FTSE 100 Live Tuesday
- Thames Water posts £1.6bn loss
- Rio Tinto names new boss
- Barratt Redrow completions fall
Market update: FTSE 100 tops 9000, Barratt Redrow down 8%
10:16 , Graeme EvansA landmark session for the FTSE 100 index was today overshadowed by the dumping of Barratt Redrow and other blue-chip housebuilding stocks.
London’s top flight opened the session above 9000 for the first time but later settled unchanged at 8998.29, down from an earlier intraday record of 9017.
The celebratory mood was soured by the City’s reaction to an update by Barratt Redrow after it flagged headwinds in the outlook for the new financial year.
It expects to trade from a similar average number of outlets in the year as improvements in planning have come through more slowly than anticipated.
The group has also experienced fewer international and investor completions than expected in its London businesses.
This meant the overall total for the year to 30 June fell 7.8% to 16,565, although profits in September’s annual results should still meet hopes.
With the company also disclosing additional building safety charges, the shares fell 8% or 34.7p to 381.8p. Peel Hunt, which has a price target of 540p, said it expects a 10-15% cut in the City’s consensus forecasts for the 2026 year.
The update spooked the rest of the sector as Berkeley fell 3% or 96p to 3564p, Taylor Wimpey lost 2.45p to 109.1p and Persimmon weakened 26p to 1191.5p.
Other big fallers included medical products business ConvaTec, down 4% or 10.8p to 248.2p after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published a draft payment proposal for skin substitutes.
The company, whose Innovamatrix business helps to treat chronic, surgical and trauma wounds, estimates a potential 2026 headwind of about 1-2% of group revenue.
On the risers board, Experian shares surged 5% or 189p to 4042p.
The strong demand reflected the financial data firm’s first quarter update showing organic revenues growth of 8%, much better than the 6% forecast in the City.
The FTSE 250 index rose 0.5% or 111.53 points to 21,836.30, with consumer reviews platform Trustpilot among the top performing stocks.
Its shares jumped 13% or 33.8p to 286.4p, boosted by enhanced margin guidance of 14% for the 2025 financial year.
B&M European Value Retail fell 6% or 16.6p to 241.1p, despite the retailer reporting first quarter like-for-like sales growth in the UK and France.
The weakness was driven by concern over lower average selling prices in general merchandise and a negative quarter for underlying sales in the category spanning food, drink and household cleaning goods.
Rio Tinto names new CEO
09:21 , Graeme EvansFTSE 100-listed mining giant Rio Tinto today named an internal candidate as successor to chief executive Jakob Stausholm.
Simon Trott, who has run the Australia-based company’s iron ore operations since 2021, takes on his new role from 25 August. He has worked at Rio Tinto for over 20 years.
Rio chair Dominic Barton said: "Simon came into our iron ore business at a time of significant challenges and has been instrumental in rebuilding culture, strengthening external relationships and setting us on a pathway for growth.
“Under his leadership, iron ore has become a centre of innovation for the group, driving operational excellence, technology and operating model optimisation - levers Simon can now bring to Rio Tinto at scale.”
Trott, who was chief commercial officer from 2018 to 2021, will receive a basic salary of £1.34 million.
B&M shares slump despite UK growth
08:49 , Graeme EvansB&M European Value Retail shares have fallen 12% in the FTSE 250 index, despite reporting like-for-like sales growth in the UK and France.
The underlying sales figure in the UK rose 1.3% in the 13 weeks to 28 June, driven by strong demand for garden ranges.
Group revenues rose 4.4% to £1.4 billion, when including growth from new space.
The 30p slide for shares to 227.7p came as the group reported a negative quarter for underlying sales in the category spanning food, drink and household cleaning goods. It also reported lower average selling prices in general merchandise.
Chief executive Tjeerd Jegen said: “While B&M UK’s like-for-like sales are growing, I see a significant opportunity and requirement to sharpen our commercial and operational execution as we move towards and beyond the Golden Quarter.”
The shares have halved in value over the past year.
Thames Water posts £1.6 billion loss
08:29 , Graeme EvansThames Water today slumped to a £1.65 billion loss for the year to 31 March.
The struggling utility booked a £1.27 billion bad debt provision on intercompany loans and set aside £122 million for fines from Ofwat, among other costs.
The debt mountain stood at £16.8 billion, with Thames currently in talks over a rescue funding deal with senior creditors.
Chief executive Chris Weston said: “Thames Water has made good progress in operational performance, despite the ongoing challenging financial situation.”
Today’s accounts show he was paid a base salary of £850,000, which with other benefits pushed overall remuneration to £1.035 million. He did not receive a bonus.
Barratt Redrow falls 11% after update, Persimmon down 3%
08:19 , Graeme EvansBarratt Redrow shares have fallen 11% after the housebuilder reported full-year home completions slightly below guidance.
It said it had been impacted by fewer international and investor completions than expected in its London businesses.
The group, which reiterated profit guidance for the year to June, fell 44.9p to 371.6p.
The shares of other FTSE 100-listed builders also struggled, with Persimmon down 3% or 40p to 1177.5p and Taylor Wimpey off 2.5p to 109.05p.
FTSE 100 tops 9000 for first time
08:06 , Graeme EvansThe FTSE 100 index today traded above the 9000 threshold for the first time.
London’s top flight touched 9015.13 in early dealings before settling 11.56 points higher at 9009.62.
The landmark follows Monday’s record close of 8998.06.
Markets steady ahead of US banking results, Asia stocks higher
07:49 , Graeme EvansThe FTSE 100 index is seen opening 21 points higher at 9019, according to IG.
It also expects an improved session in Frankfurt, where the Dax is set to open about 0.2% higher.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.5%, while broader Asia-Pacific indices rose after Nvidia announced it will resume AI chip sales to China.
The focus of today’s session will be on the second quarter results of JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup, which are due before Wall Street’s opening bell.
Overall, S&P 500 earnings are expected to rise 5.8% year-over-year in the second quarter, which compares with forecasts of more than 10% in April.
FCA unveils plan to cut stock market red tape
07:28 , Graeme EvansUK firms will be able to raise cash and list on London stock markets more quickly and easily, the Financial Conduct Authority has said.
Companies that are already listed will not need to publish lengthy prospectuses in order to issue more shares and raise funds in most cases.
New rules will also halve the time it takes between initial documents being published and an IPO (initial public offering) to list on the London Stock Exchange.
The moves come amid a dearth of new listings on the stock exchange, while a raft of firms have also opted to switch from London to rival international markets.
Rachel Reeves’ Mansion House speech to financial bosses takes place tonight, with the Chancellor set to focus on a strategy of less onerous rules for firms rather than reduced risk.
City Voices: Mansion House glitz cannot hide the stark realities for the UK economy
Barratt Redrow completions short of guidance, profits in line
07:13 , Graeme EvansBarratt Redrow today said adjusted profits for the year to 29 June are in line with market expectations, despite home completions being slightly below guidance.
The housebuilder said it had been impacted by fewer international and investor completions than expected in its London businesses.
Total home completions including joint ventures reduced by 7.8% to 16,565 from last year’s comparable figure of 17,972.
However, the order book position continued to improve during the year based on total forward sales of £2.9 billion at the end of June equating to 9835 homes.
It is also seeing “tangible benefits” from last year’s acquisition of Redrow, with cost synergies being delivered ahead of schedule.
Chief executive David Thomas said: “Although demand during the year has been impacted by consumer caution and mortgage rates not falling as quickly as hoped, there remains a long-term structural under-supply of housing in this country.”
FTSE 100 seen above 9000, US markets higher
07:04 , Graeme EvansThe FTSE 100 index is seen breaking the 9000 threshold for the first time after futures trading pointed to a rise of 0.2% at the opening bell.
London’s top flight last night set a record close of 8998.06, having outperformed European peers held back by the latest US tariff threats.
The rise of 0.6% or 56.94 points compared with a loss of 0.4% for the Dax in Frankfurt.
Last night, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.2% and the S&P 500 index rose by 0.1%.
