Ftse 100 Notches Record Close On Us: EU trade deal optimism, earnings boost
24/07/2025 17:05
FTSE 100 up 0.9%, FTSE 250 up 0.6%
Reckitt soars after raising annual revenue growth forecast
ITV jumps after forecast-beating HY results
BT Group surges after appointing new CFO
Vodafone rises on Q1 growth improvement
Updates with market closing prices
July 24 (Reuters) -
Britain's FTSE 100 rose on Thursday to a record close, boosted by upbeat corporate results and optimism over a potential EU-U.S. trade agreement.
The benchmark FTSE 100 .FTSE closed up 0.9% at 9,138.37 points. The domestically oriented midcap FTSE 250 .FTMC gained 0.6%.
The personal care and grocery stores index .FTNMX452010 led sectoral gains, up 2.6%, boosted by Reckitt RKT.L, up 9.9%, after the consumer goods company raised its annual revenue forecast.
Healthcare stocks .FTNMX201030 rose 1.9% with AstraZeneca AZN.L up 2.1% after the drugmaker's rare immune disorder drug succeeded in an advanced trial.
GSK GSK.L added 1.4% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday extended its review of the drugmaker's blood cancer drug.
Media stocks .FTNMX403010 advanced 2.3%, led by ITV ITV.L, which rose 13.3% after the broadcaster's half-year results beat forecasts.
Conversely, precious metal miners .FTNMX551030 fell 1.4%, tracking a drop in gold prices. Endeavour Mining EDV.L fell 1.3%, and Fresnillo FRES.L was down 2.1%.
In company news, BT Group BT.L advanced 10.4%, topping the FTSE 100 index, after the telecom firm named Patricia Cobian as its first female chief financial officer.
Howden Joinery HWDN.L soared 8.9% after reporting a rise in first-half profit.
Vodafone VOD.L gained 3.4% after reporting a 5.5% increase in organic service revenue in the first quarter.
Airtel Africa AAF.L soared 7.3% after posting higher quarterly results.
Anglo American's AAL.L copper and diamond production fell in the first half of the year. Shares of the miner edged 0.9% down.
BP BP.L will exit its planned green hydrogen production facility in Australia as it pivots back to oil and gas, a spokesperson said. Shares of the energy major were down 1.7%.
Meanwhile, an EU spokesperson signalled that a U.S.-EU deal was within reach, which would result in broad 15% import tariffs on the 27-member bloc.
Additionally, surveys showed British companies are struggling to grow and the job market continues to weaken, but inflation pressures are still lurking in the economy.
A Reuters poll
showed
the Bank of England is expected to cut interest rates in August and November with steady economic growth anticipated.
Britain and India also signed a free trade agreement.
(Reporting by Sukriti Gupta; Editing by Sahal Muhammed and Ed Osmond)
((Sukriti.Gupta@thomsonreuters.com;))
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