UK Stocks-Factors to watch on April 30 (updated)
30/04/2026 08:04
Adds news itmes, updates futures April 30 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index opened down 0.03% on Thursday. * SHELL: Apollo Global Management APO.N , Blackstone BX.N and KKR KKR.N are battling it out to acquire a significant stake in the mammoth LNG Canada project from energy major Shell SHEL.L, three people familiar with the matter said. * UNILEVER: Unilever's ULVR.L first-quarter underlying sales growth beat expectations. * ROLLS-ROYCE: Rolls-Royce RR.L said it was sticking to guidance for profit and would be able to fully mitigate disruption caused by the war in the Middle East. * EDINBURGH WORLDWIDE: Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust EWI.L said activist investor Saba Capital's three nominations could be appointed to its board, as seen in voting information ahead of its AGM. * METRO BANK: Metro Bank MTRO.L reaffirmed its fiscal year 2026 outlook. * STANCHART: India's Federal Bank FED.NS said its board has approved a proposal to acquire a portion of Standard Chartered Bank's STAN.L domestic retail credit cards portfolio. * DCC: DCC DCC.L said it has rejected a bid from a consortium of U.S. investment firms Energy Capital Partners and KKR KKR.N that valued it at 4.95 billion pounds ($6.66 billion). * GLENCORE: Glencore's GLEN.L first-quarter copper production rose 19%, benefiting from improved grades in Africa. * UNITED UTILITIES: United Utilities UU.L said it expects a rise in annual revenue and has submitted plans for a further 1.4‑billion‑pound investment programme. * WHITBREAD: Whitbread said it will replace its remaining 197 branded restaurants with hotel-integrated food and beverage offerings, a move that could cut around 3,800 roles across the UK and Ireland. * SIG: SIG SHI.L warned of lower first-half profit after posting a 5% decline in first-quarter like-for-like sales. * SYNTHOMER: Synthomer SYNTS.L said it has offset higher costs linked to the Iran war through pricing actions. * WEIR GROUP: Weir Group WEIR.L said CEO Jon Stanton will step down and be succeeded by insider Andrew Neilson. * BP: BP BP.L will develop Venezuela's Cocuina-Manakin gas field, on the maritime border with Trinidad and Tobago, as well as explore joint opportunities in the offshore Loran gas field, the company and government said. * FCA: The Bank of England has raised concerns over plans by the FCA to cut the capital requirements of specialist trading firms, the Financial Times reported. * AUTO: UK automotive production fell 8.2% in March from a year earlier, trade body data showed. * ECONOMY: British businesses' confidence about the economic outlook fell this month by the most since April 2020, a survey showed. * EX-DIVS: Weir Group WEIR.L will trade without entitlement to its latest dividend payout on Thursday. * COMMODITIES: Brent oil prices rose as much as 7%, while gold edged higher, and copper prices drifted higher. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: LIVE/ TODAY'S UK PAPERS > Financial Times PRESS/FT > Other business headlines PRESS/GB (Compiled by Roshni Srivastava in Bengaluru) ((roshni.srivastava@thomsonreuters.com))