WH Smith (LON:SMWH) high-street sale faces investor focus after TG Jones court delay
TG Jones, which bought WH Smith’s high street stores, was still waiting on a High Court
South32 Ltd (ASX:S32) share price bounce leaves June selloff intact before quarterly update
South32 Ltd entered Tuesday’s pre-open after a 1.79% rise on Monday, but the bounce did little to repair June’s damage. The miner closed at A$3.98; since June 22 it is down 4.1%,
National Grid stock climbs, £70bn grid plan exceeds market cap
National Grid plc added ground Monday, outpacing the broader London market. Investors continued to pile in, backing a regulated asset-growth pitch with a footprint that now outstrips the company's equity value. The stock was last seen at 1,255p, up 0.76%, at 15:02:06 BST. It traded between 1,239.5p and 1,257p so far today. The FTSE 100 slipped 0.06% on the same feed. Reuters said UK shares lost ground earlier after Middle East tensions weighed on sentiment.
Lloyds (LON:LLOY) buyback questioned as mortgages drop, stock eyes 109p
Lloyds Banking Group plc shares saw a slight gain in late-morning trade in London on Monday. The move came as new data showed UK mortgage approvals dropped about 15% in May, raising questions for Lloyds, given its heavy reliance on home loans. Lloyds traded up on delayed UK quotes, with two other local bank stocks down.
Tesco trades higher as repurchase hits 59% of target, grocery share cools
Tesco PLC traded higher in London on Monday. A new buyback update showed Tesco has now executed around 59% of its planned £750 million repurchase, providing some direct per-share support as UK grocery volume figures remain mixed. London Stock Exchange was open for business, with the regular session running from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. BST. TradingHours.com confirmed the exchange was open Monday. As of 10:55 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.27% at 10,479.49. Tesco traded at 463.70p, up 3.80p, or 0.83%, according to delayed London South East data.
easyJet (LON:EZJ) stock trails Castlelake offer on deal terms snag
easyJet plc shares remain priced with a takeover discount, after the airline gave Castlelake access to only limited commercial information. The delayed quote showed the stock at 580.2p to sell, 580.6p to buy, off 0.51% for the day. Shares opened at 587p and closed previously at 583p. The discount figure is what investors are watching. Castlelake put forward a fourth offer at 650p a share in cash. easyJet turned it down, calling it too low, but said more access to data could bring a “more attractive proposal”.
IAG shares dip on Heathrow cost dispute, offsetting oil price drop and dividend
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA shares dropped Monday. But for investors, fuel wasn’t the only concern. The British Airways parent is trading close to its old highs, as a new dispute about who pays for Heathrow’s expansion brings attention to a costly item the company can’t hedge. IAG was last at 473.25 pence, off 9.45 pence, as of 0946 BST. Volume was 2.24 million shares. The stock is trading 3.99% under its 52-week high of 492.90 pence from June 25, but it's still up 39.5% for the year, per delayed market data.
BAE Systems (LON:BA) buyback case looks better after shares fall with UK defence review coming
BAE Systems plc had a mixed week, bouncing on Friday while the broader market slumped, but still posted a lower finish over five days. The dip means its fresh buyback program will pick up more shares with the same money. BAE closed at 1,808p in London, up 0.89% for the day, Hargreaves Lansdown data said. The FTSE 100 lost 0.21% on Friday. But BAE finished the week 2.1% lower than last Friday's close.
BAE Systems (LON:BA) buyback case looks better after shares fall with UK defence review coming
BAE Systems plc had a mixed week, bouncing on Friday while the broader market slumped, but still posted a lower finish over five days. The dip means its fresh buyback program will pick up more shares with the same money. BAE closed at 1,808p in London, up 0.89% for the day, Hargreaves Lansdown data said. The FTSE 100 lost 0.21% on Friday. But BAE finished the week 2.1% lower than last Friday's close.
