Weekly review

The FTSE 100 ended the week up 177.63 points, or 2.45%, closing at 7,434.57 on Friday.

Equity view

UK broadcaster ITV said it was no longer looking at buying TV and film production business All3Media, owned by Warner Bros Discovery and Liberty Global. The company on Friday said it was "still monitoring" the situation.

Ashmore Group reported a $1.8bn decrease in assets under management in the June quarter on Friday, on the back of positive investment performance of $1.1bn, but net outflows of $2.9bn. The FTSE 250 emerging markets-focussed asset manager said the net outflows primarily resulted from top-down asset allocation decisions made by institutional clients in the external debt theme, with the blended debt and local currency themes also experiencing some impact, although to a lesser extent.

Asset manager Ninety One on Friday said its assets under management fell to £124.8bn at the end of June, compared with £129.3bn at March 31 and £135bn a year earlier. The company provided no further commentary.

Burberry Group reiterated its full-year guidance on Friday after a resurgent China helped lift first-quarter sales. The luxury fashion brand said retail sales in the 13 weeks to 1 July rose 17% to £589m, or by 18% on a like-for-like basis. On a constant exchange rate basis, sales were 19% higher.

Barratt Developments reported a fall in net private reservations and house completions in a full-year trading update on Thursday, although it was set to meet adjusted profit expectations. The FTSE 100 housebuilder said net private reservations per active outlet per week decreased to 0.55 for the 12 months ended 30 June, compared to 0.81 in the prior year.

Watches of Switzerland posted a big increase in full-year sales and profits. Group sales increased by 19% at constant currencies to reach £1.54bn, helped by an especially strong showing in the U.S.

Automated network testing and assurance specialist Spirent Communications reported a recovery in customer spending and order intake during the second quarter on Thursday, after a slow start to the year. The FTSE 250 company said that in the second quarter, it saw its order intake increase to reach a level similar to the same period last year.

Waste-to-product specialist Renewi said in an update on Thursday that group revenue and earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for its first quarter were lower year-on-year, largely due to the exceptionally high recyclate prices in the first quarter of last year. The London-listed firm said recyclate prices had, however, since stabilised at levels slightly above historical averages, mitigating their impact on its financial performance.

International building materials distributor and DIY retailer Grafton Group held annual guidance as first-half revenues rose 3.2% despite the cost-of-living crisis hitting volumes. The company on Wednesday said revenue for the six months to June 30 was £1.19bn compared with £1.15bn in the prior year.

Me Group posted a jump in interim profit and revenue on Wednesday as it hailed progress across all of its key business areas - photobooth, laundry and digital printing services - and in all of its 19 operating markets. In the six months to 30 April, pre-tax profit rose 36.7% to £27.2m, on revenue of £143.8m, up 24.7% on the same period a year earlier.

Ithaca Energy announced the signing of a sale and purchase agreement on Wednesday to acquire the remaining 40% stake in the Fotla discovery, along with three exploration licenses, from Spirit Energy Resources. The FTSE 250 company said the acquisition would see it increase its working interest in the Fotla discovery to 100%, granting it full control over pre-final investment decision work and timing.

PageGroup posted a decline in second-quarter profit on Wednesday amid ongoing challenging trading conditions. Group gross profit fell 6.5% versus the same quarter a year earlier to £263.5m, against a record comparative period. The recruiter pointed to a stronger performance from the temporary segment, which saw profit rise 11.1%, while the permanent segment saw an 11.4% drop.

UK energy company Centrica on Tuesday said it had signed an $8bn deal with US-based Delfin Midstream to buy 1.0 million of liquefied natural gas a year for 15-years. The agreement will see Centrica take delivery of around 14 LNG cargoes per year from the Delfin Deepwater Port, located 40 nautical miles off the coast of Louisiana, and could provide enough energy to heat 5% of UK homes for 15 years, the company said in a statement.

Property owner British Land said it continued to see strong operational momentum in the business, despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty, with its retail parks proving to be a "winning format". "We continue to see strong with good leasing activity reflecting our focus on execution and the exceptional quality of our portfolio," the company said ahead of its annual shareholder meeting.

Travis Perkins said on Tuesday that chief financial officer Alan Williams will be retiring and stepping down from the board in 2024, after seven years in the role. Following a "thorough and considered" process, the company has decided to appoint Duncan Cooper, currently group finance director at housebuilder Crest Nicholson, to succeed Williams.

Utilities firm Pennon Group announced the acquisition of three new renewable energy generation projects on Tuesday, as part of its long-term sustainable growth strategy. The FTSE 250 company said the three projects, located in Buckinghamshire, Aberdeenshire, and Cumbria, were expected to generate more than 95 Gawk of electricity annually from solar photovoltaic (PV) sources.

Self-storage company Big Yellow on Monday reported a 6.7% rise in first quarter revenue, driven by higher rents. Sales for the three months to June 30 came in at £48.1m compared with £45.1 million a year earlier. On a like-for-like basis they rose 5.4% to £47m.

