FTSE 100 slips as Relx weighs; WPP, Persimmon gain after results
06/08/2026 17:22
* WPP soars after saying trading trajectory improved in
recent months
* Admiral jumps after first-half results and share buyback
announcement
* Tritax Big Box REIT drops after placing £350 million share
sale
(Updates prices)
Aug 6 (Reuters) - The UK's FTSE 100 ended lower on Thursday,
tracking losses on Wall Street, as investors weighed a fresh
batch of corporate earnings including upbeat reports from
housebuilder Persimmon and advertising group WPP.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE dipped 0.2% to end the
session at 10,867.89 points. The midcap FTSE 250 .FTMC climbed
0.2% to 24,695.41 points, rising for the fourth consecutive day.
* Information and analytics group Relx REL.L was among the
biggest drags on the FTSE 100, falling 4.1% as software stocks
retreated after AppLovin's APP.O revenue miss and Datadog's
DDOG.O warning on revenue growth. Relx was also trading
ex-dividend.
* Persimmon PSN.L climbed 2.9% after the housebuilder
forecast annual home deliveries at the top end of its range,
while insurer Admiral ADML.L jumped 5.4% after its first-half
results and share buyback announcement.
* Among the midcap stocks, WPP WPP.L soared 28.6%, on
track for its biggest single-day percentage gain in more than
three decades, after the ad firm said the trajectory had
improved in recent months, even as it reported a 4.7% drop in
first-half adjusted revenue.
* Investors are awaiting U.S. non-farm payrolls data on
Friday for clues on the health of the labour market and interest
rate trajectory.
* The downturn in Britain's construction industry eased in
July as commercial building and housebuilding weakened less
sharply, with builder optimism hitting its highest level since
before the Iran war, a survey by S&P Global showed.
* Among other movers, real estate investment trust Tritax
Big Box REIT BBOXT.L dropped 4.1%, becoming the top decliner
in the FTSE 100, after it placed a £350 million share sale at
£1.64 a share.
(Reporting by Anand Gopal and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru;
Editing by Vijay Kishore and Andrew Heavens)
((anandgopal.r@thomsonreuters.com))