Stock Market Today: Live Updates 01.08.2026
LIVEMarkets rolling coverageStarted: August 1, 2026, 4:00 AM EDTUpdated: August 1, 2026, 4:22 PM EDT Truth Social to Sell Early Access to Trump's Posts, Prompting Insider Trading Worries August 1, 2026, 4:12 PM EDT. Truth Social, the social platform run by US President Donald Trump, will start selling fast access to his posts on Saturday, aiming at Wall Street traders. The company is looking to cash in with its “Truth API” by giving high-frequency traders a stream of Trump’s posts with minimal delays. Experts are already flagging insider trading concerns-Trump’s online comments have moved markets before, and now some players
Stock Market Today: Live Updates 31.07.2026
LIVEMarkets rolling coverageStarted: July 31, 2026, 4:00 AM EDTUpdated: August 1, 2026, 3:59 AM EDT Rentokil Drops 20% After Margin Cut, Slower Q2 Growth August 1, 2026, 3:52 AM EDT. Shares of Rentokil Initial (LSE:RTO) tumbled about 20% after the pest control giant lowered its 2027 North America operating margin goal and posted weaker organic growth at 2.4% for Q2 against 2.8% in Q1. First-half revenue and adjusted operating profit still climbed 6.7% and 6.6%. The stock is now trading at a forward P/E near 19. Debt improved, with leverage at 2.4. CEO Mike Duffy said he expects North America
Stock Market Today: Live Updates 29.07.2026
LIVEMarkets rolling coverageStarted: July 29, 2026, 4:00 AM EDTUpdated: July 30, 2026, 3:56 AM EDT Endeavour Mining (LSE:EDV) Posts $761M H1 Free Cash Flow as Gold Prices Climb July 30, 2026, 3:56 AM EDT. Endeavour Mining PLC said first-half free cash flow hit a record US$761 million after another jump in gold prices. The company, which trades in London and Toronto under (LSE:EDV) and (TSX:EDV), said it took advantage of strong gold to boost cash and stay flexible. The miner said higher prices helped offset market swings. Analysts called the print a good sign for gold miners as global economic
Stock Market Today: Live Updates 28.07.2026
LIVEMarkets rolling coverageStarted: July 28, 2026, 4:00 AM EDTUpdated: July 29, 2026, 3:59 AM EDT ResMed CDI (ASX:RMD) falls 16.78% for the year as 2026 value outlook stays mixed July 29, 2026, 3:59 AM EDT. ResMed CDI (ASX:RMD) shares have dropped 16.78% year-to-date as investors weigh the stock’s outlook. The company, which is based in San Diego and started in Australia, makes CPAP machines for sleep apnea and cloud-linked software. ResMed posted annual revenue of $4.685 billion, which gave it a 13.6% compound annual revenue growth over three years. Gross margin was 57.4%, and profits hit $1.021 billion, rising at
Stock Market Today: Live Updates 24.07.2026
LIVEMarkets rolling coverageStarted: July 24, 2026, 4:00 AM EDTUpdated: July 25, 2026, 3:59 AM EDT Lane Cove Apartment Draws Only Single Bid, Sells Below Guide as Sydney Auction Market Struggles July 25, 2026, 3:57 AM EDT. A two-bedroom apartment in Lane Cove sold for $785,000 under the hammer, with just one bid recorded. Agents had hoped for more competition, guiding buyers at $790,000. The reserve sat at the same level as the lone bid. Auctioneer Pete Matthews called current conditions the toughest in his 30-year career, saying even the GFC didn’t compare. The unit was one of 451 auctions scheduled
Stock Market Today: Live Updates 23.07.2026
LIVEMarkets rolling coverageStarted: July 23, 2026, 4:00 AM EDTUpdated: July 24, 2026, 3:59 AM EDT ASX Movers: Woolworths Group, Flight Centre Travel Group July 24, 2026, 3:55 AM EDT. Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX:WOW) shares are up 33.6% since early 2025, helped by the company’s 35% share of the grocery market and a 3.66% dividend yield-well above its 5-year average of 2.92%. Investors are leaning on Woolworths for steady earnings as uncertainty lingers. On the other hand, Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX:FLT) has rebounded 21.7% from its 52-week lows. The global travel giant, in more than 80 countries, is trading
Stock Market Today: Live Updates 22.07.2026
