17:11 — FTSE 100 closes Tuesday strongly, adding 89 points
The FTSE 100 closed Tuesday's session strongly, at 10,878.82, up 97 points, or 0.9%, capping a day that opened soft on Middle East de-escalation headlines and chip-sector jitters before finding encouragement through the afternoon as the Dow jumped higher in New York.
Coats (LSE:COA) Group led the gainers, closing up 9.86% at 85.2p at its session high, after its half-year results showed continued market outperformance.
French TV company Canal+ (LSE:CAN) added 8.37% to 251.2p, and Croda International (LSE:CRDA) rose 7.28% to 3138p, both at session highs, extending gains built earlier in the day on strong first-half numbers.
Essentra (LSE:ESNT) ended the session up 13.78% at 109.8p on its half-year results.
Meanwhile, Barclays (LSE:BARC) was notably the session's heaviest blue-chip faller, down 5.56% to 500.9p.
Against lower oil pricing, energy names Harbour Energy (LSE:HBR) and Ithaca Energy (LSE:ITH) closed down 4.39% and 4.38% respectively.
14:46 — Tech drags Nasdaq 1% lower, FTSE holds positive territory
Wall Street's open landed less convincingly than some of the morning's premarket quotes indicated.
Yes, the Dow is up 300 points, or 0.58%, at 52,510.76, but, the S&P 500 slipped 0.28% to 7,392.79, and the Nasdaq Composite is down over 1%, at 24,674.566.
Back in London, the FTSE 100 is holding steady at 10,819.58, up 0.35%, continuing what is a range-bound session.
13:25 — Wall Street indicated higher as Dow points to 52,604, up 0.79%
Wall Street is seen higher ahead of Tuesday's open, with the Dow indicated at 52,604, up 0.79%, and the S&P 500 indicated at 7,417.35, up 0.04%.
The Nasdaq 100 is, by contrast, an outlier, seen down 0.78% at 27,818.3.
It comes as the US dollar sits near a one-month high and gold is down 1.26% at $4,025.6, positioning ahead of the Federal Reserve's rate decision.
Meanwhile, concerns over the 'AI bubble' and China's apparent rapidly advancing competition to the so-called 'frontier' US artificial intelligence labs like OpenAI and Anthropic, and by extension the giant supporting cast of listed technologists hooked up to the AI bandwagon.
Elsewhere, on this side of the pond, the FTSE 100 held a 0.51% gain at 10,837.01.
12:05 — Small-cap gold and helium explorers on the move
Away from the large caps, a cluster of small-cap explorers has moved on fresh operational news.
Ecr Minerals fell 8.83% to 0.1869p after confirming it is redeploying personnel and a mobile wash plant from its Raglan operation to accelerate development at Maddens, part of a wider push toward becoming a diversified Australian gold producer.
Geo Exploration (AIM:GEO) climbed 8.51% to 0.1058p after identifying nine further exploration targets at its Gorge Project, taking its target inventory to 12 areas centred on the Wyloo Dome structure.
Georgina Energy (LSE:GEX) rose 9.3% to 7.76p as its water well contractor mobilises to site ahead of September drilling at the Hussar prospect in Australia.
Sunrise Resources dropped 12.57% to 0.0153p despite clearing a heritage-agreement hurdle at its Bakers Gold project in Western Australia, which removes native title objections to its prospecting licence application.
Premier African Minerals (AIM:PREM) fell 10.0% to 0.0171p after saying it still awaits agreed terms on a Long Stop Date extension with Canmax Technologies before resuming plant operations at its Zulu Lithium and Tantalum project.
11:26 — Barclays fall holds at -4.36% despite 17% profit beat as bonus pool jumps 30%
The FTSE 100 is at 10855.9, up 0.69%, extending its lead over IG's static out-of-hours quote of 10826.9 (+0.23%), a gap that has persisted through the morning without narrowing.
Barclays (LSE:BARC) remains the session's most striking anomaly: shares are down 4.36% to 507.3p even as the bank delivered a clean earnings beat. Pre-tax profit rose 17% in H1, with equities trading revenues driving a 4% beat on consensus PBT and a 6% beat on EPS, alongside a £1bn share buyback. The bank lifted its bonus pool by nearly 30% to £1.3bn, a move that has drawn political attention over calls for a bank tax to help fund government spending. Reuters flagged the share fall as a sign that investor expectations for UK banks were already running high going into the results, the beat wasn't enough to move the stock higher.
Energy names are also under pressure, with Ithaca Energy (LSE:ITH) down 3.37% to 229.6p and Serica Energy (AIM:SQZ) off 2.94% to 231.4p, both sitting at their session lows; Harbour Energy (LSE:HBR) is down 2.82% to 234.7832p, also at its session low. Brent crude is indicated 1.67% weaker at $84.08.
