FTSE 100 LIVE: Stocks climb higher as traders cheer slew of strong earnings reports
Russ Mould of AJ Bell said: 'It's a busy week for corporate earnings in the UK and US, and investors have plenty of news to digest. The latest set of UK results was generally well-received.'
It comes after strong results from Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta (META) after the closing bell in New York last night, which renewed AI optimism.
Meta's shares rose by 11.5% in post-market trading as its third-quarter sales guidance exceeded expectations ($47.5-50.5bn vs $46.2bn est.) with the company claiming that new AI features were boosting ad revenue and announcing an increase in AI-related investment.
Meanwhile, Microsoft gained more than 8% after-hours as it delivered stronger-than-expected Azure revenue growth (+39% vs +34% est.) and announced it will spend over $30bn on AI data centres in the current quarter.
Meanwhile, the White House announced a trade deal with South Korea that will see it face 15% tariffs — the same as Japan and the EU — and establish a $350bn fund for investment into the US, with $150bn allocated for a shipbuilding partnership.
London's benchmark index (^FTSE) was 0.5% higher in early trade
Germany's DAX (^GDAXI) rose 0.7% and the CAC (^FCHI) in Paris headed 0.5% into the green
The pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) was up 0.4%
Wall Street is set for a positive start as S&P 500 futures (ES=F), Dow futures (YM=F) and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) were all in the green.
The pound was 0.2% up against the US dollar (GBPUSD=X) at 1.3257
Follow along for live updates throughout the day:
Hot weather boosts sales and profits at Next
Next (NXT.L) has upped its annual sales and profit outlook once again after better-than-expected trading thanks to hot weather and disruption at cyber attack struck rival Marks & Spencer.
The womenswear and homewares chain posted a 10.5% rise in full-price sales for the second quarter to July 26, with growth of 10.9% for the half-year as a whole.
In the UK, sales jumped by 7.8% in the second quarter as the group said it was boosted by 'better than expected weather and trading disruption at a major competitor'.
M&S had to suspend online trading for nearly two months from mid-April after it was hit by a major hack.
Next said the recent performance and forecasts for better-than-forecast second half trading means it now expects full-year sales to rise by 7.5% and for profits to increase by 9.3% to £1.11 billion. It had previously pencilled in sales growth of 6% and for profits to lift by 6.8%.
The upgrade marks the group's third in just five months. But Next said it 'remains cautious for the second half', stressing that the improved outlook is for its international arm over the next six months.
It said:
It believes sales growth in the UK will slow sharply to 1.9% as the jobs market starts to falter following the Government's move to hike National Insurance contributions for employers, at the same time as rising the minimum wage.
Next said:
But an online marketing push for its international arm is bearing fruit, helping drive sales 28.1% higher in the first half and with growth of 19.4% now expected in the final six months.
The results come after Next announced late on Wednesday that it had bought Seraphine – the maternity fashion firm, whose clothes were worn by the Princess of Wales during her pregnancies – after it recently collapsed into administration.
Next paid £600,000 for the brand and announced it was bringing back Seraphine's founder Cecile Reinaud as an adviser to help relaunch the fashion label.
Shell announces further $3.5bn in share buybacks as profits beat estimates
Shell (SHEL.L) has announced a further $3.5bn (£2.63bn) in share buybacks, as profits beat expectations in the second quarter.
The Anglo-Dutch energy major reported adjusted earnings of $4.3bn, which was down 24% quarter-on-quarter and 32% lower on the same period last year but topped expectations of $3.74bn, according to consensus estimates provided by Vara Research.
Shell CEO Wael Sawan said: "Shell generated robust cash flows reflecting strong operational performance in a less favourable macro environment. We continued to deliver on our strategy by enhancing our deep-water portfolio in Nigeria and Brazil, and achieved a key milestone by shipping the first cargo from LNG Canada."
"Our continued focus on performance, discipline and simplification helped deliver $3.9 billion of structural cost reductions since 2022, with the majority delivered through non-portfolio actions."
He said this enabled the company to launch another $3.5bn of share buybacks for the next three months, representing its 15th consecutive quarter of at least $3bn in repurchases.
Shell warned in a trading update in early July that it expected to report lower trading and production results for its gas division in the second quarter.
In Thursday's results, Shell reported cash flow from operating activities of $11.9bn, which was ahead of a consensus figure of $11.4bn. The company delivered a quarterly dividend of $0.3580 per share, unchanged from the first quarter.
Net debt was up $1.7bn from the first quarter at $43.2bn and was higher than the $38.3bn reported a year ago.
Asia and US overnight
Stocks were mostly lower in Asia on Thursday with the Nikkei (^N225) outperforming against its peers, rising more than 1% on the day in Japan.
It came as the Bank of Japan (BoJ) kept its policy rate at 0.5% overnight, as widely expected. But in a hawkish undertone, the central bank revised up its inflation forecast for the current fiscal year from 2.2% to 2.7%, while also making slight upgrades for 2026 and 2027 inflation and to growth for the current year.
The adjustments suggest that the next BoJ rate hike could be coming closer into view after four on-hold decisions in a row and the Japanese yen is trading +0.41% at 148.90 against the dollar this morning after hitting its lowest levels since early April during the US session yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Hang Seng (^HSI) slipped 1.5% in Hong Kong and the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 1.2% down by the end of the session, lagging on the back of softer-than-expected official July PMIs.
The manufacturing PMI came in at 49.3 (vs. 49.7 in June), marking the fourth consecutive month of contraction, while the non-manufacturing index fell to 50.1, its lowest level since November.
In South Korea, the Kospi (^KS11) lost 0.3% on the day following the deal announced with the US that will see it face 15% US tariffs — the same as Japan and the EU. It will also establish a $350bn fund for investment into the US, with $150bn allocated for a shipbuilding partnership.
Across the pond on Wall Street, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) edged 0.1% lower after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady as expected. The tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) rose 0.1% and the Dow Jones (^DJI) also lost 0.4%.
Coming up
Good morning, and welcome back to our markets live blog. As usual we will be taking a deep dive into what's moving markets and happening across the global economy.
To the day ahead, we have data releases in the US, the focus will be on June PCE, personal income and spending, and initial jobless claims. In Europe, the data highlights will be German, France and Italy July CPI prints.
We will also have the eurozone unemployment and Canada May GDP. And the earnings calendar will remain busy with Apple and Amazon being the main highlight, while in Europe we have Rolls-Royce and BMW.
Here's what's on the agenda today:
7am: Trading updates: Shell, British American Tobacco, Unilever, London Stock Exchange, Rolls-Royce, SEGRO, Standard Chartered, Haleon, Mondi, Endeavour Mining, Schroders, Hammerson, Spire Healthcare, Helios Towers, Indivior, Next, Pets at Home
7am: UK Nationwide House Price Index
10am: Eurozone unemployment rate
10am: Italy inflation rate
1pm: Germany inflation rate
1:30pm: US core personal consumption expenditures inflation rate
1:30pm: US Initial Jobless Claims, Continuing ClaimsHot weather boosts sales and profits at Next
Next (NXT.L) has upped its annual sales and profit outlook once again after better-than-expected trading thanks to hot weather and disruption at cyber attack struck rival Marks & Spencer.
The womenswear and homewares chain posted a 10.5% rise in full-price sales for the second quarter to July 26, with growth of 10.9% for the half-year as a whole.
In the UK, sales jumped by 7.8% in the second quarter as the group said it was boosted by 'better than expected weather and trading disruption at a major competitor'.
M&S had to suspend online trading for nearly two months from mid-April after it was hit by a major hack.
Next said the recent performance and forecasts for better-than-forecast second half trading means it now expects full-year sales to rise by 7.5% and for profits to increase by 9.3% to £1.11 billion. It had previously pencilled in sales growth of 6% and for profits to lift by 6.8%.
The upgrade marks the group's third in just five months. But Next said it 'remains cautious for the second half', stressing that the improved outlook is for its international arm over the next six months.
It said:
It believes sales growth in the UK will slow sharply to 1.9% as the jobs market starts to falter following the Government's move to hike National Insurance contributions for employers, at the same time as rising the minimum wage.
Next said:
But an online marketing push for its international arm is bearing fruit, helping drive sales 28.1% higher in the first half and with growth of 19.4% now expected in the final six months.
The results come after Next announced late on Wednesday that it had bought Seraphine – the maternity fashion firm, whose clothes were worn by the Princess of Wales during her pregnancies – after it recently collapsed into administration.
Next paid £600,000 for the brand and announced it was bringing back Seraphine's founder Cecile Reinaud as an adviser to help relaunch the fashion label.
Next (NXT.L) has upped its annual sales and profit outlook once again after better-than-expected trading thanks to hot weather and disruption at cyber attack struck rival Marks & Spencer.
The womenswear and homewares chain posted a 10.5% rise in full-price sales for the second quarter to July 26, with growth of 10.9% for the half-year as a whole.