LIVEMarkets rolling coverageStarted: July 22, 2026, 4:00 AM EDTUpdated: July 23, 2026, 3:59 AM EDT Flight Centre Travel Group (ASX:FLT) drops 21% this year as debt clouds recovery outlook July 23, 2026, 3:57 AM EDT. Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX:FLT) shares are down 20.8% year-to-date. Revenue has jumped, with three-year CAGR at 89.8% to $2.7 billion. The company swung from a $433 million loss to a $140 million profit. Gross margin is now 42.4%. Net debt stays high at $283 million-raising questions on leverage and interest expense. Debt-to-equity wasn’t disclosed but matters for balance sheet strength. FLT’s mix of
Stock Market Today: Live Updates 16.07.2026
LIVEMarkets rolling coverageStarted: July 16, 2026, 4:00 AM EDTUpdated: July 17, 2026, 3:59 AM EDT ASX slips 0.5%, miners hit hard; index flat for the week July 17, 2026, 3:47 AM EDT. The S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.5% Friday and finished the week little changed. Miners weighed heavily, with materials off more than 3%. BHP dropped 3% as it cut copper guidance. Regis Resources tumbled 8% after weaker FY27 guidance and an accounting issue. Higher oil prices and geopolitical worries fueled selling in gold and copper names. Energy and defensive sectors helped limit broader losses. Across Asia, major indexes slumped: South
London stocks lagged Tuesday as FTSE 100 missed surge in other corners
The FTSE 100 edged lower Thursday, though the main index drop didn’t tell the whole story. A big pharmaceutical stock weighed on the benchmark, but banks, miners, tech names and mid-cap shares all moved up in the background. FTSE 100 slipped 0.2% to 10,472.5. Gains in banks, up 2.2%, and miners, both industrial and precious-metal names, up over 4%, couldn’t make up for AstraZeneca’s trial news. The FTSE 250 added 1.0%, breaking a three-day losing streak and suggesting investors aren’t just pulling out of UK names.
FTSE 100 drops as oil surge stokes rate fears
UK stocks fell Wednesday as oil’s rally stopped being an easy win for London. Brent prices lifted BP and Shell, but higher oil brought rate fears back. The FTSE 100 had energy names up, but most other shares fell. FTSE 100 lost ground Wednesday, showing the index hasn’t been a safe spot for investors. Still, it’s up 5.62% in 2024 and has gained 18.29% over the last 12 months, so there were profits on the table before the drop. The easy path for UK stocks in June now faces stiffer tests as earnings season arrives in July.
FTSE 100 slips after Trump ends Iran deal, oil surges
FTSE 100 drops even as oil majors BP and Shell climb. Crude prices rose, energy was the standout sector, but the main index still logged its steepest loss in almost eight weeks. Investors saw that London’s exposure to oil couldn’t shield the broader market once crude shifted into a rates and inflation story. London markets were closed at the time of writing. The LSE runs from 8:00 to 16:30 local. Moves below show closes or the last confirmed trades, not live prices.
National Australia Bank stock trades above broker targets after A$1.8 billion capital raise
National Australia Bank has climbed enough post-capital raising that broker targets are now mostly flat. Next up: can a lower-cost data setup and extra capital buffer against margin and credit risks. Shares last traded at A$39.59 on July 8, up 0.94%, logging a 4.57% gain in five days, but still down 6.43% in 2024, according to MarketScreener. Trading was outside normal ASX cash hours of 09:59:45 to 16:00 Sydney by the dateline. Market prices are outpacing current target screens. Motley Fool Australia, citing Market Index data on Tuesday, said the average target sits at A$39.17, while TradingView lists A$37.78, with most recommendations at hold or sell. Investing.com’s average is A$37.959 from 14 analysts, consensus neutral.
Reckitt climbs ahead of July 29 buyback, investors look at cash return math
Reckitt Benckiser Group plc climbed on Tuesday, trading above the average repurchase price from the latest part of its £1 billion buyback. With shares up, the next move on capital returns is back on the table ahead of half-year results. Reckitt finished after hours with a 5,206p bid and a 5,208p offer, up 106p, or 2.08%, according to Hargreaves Lansdown. HL’s page logged the FTSE 100 up 0.13%. Reckitt closed last session at 5,088p, volume came in at 1,060,707 shares, giving a £32.98 billion market cap.
