The FTSE 100 opened 6 points lower at 10,394 amid a record public borrowing overshoot and stronger-than-expected retail sales data. Meanwhile, Brent crude futures rose 0.49% to $80.24 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) advanced 0.63% to $76.33 a barrel.
Sterling was down 0.06% at $1.3197 against the dollar amid growing expectations of a Labour Party leadership contest.
Entain climbed 2.39% to £565.40, while Babcock International Group advanced 2.03% to £1,053.50. BP gained 1.61% to £497.95, and AstraZeneca rose 1.52% to £13,354. RELX added 0.98% to £2,371 and GSK edged up 0.88% to £1,940.
Admiral Group fell 5.77% to £3,168, while Endeavour Mining declined 1.41% to £4,121 and Severn Trent slipped 1.31% to £2,856. Anglo American eased 0.85% to £3,961, Next lost 0.80% to £14,325, and Lion Finance Group edged lower by 0.69% to £11,470.
PPHE’s shares plunged 10.3% to £1,792 in early trading, after the hotel group confirmed Fattal Hotel Group has ended its bid to acquire the Park Plaza owner.
Fattal Hotel Group’s cash offer of £22 per share, which valued the group at £930 million, was deemed fair value by PPHE’s board, but the takeover attempt was quashed as Euro Plaza, which owns 33% of the hotel group, opposed the offer.
Retail sales climbed 1.2% in May, the increase in sales follows a sharp 1% decline in April, as the Iran war caused people to curb their spending, with sales volumes rising by 3.2% over the past year.
Retailers credited the hot weather in May to the boost in sales, as customers purchased items including fans, outdoor furniture and paddling pools.
Sales volumes also rose 0.4% in the three months to May, driven by non-food stores.
UK government borrowing rose higher than expected in May, official data has shown, with Andy Burnham’s win in Makerfield now setting analysts up for a change-up in public finances forecasts.
The Office for National Statistics said the government’s net borrowing was £23.2 billion in May, above economists’ £19 billion forecast.
Further government borrowing came as debt interest costs hit £11.7 billion, the highest in any May on record by the ONS. It came as gilt yields rose to their highest level in nearly 30 years last month.
Total government borrowing between 2025 and 2026 was slightly below levels a year before as tax receipts jumped by 5.6%.
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In the US, hopes that the US-Iran peace deal will hold drove US stocks higher, with the Nasdaq leading the way up 1.9%, the S&P 500 adding 1.1% and the Dow up 0.1%.
In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.13% to 9,052 points, while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 increased 0.28%. Taiwan’s TAIEX rose 1.28%. China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 0.43%, and Hang Seng fell 1.59%. In India, both the Nifty 50 and Sensex declined, falling 0.93% and 1.07%, respectively.
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