BT Group announced on Monday that its chief executive Philip Jansen had decided to step down from his position in the next 12 months, after spending four-and-a-half years in the role. It said that in light of Jansen's forthcoming departure, its nominations committee had initiated a formal succession process to identify a suitable candidate for the role of chief executive.

Fintech company Plus500 maintained annual guidance after a rise in first-half core earnings and revenues. Revenue for the six months to June 30 rose 15% to $368.5m, comprising of $346.2m in trading income and $22.3m in interest income. Core earnings rose 17% to $174.1m.

Student accommodation specialist Unite Group reported a robust sales performance for the upcoming academic year on Monday, with 98% of rooms already sold. The FTSE 100 company said that was an improvement compared to last year, where 91% of rooms were sold by the same time.

Economic news

The housing market saw a sharp downturn in June, a closely-watched survey showed on Thursday, with both house prices and buyer enquires falling sharply. According to the latest UK Residential Market Survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, house prices declined to a net balance of -46 in June, from -30 in May.

The UK’s economy contracted in May, official data showed on Thursday, although the decline was not as steep as expected. According to the Office for National Statistics, GDP fell by 0.1% in May following growth of 0.2% in April. It was slightly better that forecasts, however, with most economists pencilling a fall of 0.3% because of the extra bank holiday for the King’s coronation on 6 May and the impact of public sector strikes.

Eight major UK banks have passed annual capital stress tests and were well positioned to support households and businesses through a period of rising interest rates, the Bank of England said on Wednesday. The examination checked if the lenders were holding enough reserves of cash banks to withstand shocks bigger than the global financial crisis of 2008 caused by malfeasance in the industry, leading to taxpayer bailouts for some lenders, including Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and NatWest.

UK wages grew more than expected in the three months to May, raising the chances of further rate hikes from the Bank of England, according to figures released on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics. Wages grew 7.3%, unchanged on April - which was revised up from 7.2% - and coming in above expectations for a 7.1% increase. The ONS said that for regular pay, this marks the highest growth rate, which was also seen last month and during the Covid pandemic period for April to June 2021.

Low-cost airline easyJet announced the cancellation of 1,700 flights over the summer period on Monday. According to BBC News, the cancellations would occur throughout July, August, and September, and would impact flights to and from London Gatwick airport.

International events

The eurozone almost wiped out its trade deficit in May, according to data published on Friday, as exports of chemicals and machinery picked up imported energy products fell. The seasonally-unadjusted trade balance in the single-currency bloc was a €0.3bn deficit in May compared with a €30.3bn shortfall a year earlier.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched an investigation into artificial intelligence (AI) company OpenAI over allegations of violating consumer protection laws and jeopardising personal reputations and data, it was reported on Thursday. According to Reuters, the FTC recently dispatched a 20-page request for records concerning the ChatGPT operator’s approach to addressing risks associated with its AI models.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, according to data released on Thursday by the Labor Department. Initial jobless claims declined by 12,000 from the previous week’s level to 237,000, versus expectations for an increase to 250,000. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000.

Producer price inflation in the US eased more than expected in June, according to figures released on Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Producer price inflation fell to 0.1% on the year in June from a downwardly-revised 0.9% in May, coming in below forecasts of 0.4%. This marked the smallest increase since 2020.

The International Energy Agency trimmed its forecasts for global oil demand on Thursday, on the back of "persistent" macroeconomic headwinds. The Paris-based authority expects global oil demand to climb by 2.2m barrels per day (bpd) this year to 102.1m bpd, a record high.

Industrial production across the Eurozone nudged higher in May, official data showed on Thursday. According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, industrial production rose by 0.2% on April, when it increased by 1.0%.

Cost of living increases in the States continued to ebb last month, including at the so-called 'core' level. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms the country's Consumer Price Index rose by 0.2% month-on-month (consensus: 0.3%).

The Bank of Canada lifted interest rates on Wednesday by 25 basis points to 5% - the highest level in 22 years. The move was in line with economists' expectations.

Small businesses in the US grew more confident in June, the results of a closely followed survey revealed. The National Federation of Independent Business's index of small business optimism increased from 89.4 points in May to 91.0 in June.

German business sentiment deteriorated more than expected in July, according to a survey released on Tuesday by the ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim. The headline ZEW investor expectations index fell to -14.7 from -8.5 in June, coming in below consensus expectations for a reading of -10.5.

German inflation rose in June, official final data confirmed on Tuesday, after a series of falls in previous months. Consumer prices increased by 6.8% year on year, the federal statistics office said on Tuesday. The core inflation rate, which excludes items such as food and energy, was 5.8% in June, up from 5.4% in May.

Investor sentiment in the eurozone deteriorated more than expected in July, according to a survey released on Monday. The Sentix investor sentiment index fell to -22.5 from -17.0 in June, coming in below consensus expectations of -17.9 and marking the lowest level since November 2022.

Producer prices in China slumped again in June, according to figures released on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics, fuelling concerns about deflation. Producer price inflation fell 5.4% year-on-year in June from 4.6% a month earlier and versus expectations of a 5% drop. This marked the worse decline since December 2015.

Reporting by staff and contributors for Sharecast.com.