The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.3% by 0901 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 climbed 0.7%
International News via Reuters:
London’s main FTSE indexes edged higher on Thursday, with financial and retail companies posting strong business updates, while investor interest piqued after easyJet kept the door open to a Castlelake buyout.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.3% by 0901 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 climbed 0.7%. Both indexes were set to mark one-week highs.
• Financials led sectoral gains, up 3.4%, with private equity group 3i Group <III.L> adding 9.7% after its retail brand Action reported a 3.3% rise in like-for-like sales, as of 25 weeks ended June 21.
• Greeting card retailer Moonpig <MOONM.L> jumped 10.3% after announcing upbeat annual pre-tax profits, as customers traded up to higher priced gifts.
• Bicycles and car parts retailer Halfords <HFD.L> soared 16.1% after forecasting fiscal year 2027 profit towards the top end of analyst expectations.
• British budget carrier easyJet <EZJ.L> rose 6.2% after rejecting a fourth, sweetened £4.93 billion ($6.50 billion) takeover proposal from U.S.-based investment firm Castlelake, but said it would grant the suitor limited access to commercial information in hopes of drawing a higher bid.
• ITV <ITV.L> jumped 2.3% after Comcast-owned Sky agreed on terms to buy the FTSE midcap’s broadcast and streaming unit.
• Advanced Medical Solutions Group shot up 16% after the medical supplier received a £715 million buyout deal, including debt, from U.S.-based adhesives maker H.B. Fuller.
• A key U.S. inflation report, which could offer clues into the monetary policy path ahead, is expected later in the day.
• Traders anticipate the Bank of England to hike borrowing costs by 25 basis points by year-end, according to LSEG-compiled data.
• In politics, Finance Minister Rachel Reeves announced her support for Andy Burnham, who is widely anticipated to become the UK’s seventh prime minister in a decade two weeks from now.
($1 = 0.7582 pounds)
Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair
