Weekly review

The FTSE 100 closed the week up 116.47 points to 6,696.28.

Equity view

Barclays is reportedly cutting about 150 jobs at its investment bank as part of an attempt to reduce costs and improve profitability.

Shares in Antofagasta slumped after the Chilean miner said it has agreed a $1.01bn deal to acquire a 50% interest in the Zaldivar copper mine from Barrick Gold.

Lloyds Banking Group posted a 15% increase in underlying first-half profits to £4.4bn and declared an interim dividend of 0.75p per share, but plans for what analysts said was an "illusory" buyback and some missed forecasts hit the shares.

BG Group posted a 65% slump in second-quarter net income on the back of declining oil prices, although the figures still came in ahead of analysts' expectations.

Liberty Global has acquired 138.7m shares in ITV, upping its stake in the broadcaster to 9.9%.

BP has reported a 64% slump quarterly profits as the low oil price and fallout from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill continued to dent its takings.

Food ingredients producer Tate & Lyle said its performance during the first quarter of the year was in line with expectations driven by encouraging results from its speciality food ingredients business.

Mathew Dunn has been appointed as Britvic’s chief financial officer (CFO), the soft drinks group said in a statement on Thursday.

AstraZeneca's second-quarter earnings beat expectations as generic competition and the effects of a stronger US dollar were offset by the spinning off of assets and a good performance from the company’s Brillinta drug.

Smith & Nephew posted a 4% rise in first-half revenue and a 6% gain in underlying trading profit amid continued improvement in its Advanced Wound Care business, growth in emerging markets and a strong global performance in its reconstruction unit.

Royal Bank of Scotland saw profits decline in the second quarter, as a result of lower income at its corporate and institutional banking unit after it was downsized and higher restructuring costs, but nevertheless beat analysts' estimates by a wide margin.

As it looks excitedly ahead to its first season as the UK's sole Champions League football broadcaster, BT Group rang up a solid set of first quarter results that were close to City forecasts and left it on track to hit its full-year targets.

Royal Dutch Shell revealed 6,500 job cuts, following a 35% decline in quarterly profit and warned about the oil price slump lasting "several years".

British Gas owner Centrica announced that it will cut up to 4,000 jobs following a strategic review as it posted a near doubling of its first-half profits.

London-focused estate agency Foxtons Group posted a sharp decline in first half profit on the back of lower revenue and rising costs.

First full-year results from Sky after the merger with its Italian and German arms were solid and in many places better than the market expected thanks to impressive UK pay TV and broadband subscription levels.

Shares in GlaxoSmithKline rallied after the pharmaceutical company posted better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and operating profits, and said it expects to see a significant recovery in core earnings per share next year.

Tullow Oil reported a narrowing of its pre-tax loss for the first half, but cut it interim dividend as revenue fell on the back of lower oil prices.

Barclays first half results showed an strong increase in profits as it set aside a further £1.6bn provision for further litigation and mis-selling after paying the same amount in the period.

Sainsbury’s has overtaken Asda to become the number two supermarket after Tesco, according to data released by market researcher Kantar Worldpanel.

Clothing retailer Next has raised its sales and profit guidance for the year as warmer weather at the end of the season boosted second-quarter sales.

Shares in GKN rose sharply after it announced an agreement to acquire Dutch aerospace supply firm Fokker Technologies Group from Arle Capital for an enterprise value of €706m and posted better-than-expected first-half operating profit.

Ryanair was in the red despite posting a 25% jump in first-quarter profit and saying full-year results will be at the top ends of its guidance range, as it warned that over-capacity could weigh on average fares.

Economic news

Consumer sentiment fell to a final July reading of 93.1 from the previous month reading of 96.1, according to reports on the University of Michigan gauge released Friday.

The cost of employment in the US came to a sharp slowdown in the second quarter, data released on Friday showed.

Consumer prices in the Eurozone edged slightly higher in July, data released on Friday showed. According to the European Union’s statistics agency, consumer prices in July rose 0.2% year-on-year, falling short of the European Central Bank’s target of just under 2%.

German retail sales slumped unexpectedly in June but surged ahead from the year-earlier period, data released on Friday showed.

UK consumer confidence declined in July, driven by anxiety over the potential Grexit meltdown and concerns about the general economic situation, according to a market survey published on Friday.

Greece may find it more difficult to secure a third bailout after International Monetary Fund officials argued that the country would not be eligible for further loans, according to a leaked account of an IMF board meeting.

Economic activity in the US climbed in the second quarter of the year to a reach an annualised pace of 2.3%.

Initial US unemployment claims rose by less than economists had forecast in the latest week.

US pending home sales fell unexpectedly in June, data released on Wednesday showed.

Applications for US home mortgages grew last week, data released on Wednesday revealed.

Clothes flew off the shelves at stores in July but the pace of growth in total retail sales underwhelmed and was set to slow further, although the recovery in wages was expected to act as an offset “further down the line”, according to an influential business lobby.

UK mortgage approvals rose more than forecast in June as the thriving housing market showed no signs of letting up.

The US service sector expanded at a faster rate in July but confidence over the business outlook fell to a three-year low, data released on Tuesday showed.

US consumer confidence suffered a sharp setback in July, retreating to its lowest level since September 2014.

US house prices climbed 1.1% month-on-month in May, according to the Case-Shiller 20-city composite index released on Tuesday.

UK property price trends are on the rise, according to the Land Registry, lifting the average property value in England and Wales during June above the pre-crisis high.

The UK economy accelerated significantly in the second quarter of the year, led by growth in industrial production. Gross domestic product expanded at 0.7% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to June, as expected by economists.

Demand for goods made to last three-years or more grew more quickly than expected in June, boosted by a large increase in the oft-volatile category for non-defence aircraft and parts.

The UK manufacturing sector continued to grow in the quarter to July, although exports are set to come under pressure by the stronger sterling, a survey has shown.

Business in confidence in Germany held up in July better than was expected by analysts, according to the most widely followed gauge.