(Alliance News) – London stocks were mixed at midday on Wednesday as investors weigh US trade talks and President Donald Trump’s new tax-cut and spending bill.
The FTSE 100 index was up 21.48 points, 0.2%, at 8,806.81. The FTSE 250 was down 116.73 points, 0.5%, at 21,626.43, and the AIM All-Share was down 1.25 points, 0.2%, at 771.69.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 878.80, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.4% at 19,129.08, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.2% at 17,463.01.
A ban in the UK on “exploitative” zero-hours contracts and “day-one” protections against unfair dismissal will not come into force until 2027 as the government seeks to give businesses time to prepare for its workers’ rights reforms.
Ministers have opted for a “phased” rollout of the changes, which were a Labour manifesto promise, in order to balance safeguards for employees with “the practical realities” of running a company.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has hailed the government’s flagship Employment Rights Bill, which is making its way through Parliament, as “the single biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation”.
Its measures include bolstered rights to parental leave, a crackdown on “fire and rehire” practices and the removal of the lower earnings limit and waiting period for statutory sick pay.
Under the new legislation, bosses will be also be required to offer workers a guaranteed hours contract reflecting the hours they regularly work, as well as reasonable notice of shifts and payment of shifts.
In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris improved 1.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.3% to the green.
“It’s a solid day for European equities as all the major indices moved higher amid progress in the US on policy plans to lower taxes and progress with trade negotiations,” said AJ Bell analyst Dan Coatsworth.
“Commodity producers, financials, utilities and industrials led the way on the UK stock market. The fact both risk-on and defensive sectors moved higher would suggest a general sense of optimism among investors.
“The US Senate has passed Donald Trump’s tax-cut and spending bill which means the attention now shifts to the House of Representatives for approval. At the same time, there were developments on trade talks between the US and India which gave investors some encouragement. Trump seems optimistic about striking a deal with India, yet there would still be a long list of other countries that need to do the same before 9 July if they want to avoid high tariffs.”
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday a trade deal with Japan was unlikely before the July 9 deadline, threatening to raise tariffs on Japanese imports to 30 or 35%.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump criticised Japan’s reluctance to accept imports of US rice, as well as the imbalance in auto trade between the two countries.
On Tuesday, Trump’s key tax and spending bill cleared an important hurdle in the US Congress when the Senate approved what has been dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” by a wafer-thin majority after a marathon overnight session.
A centrepiece of the bill is the permanent extension of tax breaks from Trump’s first term in office. These are to be financed by cuts to social benefits – a point that has met with fierce criticism from the Democrats.
Stocks in New York were called higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called 0.2% higher, the S&P 500 index up 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite also up 0.1%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.28%, widening from 4.26%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.81%, widening from 4.79%.
EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas on Wednesday urged Beijing to stop undermining Europe’s security, as China’s top diplomat held talks in Brussels ahead of a leaders’ summit later this month.
“China is not our adversary, but on security our relationship is under increasing strain,” Kallas said ahead of meeting China’s Wang Yi.
“Chinese companies are Moscow’s lifeline to sustain its war against Ukraine. Beijing carries out cyberattacks, interferes with our democracies, and trades unfairly. These actions harm European security and jobs.”
Wang’s visit to Brussels – following which he will head to Berlin and Paris – comes some three weeks ahead of a summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and the EU’s top officials in Beijing.
Meanwhile, the European Commission proposed on Wednesday to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by the year 2040, with flexibility to address concerns from EU states that must greenlight the plans.
The long-delayed target is a key milestone towards the EU’s 2050 carbon neutrality goal. To sway sceptical capitals, the EU executive proposes that from 2036, the bloc’s 27 countries can count carbon credits purchased to finance projects outside Europe, for up to three percent of their emission cuts.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s unemployment rate remain steady in June, data published by the Central Statistics Office showed Wednesday.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.0% in June, unchanged from May, though down from 4.4% in June 2024.
The pound was quoted down at USD1.3700 at midday on Wednesday in London, compared to USD1.3705 at the equities close on Tuesday. The euro stood higher at USD1.1774, against USD1.1770. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JPY143.98 compared to JPY143.62.
The London-headquartered operator of food outlets at travel locations and owner of the Upper Crust brand provided details regarding the anticipated initial public offering of Mumbai-based Travel Food Services on the Indian Stock Exchange.
It said K Hospitality, its joint venture partner in India, noted that TFS filed its Red Herring Prospectus with the Indian regulatory authorities regarding the proposed IPO.
K Hospitality expects a market capitalisation of between INR137.6 billion and INR144.8 billion, around GBP1.17 billion to GBP1.23 billion.
SSP reiterated that it will soon buy additional shares in TFS for around GBP12.5 million, after which it will hold a 50.01% stake in TFS’s issued share capital.
The Budapest-based budget airline said it carried 5.9 million passengers in June, up 11% from 5.3 million a year before, with load factor improving to 92.1% from 91.7%. The airline noted that June was better month for it than May, with faster annual growth in passenger numbers and a bigger improvement in load factor.
On a 12-month basis, Wizz carried 65.0 million passengers, up 4.7% from 62.1 million the year before. Load factor improved to 91.2% from 90.1%.
Dublin-based rival Ryanair carried 19.9 million passengers in June, up 3.1% from 19.3 million a year before, while its load factor was steady at 95%. The carrier said it operated more than 109,000 flights last month.
On a rolling 12-month basis, Ryanair carried 202.6 million passengers, up 7.3% from 188.8 million the year before. Load factor over the longer period stayed at 94%.
The investment company with a focus on blockchain, esports and payments raised GBP1.2 million through a placing of 6.4 million shares at 18 pence per share.
The fundraising was led by Axis Capital Markets Ltd, and Blue Star intends to use the proceeds to invest at least GBP1 million into SatoshiPay Ltd, the blockchain payments firm in which it holds around a 50% stake.
The investment will be used by SatoshiPay to increase its existing digital asset treasury, including bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Blue Star will receive payment of the equivalent value of any capital increase in the portfolio.
Blue Star aims to raise a further GBP100,000 in an offer to retail investors of 555,556 new shares at the same price as the institutional placing.
Brent oil was quoted higher at USD67.83 a barrel at midday in London on Wednesday from USD66.97 late Tuesday.
Still to come on Wednesday’s economic calendar, ADP private payrolls figures in the US.
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