In the UK, sales jumped by 7.8% in the second quarter as the group said it was boosted by 'better than expected weather and trading disruption at a major competitor'.
M&S had to suspend online trading for nearly two months from mid-April after it was hit by a major hack.
Next said the recent performance and forecasts for better-than-forecast second half trading means it now expects full-year sales to rise by 7.5% and for profits to increase by 9.3% to £1.11 billion. It had previously pencilled in sales growth of 6% and for profits to lift by 6.8%.
The upgrade marks the group's third in just five months. But Next said it 'remains cautious for the second half', stressing that the improved outlook is for its international arm over the next six months.
It said:
It believes sales growth in the UK will slow sharply to 1.9% as the jobs market starts to falter following the Government's move to hike National Insurance contributions for employers, at the same time as rising the minimum wage.
Next said:
But an online marketing push for its international arm is bearing fruit, helping drive sales 28.1% higher in the first half and with growth of 19.4% now expected in the final six months.
The results come after Next announced late on Wednesday that it had bought Seraphine – the maternity fashion firm, whose clothes were worn by the Princess of Wales during her pregnancies – after it recently collapsed into administration.
Next paid £600,000 for the brand and announced it was bringing back Seraphine's founder Cecile Reinaud as an adviser to help relaunch the fashion label.
Shell announces further $3.5bn in share buybacks as profits beat estimates
Shell (SHEL.L) has announced a further $3.5bn (£2.63bn) in share buybacks, as profits beat expectations in the second quarter.
The Anglo-Dutch energy major reported adjusted earnings of $4.3bn, which was down 24% quarter-on-quarter and 32% lower on the same period last year but topped expectations of $3.74bn, according to consensus estimates provided by Vara Research.
Shell CEO Wael Sawan said: "Shell generated robust cash flows reflecting strong operational performance in a less favourable macro environment. We continued to deliver on our strategy by enhancing our deep-water portfolio in Nigeria and Brazil, and achieved a key milestone by shipping the first cargo from LNG Canada."
"Our continued focus on performance, discipline and simplification helped deliver $3.9 billion of structural cost reductions since 2022, with the majority delivered through non-portfolio actions."
He said this enabled the company to launch another $3.5bn of share buybacks for the next three months, representing its 15th consecutive quarter of at least $3bn in repurchases.
Shell warned in a trading update in early July that it expected to report lower trading and production results for its gas division in the second quarter.
In Thursday's results, Shell reported cash flow from operating activities of $11.9bn, which was ahead of a consensus figure of $11.4bn. The company delivered a quarterly dividend of $0.3580 per share, unchanged from the first quarter.
Net debt was up $1.7bn from the first quarter at $43.2bn and was higher than the $38.3bn reported a year ago.
Shell (SHEL.L) has announced a further $3.5bn (£2.63bn) in share buybacks, as profits beat expectations in the second quarter.
The Anglo-Dutch energy major reported adjusted earnings of $4.3bn, which was down 24% quarter-on-quarter and 32% lower on the same period last year but topped expectations of $3.74bn, according to consensus estimates provided by Vara Research.
Shell CEO Wael Sawan said: "Shell generated robust cash flows reflecting strong operational performance in a less favourable macro environment. We continued to deliver on our strategy by enhancing our deep-water portfolio in Nigeria and Brazil, and achieved a key milestone by shipping the first cargo from LNG Canada."
"Our continued focus on performance, discipline and simplification helped deliver $3.9 billion of structural cost reductions since 2022, with the majority delivered through non-portfolio actions."
He said this enabled the company to launch another $3.5bn of share buybacks for the next three months, representing its 15th consecutive quarter of at least $3bn in repurchases.
Shell warned in a trading update in early July that it expected to report lower trading and production results for its gas division in the second quarter.
In Thursday's results, Shell reported cash flow from operating activities of $11.9bn, which was ahead of a consensus figure of $11.4bn. The company delivered a quarterly dividend of $0.3580 per share, unchanged from the first quarter.
Net debt was up $1.7bn from the first quarter at $43.2bn and was higher than the $38.3bn reported a year ago.
Asia and US overnight
Stocks were mostly lower in Asia on Thursday with the Nikkei (^N225) outperforming against its peers, rising more than 1% on the day in Japan.
It came as the Bank of Japan (BoJ) kept its policy rate at 0.5% overnight, as widely expected. But in a hawkish undertone, the central bank revised up its inflation forecast for the current fiscal year from 2.2% to 2.7%, while also making slight upgrades for 2026 and 2027 inflation and to growth for the current year.
