FTSE 100 LIVE: Stocks rise as US set to talk to Iran next week
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) and European stocks rose on Thursday as the ceasefire between Iran and Israel continued to hold.
'We're going to talk to them next week,' US president Donald Trump said on Wednesday at a press conference during the NATO summit at The Hague. He did not give further details on the timing.
'We may sign an agreement. I don't know, to me, I don't think it's that necessary," he added.
His comments came on day two of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, which ended 12 days of a conflict that was threatening to escalate into a wider regional war and upend energy and oil markets.
London's benchmark index (^FTSE) was 0.1% higher in early trade
Germany's DAX (^GDAXI) rose 0.6% and the CAC (^FCHI) in Paris headed 0.4% into the green
The pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) was up 0.3%
Wall Street is set for a positive start as S&P 500 futures (ES=F), Dow futures (YM=F) and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) were all in the green.
The pound was 0.6% higher against the US dollar (GBPUSD=X) at 1.3737
Follow along for live updates throughout the day:
Businesses are urging the UK government to avoid imposing further taxes, warning it would undermine Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves's mission to grow the economy.
It comes as bosses are gathering at the QEII Conference Centre in central London today, for the British Chambers of Commerce's annual conference.
Shevaun Haviland, the BCC's director general, will declare that if the government is serious about growth, then it cannot tax business any further.
She is set to warn that businesses were taken by surprise by the size and scale of the rise in National Insurance Contributions (NIC) in the last budget.
Haviland is expected to say:
The latest research from the Global Payroll Association (GPA) reveals that Manchester currently offers the best job availability of any major UK city for those seeking a fresh start, whilst London is one of the toughest markets to carve out a new career in, along with Edinburgh.
The GPA analysed active job listings on multiple major job sites and compared these with estimated working populations aged 16 to 64 in 15 major UK cities to calculate the number of available jobs per 1,000 working-age residents.
The analysis showed that Manchester stands out with an estimated 20.23 jobs per 1,000 working-age residents, nearly double the figure in many other cities.
Following Manchester, cities such as Bristol and Bradford both show strong job markets with just over 11 jobs per 1,000 residents, while Newcastle and Nottingham also perform well with around 10 jobs per 1,000.
Despite London having the highest total number of available jobs, at nearly 28,000 listings, its job availability relative to population stands at just 4.54 per 1,000 working residents, highlighting the strength of regional job markets.
Other cities with notable job availability per 1,000 working-age residents include Liverpool (8.68), Leeds (7.95), Birmingham (7.29), Leicester (6.83), Brighton (6.67), Sheffield (6.04), Glasgow (5.60), Cardiff (4.99), and Edinburgh (4.07).
Melanie Pizzey, CEO and founder of the Global Payroll Association, said:
Shell has said it has no intention of making an offer to buy BP, quashing speculation that the two UK energy giants were in early talks over a possible takeover.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that talks between company representatives were active, with BP carefully considering the approach, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Shell told investors on Thursday that no such discussions had taken place.
The company said: 'In response to recent media speculation Shell wishes to clarify that it has not been actively considering making an offer for BP and confirms it has not made an approach to, and no talks have taken place with, BP with regards to a possible offer.'
It also confirmed that it had 'no intention of making an offer for BP'.
A merger would be among the largest in the oil industry's history, and would end decades of speculation over a possible deal between two of the UK's biggest companies.
Read more here
Stocks in Asia were mixed overnight with the Nikkei (^N225) rising 1.7% on the day in Japan, leaving the index at a 4-month high, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) fell 0.7% in Hong Kong. The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 0.2% down by the end of the session.
In South Korea, the Kospi (^KS11) fell 0.9% after hitting its highest level since September 2021 the previous day.
Across the pond on Wall Street, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) ended flat at the close, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) was 0.3% higher. The Dow Jones (^DJI) also lost 0.3%.
It came as there was little data on Wednesday, although US new home sales fell by more than expected to an annualised rate of 623k in May (vs. 693k expected). This was their lowest level since October, and the monthly drop of 13.7% was the biggest monthly decline since June 2022.
Good morning, and welcome back to our markets live blog. As usual we will be taking a deep dive into what's moving markets and happening across the global economy.
During the day ahead we have data releases in the US including the weekly initial jobless claims, pending home sales for May, preliminary durable goods orders for May, and the third estimate of Q1 GDP.
Central bank speakers include ECB President Lagarde, Vice President de Guindos, and the ECB's Schnabel, BoE Governor Bailey, and the Fed's Barkin, Daly, Hammack and Barr. Finally, an EU leaders' summit will begin in Brussels.