The Nikkei's -4.3% print at 62142.06 remains unchanged since the morning open, with no catalyst identified in the day's reporting to explain the move.
Elsewhere, the small-cap cluster from earlier in the session holds its shape: Sunrise Resources (AIM:SRES) down 12.57%, Premier African Minerals (AIM:PREM) off 10%, Ecr Minerals (AIM:ECR) down 8.83% after redeploying operations from Raglan to Maddens, against gains for Georgina Energy (LSE:GEX) (+9.3%) on new drilling at its Hussar prospect and GEO Exploration (AIM:GEO) (+8.51%) after identifying nine further targets at its Gorge project.
10:46 — Barclays holds near -4% despite 17% profit surge as bonus pool jumps 30%
Barclays (LSE:BARC)' shares remain pinned near the session low, down 4.36% to 507.3p, even as the bank's own half-year filing shows first-half profit before tax up 17% on bumper equities trading revenue, with an accompanying £1bn share buyback. Shore Capital's broker note puts the beat at 4% ahead of consensus on PBT and 6% ahead on EPS, driven by stronger-than-expected Investment Bank revenues and a lighter impairment charge, while Interactive Investor's Richard Hunter called the release "unblemished" with "strong growth across all areas of the group." The bank has also lifted its banker bonus pool by nearly 30% to £1.3bn for the half, a detail drawing political attention rather than lifting the stock. Reuters flagged the share fall against the beat as a sign investor expectations were already priced in, the clearest explanation offered so far for a move that has now held near -4% since the open.
The FTSE 100 cash index has extended its advance to 10849.12, up 0.62%, still running well ahead of the IG indicative quote at 10826.9, up 0.23%, a gap that has widened rather than closed through the morning. Breadth remains skewed positive, with Man Group (LSE:EMG) fresh at a 52-week high (318.3p, +6.1%) and Croda extending its advance to 3031p, up 3.62%, while energy names Ithaca Energy (LSE:ITH), Serica Energy (AIM:SQZ) and Harbour Energy (LSE:HBR) sit at session lows, down 2.8-3.4%, as Brent trades 2% weaker on the indicative pricing.
Essentra (LSE:ESNT)'s 12.57% rally is now fully explained by its own half-year results, with the company reporting a return to organic growth and setting a new 2028 adjusted operating margin target, detail carried in Essentra's results. Flowtech Fluidpower (AIM:FLO) confirmed like-for-like revenue growth of 13.2% in its own trading update, with group revenue up 23.7% to £70.4m. AB Dynamics (LSE:ABDP) remains the session's sharpest faller, down 22.89% to 822p, with Shore Capital's note citing a cut to FY26 revenue guidance to £90-95m from a prior £114m, the move has held steady across the morning with no fresh detail. The Nikkei's 4.3% slide to 62,142.06 also remains unexplained in the data available, unchanged since the open.
10:06 — AB Dynamics falls 22.9% on guidance cut; Barclays down despite profit surge
AB Dynamics (LSE:ABDP) has become the morning's clearest casualty, its shares down 22.91% to 821.78p after the group cut full-year revenue guidance and confirmed its exit from China, the hard price confirmation of the guidance-cut story flagged earlier this morning.
Barclays (LSE:BARC) remains the FTSE's most notable faller despite reporting a 17% rise in first-half pre-tax profit and revenue up 11% to £16.5bn, driven by a strong equities trading performance; the bank lifted its banker bonus pool by nearly 30% to £1.3bn and unveiled a £1bn share buyback alongside the results. Shares are down 4.13% to 508.5p. Interactive Investor's Richard Hunter called the release "an unblemished release with strong growth across all areas of the group", framing consensus around the shares as a strong buy, a reading that stands in contrast to the stock's own reaction this morning.
Gem Diamonds (LSE:GEMD) has added to its gains, up 8.5% to 3.7p, after its trading update confirmed H1 sales rose 33% year-on-year to $59.5m, with three diamonds above 100 carats recovered in the period including a 346.99-carat stone named the "Lesotho Jubilee". Essentra (LSE:ESNT) is the session's standout gainer among the mid-caps, up 12.57% to 108.627p, after its half-year results confirmed strong first-half performance with FY26 expectations unchanged and a new adjusted operating margin milestone set for 2028. Flowtech Fluidpower (AIM:FLO) has extended its advance to 8.47%, at 64.0p, after confirming like-for-like revenue growth of 13.2% and group revenue up 23.7% to £70.4m in its trading update.
