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Times
8 hours ago
- Times
Informa investors shrug off fears about US acquisition
An increase in full-year revenue forecasts and shareholder returns has increased confidence that the FTSE 100 data and events group Informa could manage any economic downturn in the United States. Shares in Informa rallied nearly 5 per cent on the London Stock Exchange, the biggest rise on the premier index, after the encouraging half-year results. Group revenues of £2 billion were up 7.8 per cent on an underlying basis, ahead of City forecasts, and adjusted operating profit rose 9.2 per cent to £578.9 million. This was driven by demand for live business-to-business events, its largest division, with growth of 8.5 per cent. That and 'good visibility' on the majority of sales for the remainder of the year prompted Informa to upgrade group underlying revenue growth guidance for this year to more than 6 per cent, from more than 5 per cent.


Reuters
10 hours ago
- Reuters
FTSE 100 closes at record high as investors assess earnings and US-Japan trade deal
July 23 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 rose on Wednesday to a record close for a third straight session, helped by positive corporate updates, while a U.S.-Japan trade deal also boosted global sentiment. The benchmark FTSE 100 (.FTSE), opens new tab closed up 0.4% at 9,061.49 points. The domestically oriented midcap FTSE 250 (.FTMC), opens new tab also gained 0.4%. U.S. President Donald Trump struck a trade deal with Japan, lowering tariffs on auto imports and sparing Tokyo from punishing new levies on other goods in exchange for a $550 billion package of U.S.-bound investment and loans. The UK's automobiles and parts index (.FTNMX401010), opens new tab rose 2.5%, tracking strength in Asian rivals. Aston Martin (AML.L), opens new tab and Dowlais Group (DWL.L), opens new tab gained 8.1% and 1.2%, respectively. Healthcare stocks (.FTNMX201030), opens new tab rose 2.5%, with AstraZeneca (AZN.L), opens new tab and GSK (GSK.L), opens new tab gaining 3.1% and 1.8% respectively. Medical equipment and services (.FTNMX201020), opens new tab rose 1.5%, with a boost from Smith+Nephew (SN.L), opens new tab, up 1.8%. Media stocks (.FTNMX403010), opens new tab advanced 2.2%, boosted by Informa's (INF.L), opens new tab 4.9% rise after the events and academic publishing group raised its annual underlying revenue growth forecast. Conversely, construction and materials (.FTNMX501010), opens new tab stocks lost 1.5%, with Breedon Group (BREE.L), opens new tab down 7.5%, after the company forecast annual results at the low end of market expectations. In company news, Alpha Group (ALPH.L), opens new tab hit a record high and was last up 25.6% after U.S. payments firm Corpay (CPAY.N), opens new tab said it would buy the financial services provider in a $2.2 billion (1.6 billion pounds) cash deal. Hochschild Mining (HOCM.L), opens new tab rose 7.6% on stronger-than-expected quarterly silver output. J D Wetherspoon (JDW.L), opens new tab gained 1.9% after the pub group reported a rise in sales in recent weeks since May. British stocks have rallied this year, pushing the FTSE 100 to all-time highs in recent weeks, as hopes of interest rate cuts, optimism over the UK-U.S. trade deal and a surge in commodity prices lifted sentiment. Traders are currently pricing in an 89% chance of a 25 basis point BoE cut next month, according to data compiled by LSEG. This week, attention is on the UK flash Purchasing Managers' Index for July, due on Thursday, and retail sales data for June on Friday. Meanwhile, India and Britain will sign a free trade agreement on Thursday during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Britain, officials said.


Reuters
16 hours ago
- Reuters
FTSE 100 hits record high as investors assess earnings, US-Japan trade deal
July 23 (Reuters) - London's main stock indexes hit a fresh record high on Wednesday, helped by positive corporate updates, while a U.S.-Japan trade deal also boosted global sentiment. The benchmark FTSE 100 (.FTSE), opens new tab was last up 0.5% by 0936 GMT. The domestically oriented midcap FTSE 250 (.FTMC), opens new tab gained 0.3%. U.S. President Donald Trump struck a trade deal with Japan, lowering tariffs on auto imports and sparing Tokyo from punishing new levies on other goods in exchange for a $550 billion package of U.S.-bound investment and loans. The UK's automobiles and parts index (.FTNMX401010), opens new tab rose 1.7%, tracking strength in Asian rivals. Aston Martin (AML.L), opens new tab rose 7.1%. Media stocks (.FTNMX403010), opens new tab led sectoral gains, up 2.4%, boosted by Informa's (INF.L), opens new tab 5.4% rise after the events and academic publishing group raised its annual underlying revenue growth forecast. Healthcare stocks (.FTNMX201030), opens new tab rose 2.2%, with AstraZeneca (AZN.L), opens new tab extending its yesterday's gain, up 2.7%, following the announcement of a $50 billion investment to expand U.S. manufacturing. Conversely, construction and materials (.FTNMX501010), opens new tab stocks lost 0.9%, with Breedon Group (BREE.L), opens new tab down 10.8%, after the company forecast annual results at the low end of market expectations. In company news, J D Wetherspoon (JDW.L), opens new tab gained 3% after the pub group reported a rise in sales in recent weeks since May. Shares of precious metals company Hochschild Mining (HOCM.L), opens new tab rose 7.1% on stronger-than-expected quarterly silver output. British stocks have rallied this year, pushing the FTSE 100 to all-time highs in recent weeks, as hopes of interest rate cuts, optimism over the UK-US trade deal and a surge in commodity prices lifted sentiment. Traders are currently pricing an 87.9% chance of a 25-basis-point BoE cut next month, as per data compiled by LSEG. This week, attention is on the UK flash Purchasing Managers' Index for July and retail sales data for June. Meanwhile, India and Britain will sign a free trade agreement on Thursday during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's UK visit, officials said.