Here's a quick look at what's on the agenda:
7am: Trading updates: Moonpig, CakeBox, Time Finance
9.15am: 'Senior cabinet minister' addresses BCC's annual conference.
9.45am: Shevaun Haviland, director general of the BCC, addresses its conference
12pm: Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, addresses BCC annual conference
1.30pm: Latest estimate of US GDP for Q1 2025
1.30pm: US Initial Jobs Claims, Continuing Claims
3.25pm: Kemi Badenoch MP, Leader Of The Opposition, addresses BCC annual conferenceBusinesses are urging the UK government to avoid imposing further taxes, warning it would undermine Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves's mission to grow the economy.
It comes as bosses are gathering at the QEII Conference Centre in central London today, for the British Chambers of Commerce's annual conference.
Shevaun Haviland, the BCC's director general, will declare that if the government is serious about growth, then it cannot tax business any further.
She is set to warn that businesses were taken by surprise by the size and scale of the rise in National Insurance Contributions (NIC) in the last budget.
Haviland is expected to say:
The latest research from the Global Payroll Association (GPA) reveals that Manchester currently offers the best job availability of any major UK city for those seeking a fresh start, whilst London is one of the toughest markets to carve out a new career in, along with Edinburgh.
The GPA analysed active job listings on multiple major job sites and compared these with estimated working populations aged 16 to 64 in 15 major UK cities to calculate the number of available jobs per 1,000 working-age residents.
The analysis showed that Manchester stands out with an estimated 20.23 jobs per 1,000 working-age residents, nearly double the figure in many other cities.
Following Manchester, cities such as Bristol and Bradford both show strong job markets with just over 11 jobs per 1,000 residents, while Newcastle and Nottingham also perform well with around 10 jobs per 1,000.
Despite London having the highest total number of available jobs, at nearly 28,000 listings, its job availability relative to population stands at just 4.54 per 1,000 working residents, highlighting the strength of regional job markets.
Other cities with notable job availability per 1,000 working-age residents include Liverpool (8.68), Leeds (7.95), Birmingham (7.29), Leicester (6.83), Brighton (6.67), Sheffield (6.04), Glasgow (5.60), Cardiff (4.99), and Edinburgh (4.07).
Melanie Pizzey, CEO and founder of the Global Payroll Association, said:
Shell has said it has no intention of making an offer to buy BP, quashing speculation that the two UK energy giants were in early talks over a possible takeover.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that talks between company representatives were active, with BP carefully considering the approach, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Shell told investors on Thursday that no such discussions had taken place.
The company said: 'In response to recent media speculation Shell wishes to clarify that it has not been actively considering making an offer for BP and confirms it has not made an approach to, and no talks have taken place with, BP with regards to a possible offer.'
It also confirmed that it had 'no intention of making an offer for BP'.
A merger would be among the largest in the oil industry's history, and would end decades of speculation over a possible deal between two of the UK's biggest companies.
Read more here
Stocks in Asia were mixed overnight with the Nikkei (^N225) rising 1.7% on the day in Japan, leaving the index at a 4-month high, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) fell 0.7% in Hong Kong. The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 0.2% down by the end of the session.
In South Korea, the Kospi (^KS11) fell 0.9% after hitting its highest level since September 2021 the previous day.
Across the pond on Wall Street, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) ended flat at the close, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) was 0.3% higher. The Dow Jones (^DJI) also lost 0.3%.
It came as there was little data on Wednesday, although US new home sales fell by more than expected to an annualised rate of 623k in May (vs. 693k expected). This was their lowest level since October, and the monthly drop of 13.7% was the biggest monthly decline since June 2022.
Good morning, and welcome back to our markets live blog. As usual we will be taking a deep dive into what's moving markets and happening across the global economy.
During the day ahead we have data releases in the US including the weekly initial jobless claims, pending home sales for May, preliminary durable goods orders for May, and the third estimate of Q1 GDP.
Central bank speakers include ECB President Lagarde, Vice President de Guindos, and the ECB's Schnabel, BoE Governor Bailey, and the Fed's Barkin, Daly, Hammack and Barr. Finally, an EU leaders' summit will begin in Brussels.
Here's a quick look at what's on the agenda:
7am: Trading updates: Moonpig, CakeBox, Time Finance
9.15am: 'Senior cabinet minister' addresses BCC's annual conference.
9.45am: Shevaun Haviland, director general of the BCC, addresses its conference
12pm: Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, addresses BCC annual conference
1.30pm: Latest estimate of US GDP for Q1 2025
1.30pm: US Initial Jobs Claims, Continuing Claims
3.25pm: Kemi Badenoch MP, Leader Of The Opposition, addresses BCC annual conference
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