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The FTSE 100 opened 37 points lower at 10,336 amid an overnight halt in hostilities between Iran and Israel, with US President Donald Trump saying peace talks were in their "final throes". Meanwhile, Brent crude futures declined 1.16% to $93.20 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 1.60% to $89.84 a barrel.
Croda International gained 3.18% to £2,954, while Bunzl advanced 2.89% to £2,566 and Admiral Group gained 1.69% to £3,364. JD Sports Fashion also moved higher by 1.53% to £85.08, while IG Group Holdings climbed 1.52% to £1,870. Barratt Redrow rounded out the gainers, adding 1.34% to close at £256.80.
On the downside, GSK fell 2.61% to £1,863, while Antofagasta declined 1.78% to £3,910. AstraZeneca slipped 1.48% to £13,592, and Fresnillo dropped 1.39% to £2,980. Anglo American also weakened by 1.03% to £3,835, while Games Workshop Group edged lower by 0.42% to £18,790.
UK retail sales last month rose 3.7% on last year, up from a 3% drop in April and a March-April combo of 1.5% growth to account for a later Easter, according to BRC and KPMG.
Like-for-like sales rose 3.4%. Food sales increased 3.9% after declining 2.5% in April. Non-food sales were up 3.5%, against a decline of 3.3% in April.
"May’s heatwave drove a surge in outdoor and summer goods," says Helen Dickinson, BRC chief executive.
Fevertree has launched a £30 million extension to its share buyback scheme.
The firm is currently completing another £30 million buyback programme, of which nearly £19 million has been returned so far, on top of the £100m million shares bought back in the year to December.
“Fevertree is well placed to drive long-term growth across our markets as both a premium mixer and soft drink brand and this year we are significantly increasing marketing investment and innovating to support our growth ambitions,” chief executive Tim Warrillow said.
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GSK enters an agreement to snap up US biotechnology company Nuvalent for £8 billion ($10.6 billion), adding "immediate" new sales growth opportunities, as well as a trio of advanced lung cancer drugs and other assets to boost its oncology pipeline.
The FTSE 100 giant said it will pay $124 per share in cash, marking a 40% premium over what Nuvalent’s stock was trading at just before this announcement.
Luke Miels, Chief Executive Officer, GSK said, “Today’s acquisition is a multi-product deal, consistent with our approach to acquire assets that have clinically proven targets and meaningfully address an efficacy and/or tolerability gap. The two lead products are potential best-in-class assets that could launch this year if approved by the FDA and offer significant new treatment options to patients with two forms of non-small cell lung cancer.”
In the US, Overnight, stocks regained some ground from Friday’s losses, fueled by the tech sector as the Nasdaq climbed 0.9%, the S&P 500 gained 0.3%, but the Dow Jones slipped 0.2%.
In Asia, the Kospi gained 8.8% in Seoul to 8,096.93, the Nikkei rose 2.17% in Tokyo, and the Shanghai composite advanced 1.28%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 0.20%. In India, Nifty 50 and Sensex also edged up 0.37% and 0.35%, respectively.