Aviva shares tick higher after Tesco deal aims at parents’ insurance gap
Aviva plc ticked up Tuesday after tying up a distribution deal with Tesco plc, offering a new sign on Aviva’s push to grow protection sales. Protection still trailed the insurer’s wealth and general insurance business in the first-quarter update. Aviva’s investor page had the shares trading at 677.80 pence, up 0.30%, at 15:40 UK time. Market cap on the same page was 20.3 billion pounds as of Monday’s close. Hargreaves Lansdown listed the bid-offer spread at 677.60p/678.00p with a prior close at 675.80p, volume of 3.22 million shares, a 5.80% dividend yield and P/E of 25.12.
Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) stock: buybacks near 52-week high test BoE capital boost
Lloyds Banking Group plc fell 0.6% to 114.65 pence at 11:59 BST on Tuesday, lagging a 0.2% gain in the FTSE 100. The stock still sat just 1.2% below its 116.00p 52-week high, putting the day’s fall in a narrower frame: Lloyds is no longer trading like a cheap recovery bank, even as capital rules turn friendlier. The fresh data point is the buyback price. Lloyds said it bought 6,986,031 ordinary shares on July 6 from Goldman Sachs International at a volume-weighted average price of 115.2851p, with the shares to be cancelled. That was about 0.6% above Tuesday’s late-morning quote and within touching distance of the 52-week high.
Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) slips as rally leaves less room against analyst targets
Barclays PLC was weaker in an open London session on Tuesday, with the stock last shown at 519.50p at 11:30 BST, down 10.00p on the day. The FTSE 100 was up 20.98 points at 10,672.75 at 12:01 BST. London Stock Exchange hours run from 0800 to 1630 local time. The sharper point is the target gap. Using the latest Barclays quote and LSEG consensus data compiled by Investors Chronicle, the 575p median target now gives about 10.7% upside. That is still positive, but less forgiving for a stock that is 56.7% above its 52-week low of 331.55p.
Unilever rallies, closing in on analyst targets ahead of July earnings
Unilever PLC shares jumped more than 3% on Tuesday, outpacing gains on the FTSE 100 ahead of the consumer group's half-year earnings later this month. Hargreaves Lansdown delayed data had Unilever at 4,695.75p, up 139p. The FTSE 100 was up 0.47% at 10,701.46. The stock is now sitting about 9.9% below the median 12-month analyst target of 5,160.27p on Investors Chronicle, after starting the week with a 13.2% gap from Monday’s 4,557p finish. That shift puts pressure on the next set of results, since the story is looking cleaner but tighter—investors now have to bet on volume growth, emerging markets and buybacks, with less of a cushion from a cheap price.
Diageo gains ground, but sales reset could last through 2028
Diageo plc added close to 3% on Tuesday, beating gains in the FTSE 100 after shares slipped at Monday’s close. Davy had the stock at 1,562p by 11:09 BST, up 50p on the session, trading between 1,528.5p and 1,566p so far. Hargreaves Lansdown quoted 1,559.5p/1,560.5p, showing a 3.21% move. The FTSE 100 was ahead 0.45%. The gain erased Monday’s 1.43% drop to £15.12, when Diageo lagged the FTSE 100, which slipped 0.26%. After Tuesday, the stock is still down about 27% from its 52-week peak of £21.42.
FTSE 100 rises as Shell, Unilever mask flat UK mid-caps; forecasts test rally
Britain’s FTSE 100 rose on Tuesday, but the cleaner trade was the split between global earners and the domestic tape. The blue-chip index was up 0.44% at 10,698.60 on delayed quotes, while the more UK-exposed FTSE 250 was up just 0.04% at 23,513.85. The London Stock Exchange was open for its normal Tuesday cash session, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. BST. That gap matters for investors. The headline FTSE move looked firm, but it leaned on oil, consumer staples and stock-specific upgrades rather than a broad UK demand trade. Trading Economics’ GB100 gauge, used as a FTSE 100 proxy, was near 10,698, about 2.2% below its February all-time high of 10,934.94, yet still above the forecaster’s end-Q3 and 12-month
Rolls-Royce shares push past median target, spotlighting cash-flow test
Rolls-Royce Holdings plc shares dropped on Tuesday. The real issue for investors now is how much of the 2028 cash-flow plan is already priced into the stock. Rolls-Royce shares slipped 1.3% to 1,483.4p as of 9:57 BST, while the FTSE 100 was up 0.6% just after 09:26 BST. Google Finance showed the company's market cap at £123.86 billion, with a 52-week high of 1,532.6p, set in late June.