank 
Wellnex Life