The FTSE 100 opened flat at 10,670.04 ahead of a European Central Bank decision, as a US Treasury announcement on bond buybacks failed to impress. Brent crude futures rose 0.09% to USD 101.3 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) advanced 0.22% to USD 96.26 per barrel.
Sterling traded at USD 1.3354 on Thursday, falling from USD 1.3548 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. Versus the euro, it fell to EUR 1.1641.
On the upside, Whitbread climbed 1.98% to 2,366p. Compass Group advanced 1.87% to USD 31.10, while Aberdeen Group gained 1.53% to 252.40p. JD Sports Fashion rose 1.21% to 80.60p, Fresnillo added 1.08% to 3,082p, and ICG increased 0.94% to 1,943p.
On the downside, Associated British Foods fell 9.31% to 1,832p. Computacenter declined 2.99% to 5,035p, while Endeavour Mining dropped 1.39% to 4,605p. Rio Tinto slipped 0.84% to 7,538p, Lion Finance Group lost 0.74% to 13,350p, and Games Workshop Group edged 0.51% lower to 17,480p.
Currys reported like-for-like revenue growth of 7% in Q1, with UK and Ireland sales up 6% and the Nordics up 9%. The retailer said it is "comfortable with market consensus” and left full-year guidance unchanged.
Despite this, shares in the group fell 1.3%. Recurring Services revenue continued to grow, with flexpay adoption up 30 basis points year-on-year to 23.6% and iD Mobile subscribers rising 16% to more than 2.7 million.
In the Nordics, sales growth was led by white goods and mobile, supported by continued momentum in new categories, B2B and Services, with market share gains in most countries against soft comparatives.
Private equity firm KKR has snapped up construction software provider Eleco in a deal that values the company at around GBP 208 million.
The takeover gives shareholders GBP 235 per share, representing a 74.7% premium over the previous day’s closing price. Investors holding just over 45.2% have already pledged support for the takeover, which is expected to close in early 2027.
Ecommerce company THG posted a 7% rise in revenue in the first half of the year after a boost in sales in both its beauty and nutrition divisions.
The company said revenue across the group was GBP 828.7 million in the period, up 7.2% year on year and above guidance of 6.5%.
THG Beauty, which includes brands like Lookfantastic and Cult Beauty, delivered 5.9% revenue growth while THG Nutrition sales rose 9.2%.
Also Read: Stock Market Update: Nifty 50 Opened 0.06% Higher, Sensex Fell 21.69 Points Amid Rising Oil Prices
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 405.41 points, or 0.77%, to end at 52,380.66. The S&P 500 shed 0.48% to close at 7,636.36, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.64% to 26,253.34.
In Asia on Thursday, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 advanced 0.2% to 65,270.95, while China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.43%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 1.26%, and South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.25%. In India, both the Nifty 50 and the Sensex rose by 0.03% and 0.047%, respectively.
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