FTSE 100 on track for best month since first US attacks on Iran five months ago – as it happened | Business

The FTSE 100 is shedding a little bit of momentum because the month crawls to its finish, however it’s nonetheless a way more constructive image than may need been anticipated throughout the turmoil of March.

The index reached a new file earlier this morning and – barring a major worsening within the subsequent hour or so – will end the month up by about 3.5% at round 10,840 factors. It was down 0.5% after 3pm BST.

That got here after a yr low beneath 9,700 factors on the worst level of the rout triggered by the assaults on Iran ordered by Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu.

The broader European Stoxx 600 index is up 1.2% this month, after dropping 8% in March.

In different enterprise and economics information at present:

That’s it for this week’s reside protection of enterprise, economics and monetary markets. Thanks for studying at present, and please do be part of us on Monday for August. JJ

Wall Avenue can be decided to finish the month in a superb temper: its largest corporations’ share costs have risen on the opening bell.

Listed below are the opening information snaps from Reuters:

• S&P 500 UP 39.96 POINTS, OR 0.54%, AT 7,477.59

• NASDAQ UP 231.33 POINTS, OR 0.92%, AT 25,353.51

• DOW JONES UP 225.88 POINTS, OR 0.43%, AT 52,433.94

The FTSE 100 is now flat for the day, however it’s nonetheless on track for its greatest month since February within the lengthy rebound from Donald Trump’s struggle on Iran.

London’s benchmark index reached a brand new file excessive this morning of 10,989.45 – though it’s wanting like it should stay a couple of hundred factors shy of the 11,000 mark.

However over the course of July thus far – with two hours of buying and selling left – it has gained about 407 factors, placing it on track for a acquire of almost 4% for the month.

The index misplaced 6.7% in March after the US-Israeli assaults on Iran started, however it has since recovered that floor and edged above the earlier excessive level in February.

Amazon’s share worth has jumped 11% in pre-market buying and selling, after traders have been reassured final evening by above-expectations earnings and robust progress in its cloud computing.

That share worth acquire would translate to a different $280bn on its $2.53 trillion market worth.

Nevertheless, Apple’s share worth is down 8% pre-market after the iPhone maker’s forecasts have been hit by provide chain issues.

Amazon is however anticipated to assist the Nasdaq 100 index to rise by about 0.9% at Friday’s opening bell. The broader S&P 500 index is because of rise by 0.3%, whereas the Dow Jones industrial common is about for a 0.5% acquire.

The Financial institution of England yesterday held rates of interest regular, however some econmists consider it might be on monitor to lift them in September. An analogous dynamic is enjoying out in Japan, which steered its personal charge hike might be coming after the summer time as nicely.

The Financial institution of Japan on Friday saved its charges regular at 1%, as anticipated, however gave a hawkish sign in a press convention.

Reuters reported:

The Financial institution of Japan on Friday warned for the primary time that underlying inflation may exceed its goal and stated future coverage discussions would concentrate on upside worth dangers, signalling the possibility of a charge hike as quickly as September.

The BOJ’s determination and its hawkish assertion pushed up the two-year Japanese authorities bond yield. The yen initially posted little response to the choice however jumped sharply in European morning commerce, with merchants alert to the prospect of recent intervention.

Governor Kazuo Ueda stated:

Given underlying inflation is approaching our 2% goal, we have to be aware of upside worth dangers greater than ever. We are going to debate our coverage from our subsequent assembly onward with this level in thoughts.

The US’s largest oil firm, ExxonMobil, has reported a giant leap in income because it advantages from Donald Trump’s struggle on Iran.

The oil supermajor’s adjusted earnings rose 67% from the primary quarter to $14.7bn in April, Might and June, it stated on Friday. The earnings have been almost double the identical interval a yr earlier, however Exxon’s share worth nonetheless fell 2% in pre-market buying and selling because it missed analysts’ forecasts.

Exxon stated it had ramped up manufacturing in Texas’s Permian basin to a brand new file as oil corporations around the globe raced to money in on Iran’s blockade of the strait of Hormuz, a key export route for Gulf oil to world markets. Additionally it is rising manufacturing off the coast of Guyana, in one of many largest oil rushes of current many years.

The corporate stated it was the best upstream manufacturing in additional than 20 years, excluding the “Center East disruptions”.

Darren Woods, ExxonMobil chair and chief govt officer, stated:

The second quarter was formed by disruption, however outlined by execution. Markets have been supportive, however our efficiency mirrored the energy of the portfolio and working mannequin now we have constructed over a few years. As situations modified, we moved merchandise the place they have been wanted, optimized belongings, and supported prospects, leveraging our world built-in portfolio.

Gwyn Topham

HS2 has introduced it has renegotiated two of its largest contracts to make sure value management on the troubled high-speed railway as a part of the promised “reset” underneath Labour and chief govt Mark Wild.

Wild has blamed a lot of the price overrun on the venture, which the federal government now hopes will value £93bn as a substitute of an unique £32.7bn for a a lot bigger railway, on the way in which contracts have been structured, leaving all threat and inflation with the taxpayer.

The renegotiated contracts with two joint ventures, EKFB and Align, account for a 100km of the route between London and the West Midlands. HS2 stated the brand new contracts would “reset incentives by rewarding environment friendly supply and value management”.

Lord Hendy, rail minister, stated:

These new contracts are an vital milestone within the reset of HS2. The waste and mismanagement of the previous are behind us – we are actually laser-focused on delivering this venture effectively and responsibly for taxpayers.