Oxford BioDynamics (AIM:OBD) has pulled back further from its earlier peak, now up 9.25% at 0.1311p, after announcing its first commercial agreement for the EpiSwitch Orion genomics platform, covering a biomarker discovery programme in psoriatic arthritis. Among the small-cap miners, Sunrise Resources (AIM:SRES) is down 12.57% despite signing a heritage agreement clearing the way for exploration at its Bakers Gold project in Western Australia, while Ecr Minerals (AIM:ECR) is off 9.02% after detailing a redeployment of resources from Raglan to its higher-grade Maddens project. Georgina Energy (LSE:GEX) has added 8.01% as its water well contractor mobilises to support September drilling at the Hussar prospect, and Geo Exploration (AIM:GEO) is up 7.59% after identifying nine further exploration targets at its Gorge project in Australia. Premier African Minerals (AIM:PREM) is down 10.0% after flagging that plant operations at its Zulu lithium project remain paused pending talks with Canmax Technologies over a Long Stop Date extension.
The FTSE 100 cash index sits at 10834.81, up 0.49%, running ahead of the FTSE-IG indicative quote of 10826.9, up 0.23%. The Nikkei 225 remains down 4.3% at 62142.06, a slide that has held through the morning without an accompanying catalyst in today's reporting.
09:01 — Croda and Flowtech jump on H1 growth as Barclays' fall holds at -4.52%
Looking again at the morning's notable stories . . .
Croda International (LSE:CRDA) added 2.87% to 3009p, after its half-year results confirmed unchanged full-year guidance alongside what the company calls "transformation and innovation-led growth."
Flowtech Fluidpower (AIM:FLO) was up 6.78% to 63p after the group reported revenue jumped 23.7% to £70.4m in H1, with like-for-like growth of 13.2% and acquisitions adding to the total. The company says trading came in line with board expectations.
Pebble Beach Systems (AIM:PEB) climbed 5.71% to 25.9p on a trading update showing H1 revenue up 10% to around £6.5m, with project revenue ahead 19% on favourable software licence timing.
Oxford BioDynamics (AIM:OBD) extended its advance to 21.75% after signing its first commercial agreement for the EpiSwitch Orion genomics platform, covering a biomarker discovery programme in psoriatic arthritis.
Barclays (LSE:BARC) holds its loss at 506.4p, down 4.52%.
08:21 — FTSE 100 opens higher, but Barclays a notable faller
The FTSE 100 opened slightly higher, edging up to 10,796, up 0.14%, with the index still trailing the 10,826.9 indicative level and breadth close to even at 52 risers against 42 fallers.
Barclays (LSE:BARC) is a standout mover, down 4.66% to 505.7p, after its half-year results, which at face value were deemed "a beat" in terms of income and profit, supported by investment banking activities.
Elsewhere, Man Group (LSE:EMG) was a notable riser, up 4.23% to 312.7p and a fresh 52-week high, after posting record assets under management of $253.6 billion at the end of June, up from $227.6 billion in December, alongside $7.1 billion of net inflows and a 46% rise in core management fee earnings per share.
Smaller-cap names carry the sharpest moves. Oxford BioDynamics jumped 21.75% after signing its first commercial deal for the EpiSwitch Orion platform, while Ajax Resources has dropped 21.03% on its proposed asset swap.
Premier African Minerals was down 12.63% as its Zulu plant restart remained on hold.
Tern climbed 11.19% after upping its Talking Medicines stake, and Flowtech Fluidpower (AIM:FLO) was also higher, up 6.78%, after reporting 23.7% revenue growth to £70.4 million for H1.
06:45 — FTSE 100 called lower ahead of Tuesday's close
The FTSE 100 is seen softer ahead of Tuesday's open, with IG's early pre-market quote marked at 10,764.9, down 37 points from Monday's close.
It comes against a backdrop of easing Middle East tensions, with a pause in the US-Iran standoff feeding through to a fall in oil prices.
Brent crude remained softer, at $85.50, roughly flat in early trade after Monday's declines.
Wall Street closed mixed on Monday as investors weighed tech earnings: the Dow added 0.42% to 52,164.7, the S&P 500 was essentially flat at 7,410.27, down 0.02%, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.19% to 24,929.06.
Behind the moves was turmoil in chip stocks and big tech, with growing worries over China's AI challenge.
In particular, flags in recent days included China's memory-chip IPO boom, and, closer to home, concern over circular AI financing deals.
In the market, there was a 5% fall in Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA)'s stock price, and a spike in the chip maker's credit default swaps.
That pressure sits behind the softer indicated pricing on the Nasdaq 100, marked down 1.19% at 27705.0 ahead of the open, a sharper indicated retreat than either the S&P 500 (-0.31% indicated) or Dow (+0.09% indicated).
Overnight, in Asia, equity markets saw a rough session, with Japan's Nikkei 225 tumbling 4.11% to 62,259.36.
Gold extended its retreat, down 0.97% to $4,037, whilst the dollar index sat little changed at 101.548, and cable is indicated at 1.3287, down 0.02%.
Bitcoin was on the back foot at $63,482.88, down 0.35%, whilst Ethereum was off 0.21% at $1,886.62.
