Stock prices in London opened mixed on Thursday while European counterparts were in the green, amid news that the UK economy flatlined monthly in June amid investor caution before the general election in July.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 8.31 points, or 0.1%, at 8,289.36. The FTSE 250 was down 41.98 points, or 0.2%, at 20,910.54, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.87 points, or 0.1%, at 770.64.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 828.38, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.1% at 18,308.68, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.1% at 16,788.53.
The UK economy showed no growth in June, data published by the Office for National Statistics showed Thursday. UK GDP did not move monthly compared to unrevised growth of 0.4% in May.
According to the ONS: ‘...Some industries may have been affected by the general election held on 4 July 2024. In a range of industries across the economy, businesses stated that customers were delaying placing orders until the outcome of the election was known. These comments covered all of manufacturing, construction, and services.’
The GDP was however 0.7% higher than a year ago. In the second quarter, UK GDP growth slowed to 0.6% on-quarter from an increase of 0.7% in the first quarter. Year-on-year, second quarter UK GDP growth was 0.9%.
Separately, the ONS said the UK’s trade deficit for goods and services stood at £13.3 billion in the second quarter, widened by £7.1 billion from the first quarter. Exports increased by 2.1% to £214.7 billion, while imports increased by 5.4% to £228.0 billion.
On top of that, the ONS announced that industrial production declined by 0.8% monthly in June, swung from a rise of 0.3% in May. In the second quarter, industrial output edged down 0.1% compared to the first quarter.
In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.8%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.4%.
The pound was quoted at $1.2851 early on Thursday in London, higher compared to $1.2847 at the equities close on Wednesday. The euro stood at $1.1013, against $1.1029. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥147.22, up compared to JP¥146.74.
In the FTSE 100, AstraZeneca gained 1.0%.
The pharmaceutical firm said that its cancer drug Imfinzi has been granted priority review and breakthrough designation for patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer in the US.
The US Food & Drug Administration’s grants are based on phase three trial data, which showed a statistically significant and clinical meaningful overall survival and progression free-survival benefit.
Also on the index, Admiral Group gained 8.7%.
For the six months ended June 30, Admiral reported pretax profit of £309.8 million, up 32% from £233.9 million a year prior. Group turnover of the financial services company was up 43% to £3.21 billion from £2.24 billion.
Insurance revenue rose 38% to £2.21 billion from £1.61 billion, while return on equity came to 45% from 39% the previous year. Of note was Admiral’s interim dividend, which enjoyed a 39% bump to 71.0 pence from 51.0p.
In the FTSE 250, 3i Infrastructure lost 0.2%.
The firm’s shares lost a little ground after it announced that Future Biogas, a plant developer and biogas producer, has agreed to acquire 51% of a portfolio of six gas-to-grid anaerobic digestion facilities, with a combined gas output of 333 gigawatt hours, from JLEN Environmental Assets for £68.1 million.
Of this, £30 million will be funded by 3i Infrastructure, with the balance funded by Future Biogas from committed debt facilities.
Adriatic Metals lost 1.7%.
An employee working at the Rupice Mine has died, following an accident at the site on Wednesday. A vehicle overturned near the rescue station at Rupice and the driver, an employee of a local Bosnian subcontractor, sustained fatal injuries.
No other individuals were seriously injured in the accident. The incident did not occur in the area of mining operations; however, Adriatic Metals has elected to secure the area for a period of 24 hours.
Artemis Resources jumped 83%.
The mineral exploration company announced a rock chip sample with over 10,000 grammes of gold per tonne at the Titan prospect which is part of the firm’s ground reconnaissance programme at its Karratha gold project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.8%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.9%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.2%.
Chinese retail sales rebounded in July while industrial production growth slowed, official data showed Thursday, highlighting an uneven recovery in the world’s second-largest economy.
In July, retail sales grew 2.7% year-on-year, rebounding from June’s 2.0% increase, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The performance narrowly exceeded the expectations of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, who had predicted a 2.6% increase.
However, industrial production growth slowed, with July’s 5.1% expansion inching down from 5.3% in June and short of the 5.2% forecast in the Bloomberg survey.
Meanwhile, Japan’s economy has rebounded, government data showed Thursday, in welcome news for its next prime minister following Fumio Kishida’s decision to quit.
The 0.8% expansion in the second quarter came after the world number four economy slumped by 0.6% in the first three months of the year. The rise, supported by increased activity and increased capital and public investment, beat market expectations that output would grow 0.6%.
In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.6%, the S&P 500 up 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite up slightly.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on Thursday will make their first joint trip since the US president dropped out of the 2024 election, delivering a major economic announcement aimed at boosting Harris’s White House hopes.
Biden and Harris will put on a show of unity at an event in Maryland, near Washington, less than three weeks after their seismic switch-up at the top of the Democratic Party ticket.
Biden indicated on Wednesday that the announcement would involve his core policy of reducing drug prices, while the White House said they would unveil steps to ‘lower costs for the American people.’
Gold was quoted at $2,454.90 an ounce early on Thursday, higher than $2,453.60 per ounce at the close.
Brent oil was trading at $79.98 a barrel early on Thursday, higher than $79.89 late Wednesday.
Still to come on Thursday’s economic calendar, there are retail sales, industrial production, and initial jobless claims - among other readings - from the US.
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