The adjustments suggest that the next BoJ rate hike could be coming closer into view after four on-hold decisions in a row and the Japanese yen is trading +0.41% at 148.90 against the dollar this morning after hitting its lowest levels since early April during the US session yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Hang Seng (^HSI) slipped 1.5% in Hong Kong and the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 1.2% down by the end of the session, lagging on the back of softer-than-expected official July PMIs.
The manufacturing PMI came in at 49.3 (vs. 49.7 in June), marking the fourth consecutive month of contraction, while the non-manufacturing index fell to 50.1, its lowest level since November.
In South Korea, the Kospi (^KS11) lost 0.3% on the day following the deal announced with the US that will see it face 15% US tariffs — the same as Japan and the EU. It will also establish a $350bn fund for investment into the US, with $150bn allocated for a shipbuilding partnership.
Across the pond on Wall Street, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) edged 0.1% lower after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady as expected. The tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) rose 0.1% and the Dow Jones (^DJI) also lost 0.4%.
Stocks were mostly lower in Asia on Thursday with the Nikkei (^N225) outperforming against its peers, rising more than 1% on the day in Japan.
It came as the Bank of Japan (BoJ) kept its policy rate at 0.5% overnight, as widely expected. But in a hawkish undertone, the central bank revised up its inflation forecast for the current fiscal year from 2.2% to 2.7%, while also making slight upgrades for 2026 and 2027 inflation and to growth for the current year.
The adjustments suggest that the next BoJ rate hike could be coming closer into view after four on-hold decisions in a row and the Japanese yen is trading +0.41% at 148.90 against the dollar this morning after hitting its lowest levels since early April during the US session yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Hang Seng (^HSI) slipped 1.5% in Hong Kong and the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 1.2% down by the end of the session, lagging on the back of softer-than-expected official July PMIs.
The manufacturing PMI came in at 49.3 (vs. 49.7 in June), marking the fourth consecutive month of contraction, while the non-manufacturing index fell to 50.1, its lowest level since November.
In South Korea, the Kospi (^KS11) lost 0.3% on the day following the deal announced with the US that will see it face 15% US tariffs — the same as Japan and the EU. It will also establish a $350bn fund for investment into the US, with $150bn allocated for a shipbuilding partnership.
Across the pond on Wall Street, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) edged 0.1% lower after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady as expected. The tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) rose 0.1% and the Dow Jones (^DJI) also lost 0.4%.
Coming up
Good morning, and welcome back to our markets live blog. As usual we will be taking a deep dive into what's moving markets and happening across the global economy.
To the day ahead, we have data releases in the US, the focus will be on June PCE, personal income and spending, and initial jobless claims. In Europe, the data highlights will be German, France and Italy July CPI prints.
We will also have the eurozone unemployment and Canada May GDP. And the earnings calendar will remain busy with Apple and Amazon being the main highlight, while in Europe we have Rolls-Royce and BMW.
Here's what's on the agenda today:
7am: Trading updates: Shell, British American Tobacco, Unilever, London Stock Exchange, Rolls-Royce, SEGRO, Standard Chartered, Haleon, Mondi, Endeavour Mining, Schroders, Hammerson, Spire Healthcare, Helios Towers, Indivior, Next, Pets at Home
7am: UK Nationwide House Price Index
10am: Eurozone unemployment rate
10am: Italy inflation rate
1pm: Germany inflation rate
1:30pm: US core personal consumption expenditures inflation rate
1:30pm: US Initial Jobless Claims, Continuing Claims
Good morning, and welcome back to our markets live blog. As usual we will be taking a deep dive into what's moving markets and happening across the global economy.
To the day ahead, we have data releases in the US, the focus will be on June PCE, personal income and spending, and initial jobless claims. In Europe, the data highlights will be German, France and Italy July CPI prints.
We will also have the eurozone unemployment and Canada May GDP. And the earnings calendar will remain busy with Apple and Amazon being the main highlight, while in Europe we have Rolls-Royce and BMW.
Here's what's on the agenda today:
7am: Trading updates: Shell, British American Tobacco, Unilever, London Stock Exchange, Rolls-Royce, SEGRO, Standard Chartered, Haleon, Mondi, Endeavour Mining, Schroders, Hammerson, Spire Healthcare, Helios Towers, Indivior, Next, Pets at Home
7am: UK Nationwide House Price Index
10am: Eurozone unemployment rate
10am: Italy inflation rate
1pm: Germany inflation rate
1:30pm: US core personal consumption expenditures inflation rate
1:30pm: US Initial Jobless Claims, Continuing Claims
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