Wild stated:

That is excellent news, however there’s extra to do, Bringing an finish to HS2’s value over-runs and delays is a shared ambition, and I’d wish to thank each one of many dad or mum corporations at each EKFB and Align for his or her willingness to barter and their dedication to doing the fitting factor for British taxpayers.

Negotiations with HS2’s two different civil engineering joint ventures – BBV and Skanska Costain STRABAG – are ongoing.

The estimated value vary for the scheme was set out in Might as £87.7bn to £102.7bn, in a long-awaited reset that confirmed the extent of the price range overrun in present costs. Trains from London to Birmingham could not run till 2039 with hyperlinks to the north within the 2040s. Wild and ministers are anticipated to set out a full schedule for constructing HS2 early subsequent yr.

Gwyn Topham

Excessive gas costs have slashed income by a 3rd at British Airways proprietor Worldwide Airways Group (IAG).

The group’s pre-tax income fell to €995m (£852m) within the final quarter, from €1.5bn (£1.3 bn) in the identical interval in 2o25.

Gasoline prices rose by extra 400 million euros as the worth spiked attributable to battle within the Center East, regardless of most of IAG’s necessities being hedged at a lower cost.

Revenues have been up 1% with passenger numbers flat.

Chief govt Luis Gallego stated the outcomes demonstrated IAG’s “wonderful fundamentals” regardless of geopolitical headwinds.

British Airways chief govt Sean Doyle stated that the airline was reworking its head workplace with higher expertise, and “driving effectivity as a result of increasingly transactions might be serviced on-line”. Round 200 jobs have gone and Doyle stated AI may drive extra effectivity, however added: “On the similar time, we’re recruiting much more frontline individuals which might be rising the airline. The online workers of BA are rising.”

He stated BA was persevering with to “monitor carefully” the results of EES, the EU’s entry-exit system, which has sparked issues of summer time queues, however there had not been flight delays or missed flights thus far. Doyle stated: “We do have the odd flash level pop up. However we cope with this.”

The AA’s rival, the RAC, has known as it: UK petrol costs have reached the best this yr after Donald Trump renewed assaults on Iran.

RAC head of coverage Simon Williams stated:

In very unwelcome information for drivers the typical worth of petrol has hit a brand new Iran Struggle excessive of 160p a litre having elevated greater than 9p (9.38p) since falling to a low of 150.59p on 6 July. Diesel has now shot up 14.5p since its low level on 9 July to 179p, however fortuitously continues to be 12.5p beneath its battle excessive of 191.54p on 15 April.

This implies the price of filling a family-size automotive with unleaded has gone as much as £88 whereas a tank of diesel is £10 extra. The wholesale worth of petrol eased very barely this week however it isn’t sufficient to make a distinction on the pumps. Diesel appears set to maintain on rising and is prone to attain 185p a litre within the subsequent few weeks, barring any main oil worth discount.

Morrisons reveals 5,000 job cuts after £900m loss

Sarah Butler

Morrisons has revealed losses widened to £926m final yr and it reduce nearly 5,000 jobs because the Bradford-based grocery store continues to wrestle with heavy money owed and competitors.

Pre tax losses widened within the yr to October 2025 from £612m within the yr earlier than as gross sales rose 3.2% to £15.8bn regardless of hefty grocery inflation all year long.

A spokesperson for Morrisons stated it had: “demonstrated our resilience within the face of some robust exterior headwinds,” which included a cyber-attack on a key IT supplier, rising inflation and authorities value will increase.

The corporate stated debt and curiosity prices have been each diminished and “the underlying efficiency of the enterprise was sturdy”.

On the yr finish internet debt was £3.2bn, down 46% since Morrisons was purchased by personal fairness agency CD&R in 2022. Curiosity prices have been diminished by 29% to £281m.

It stated income had been hit by a write down on the worth of the McColls comfort retailer property earlier than it closed dozens of the small shops final yr.

Nevertheless, the accounts filed at Corporations Home present Morrisons diminished employees numbers by 4,912 because it ditched a newspaper supply service and diminished jobs at head workplace and in its Rathbones bakery division.

Eurozone inflation nudged up from 2.8% to 2.9% in July, however economists are frightened about the opportunity of additional worth will increase down the road given the US’s continued assaults on Iran.

Core inflation rose by 0.1 proportion factors, to 2.5%, marginally above the two.4% anticipated by economists.

August inflation is prone to be considerably larger, due to larger oil costs when the Donald Trump determined to resume bombing in opposition to Iran.

Bert Colijn, chief economist for the Netherlands at ING, an funding financial institution, stated:

Whereas vitality inflation is on the transfer once more, the query stays when second spherical results will present up in core inflation information. The rise from 2.4% to 2.5% in core inflation in July was small, however does mirror each items and companies inflation trending barely larger.

We do anticipate items inflation to nonetheless rise from the present inflation charge of 0.9% (a rise from 0.8% in June), however thus far there has not been a lot motion. Whereas companies proceed to point warning in rising promoting costs, the months forward ought to convey extra pass-through of upper enter prices.

Claus Vistesen, chief eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, a consultancy, stated that he thought the information would persuade the European Central Financial institution to lift rates of interest by 0.25 proportion factors at its September assembly.

Vistesen stated he anticipated that to be “the ultimate improve earlier than the ECB pauses to evaluate the outlook” – though who is aware of what might be occurring in Iran by then?

Pantheon’s forecasts predict that vitality costs will trigger a big a part of inflation over the following six months, because the beneath chart reveals.