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%,
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.
Stock Market Today: Live Updates 27.07.2026
LIVEMarkets rolling coverageStarted: July 27, 2026, 4:00 AM EDTUpdated: July 27, 2026, 4:02 PM EDT Leaked Neso Report Flags Blackout, Cost Risks From UK's Net Zero Strategy July 27, 2026, 3:54 PM EDT. Cornwall Insight’s leaked report for the UK’s National Energy System Operator (Neso) says the country’s net zero push could push up power bills and make blackouts more likely. Neso is having trouble forecasting energy supply and demand as more renewables, especially wind and solar, add unpredictability and reduce grid visibility. One whistleblower said Neso is effectively “flying blind” and warned it can’t guarantee it will prevent outages.
Stock Market Today: Live Updates 26.07.2026
LIVEMarkets rolling coverageStarted: July 26, 2026, 4:00 AM EDTUpdated: July 27, 2026, 3:59 AM EDT Javelin Minerals Seeks ASX Listing for 8,064 More Shares July 27, 2026, 3:45 AM EDT. Javelin Minerals Limited (ASX: JAV) has put in an application to have 8,064 new fully paid ordinary shares quoted on the ASX. The company said the step is aimed at boosting the stock available to public investors. Javelin says it’s working to help liquidity and back its funding plans with this move. Javelin Minerals Seeks ASX Quotation for Additional Ordinary Shares Oil tumbles as US pauses Iran action; AstraZeneca jumps
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 19.07.2026
LIVEMarkets rolling coverageStarted: July 19, 2026, 4:00 AM EDTUpdated: July 20, 2026, 3:59 AM EDT BP shares rally 29.5% as oil prices drive up refining margins, but output slips July 20, 2026, 3:52 AM EDT. BP shares are up 29.5% from a year ago, lifted by higher oil prices with Brent crude averaging $103.85 a barrel in Q2 2026. That pumped up BP’s refining margins to $29.6 per barrel, nearly twice the year-ago level. The company is cutting net debt, moving from $25.3 billion toward $22-23 billion. Analysts see the stock hitting 599p, or even 700p within twelve months, showing
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.
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.
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.
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.
OpenAI, Anthropic eye IPOs while $1 trillion talk tests token prices
OpenAI and Anthropic are lining up for public debuts, and Wall Street is already looking at the numbers. OpenAI’s most recent private valuation sits at about 1.7 times Anthropic’s when you compare annualized revenue. If OpenAI were to go public at $1 trillion, that lead would jump to nearly two times. The company marks are from their own statements. In March, OpenAI said it finished a $122 billion round, putting its post-money value at $852 billion and said monthly revenue had hit $2 billion. Anthropic said in May it raised $65 billion at a $965 billion post-money valuation, with run-rate revenue above $47 billion.
easyJet U27938 emergency lands; Castlelake deal spread sticks around 12% as aircraft availability watched
easyJet plc put its recovery plans in focus Monday as flight U27938/EZY7938 from Copenhagen to Amsterdam declared an emergency and diverted to Hamburg. The incident hit just hours after the airline’s board edged nearer to supporting a £5.5 billion buyout from U.S. aviation investor Castlelake. AIRLIVE reported the Airbus A319-111, registration OE-LQP, hit 34,000 feet before the crew made a rapid descent, switched the transponder to Squawk 7700, and diverted to Hamburg. The report still didn't state a cause. The plane landed on runway 23 in Hamburg at 13:53 CEST, met by emergency vehicles. The airline later said it was working on plans to resume the trip, but more maintenance was needed.
Filtronic stock jumps 9% as satellite supplier trades near 50 times FY2026 EBITDA
Filtronic plc rose about 9% on Monday, a sharp move for a stock with no new company statement in the public regulatory feeds checked. AJ Bell showed the shares at 255p to sell and 265p to buy, up 21.25p, or 8.93%, with about 1.09 million shares traded and a market value of £570.09 million. Hargreaves Lansdown showed a similar gain of 22p, or 9.24%. The more useful read is valuation. Using AJ Bell’s market value and Filtronic’s June 23 net cash figure of £11.3 million, the stock’s enterprise value was about £559 million. Against the company’s own FY2026 floor of £55.5 million revenue and £11.1 million adjusted EBITDA, that puts the shares near 10 times sales and 50 times adjusted
LSEG shares up as £16bn consensus gap draws attention to AI revenue test
London Stock Exchange Group plc moved higher on Monday in London, but the day’s uptick was not the main story for investors. Shares were at 8,776p, still well off the 12,131p target from LSEG’s analyst consensus. The stock had bounced from lows earlier this year. LSE’s main market was open, with regular hours on July 6 from 08:00 to 16:30 BST. The difference is 38.2%. Using Google Finance’s £42.34 billion market cap, that would mean around £16.2 billion in equity value if the shares go to the consensus target. The LSEG consensus list from May 8 shows 16 buy calls, zero holds, and zero sells. But the site notes its numbers come from 15 outside analyst models.
Glencore shares fall, copper drawdown dull ahead of July output test
Glencore plc slipped 0.6% to around 510.5 pence on Monday in London, underperforming a weak mining sector. Traders shrugged off low copper stockpiles and focused on the company’s July output update. The London Stock Exchange trades from 0800 to 1630 local, with London at 1305 BST. FTSE 100 edged down 0.1% to 10,663.68 by 1037 GMT, Reuters said, as weaker precious metal miners pushed against financials. Glencore barely moved in today’s trading. The bigger point is the stock has dropped roughly 14% over the last month, despite copper’s visible LME draws still giving bulls something to hold onto.
easyJet (LON:EZJ) sees £700 million in potential takeover spreads ahead of Monday open
easyJet is facing a £700 million takeover-spread test before the market opens Monday. easyJet plc starts the week with its deal spread now wider than its total decline over the past week. Shares finished Friday at 558.20p, nearly flat on the day, down 4.3% from last week’s close, daily price data shows. The stock touched 544.60p during Friday’s session, falling below Castlelake’s initial 560p bid.
LSEG stock (LON:LSEG) outpaces FTSE as AI-risk bet shifts to July results
London Stock Exchange Group plc ended the week with a five-session climb that looked stronger than the broader UK rally, but the trading pattern carried a warning: the biggest gains came before Friday, and Friday’s advance came on the lightest volume of the week. The London market was shut on Saturday, so Friday’s close was the latest traded price. LSEG closed up 0.72% at 8,670 pence on July 3. The FTSE 100 closed at 10,679.03 on Friday, up 0.2% on the day, and posted a weekly gain as financials and miners rose.
Experian buyback activity gives investors early signal ahead of July update
Experian PLC finished the week with its capital-return moves more visible than the share price action suggested. The credit data firm repurchased nearly 1.9 million shares across four reported trades. New share awards for staff stayed small next to that. Experian ended Friday up 0.84% at 2,644p, while the FTSE 100 added 0.25%. The stock climbed 4.9% from last Friday’s 2,520p close. The index was up 1.6% for the same period.
Tesco share buyback on watch after stock drops from high
Tesco PLC heads into Monday trading below the level of its most recent announced buyback. Shares reached a 52-week high this week. Saturday was outside regular hours for the London Stock Exchange, which runs Monday to Friday from 0800 to 1630 BST. Tesco shares dropped 7.00p to 466.60p on Friday. It’s a minor move over the bigger picture, but stands out because Tesco picked up 4 million shares July 2 at an average 471.47p. That latest buyback is sitting above market, at least until trading starts again.
Unilever (LON:ULVR) lags FTSE 350 with traders eyeing buyback and July results
Unilever PLC edged higher for the week, but shareholders are still left asking about the stock’s lag versus the wider UK market. The company’s buyback has lowered the share count, though that hasn’t fixed the underperformance. With London markets closed for the weekend, Friday’s close stands: 4,620.00p, down 16p, or 0.35%. The FTSE 100 finished up 26.16 points at 10,679.03, a gain of 0.25%. The stock traded like this against the index on Friday, quote data showed: