(Sharecast News) - London stocks finished on a mixed note on Thursday, despite well-received results from the likes of Rolls-Royce, Rentokil and Shell.
The FTSE 100 drifted lower by 0.05% to 9,132.81, while the second-tier index ran up 0.86% to 21,962.83.
"The morning's positive atmosphere has given way to much more cautious trading," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.
"Last night's [US] tech results seemed to deliver the tonic investors had been looking for, but caught between more tech earnings and some harsh tariff rhetoric, stocks have given back their gains. Even with tonight's earnings out of the way, there is still the hurdle of payrolls tomorrow to navigate."
Overnight, the US Federal Reserve had kept the target range for the federal funds rate unchanged on Wednesday at between 4.25% and 4.50%, as widely expected.
But Fed chair Jerome Powell sounded a bit more hawkish note than anticipated by some economists.
Worth noting, investors the world over were also waiting on the all-important monthly US non-farm payrolls figures due out the next day.
And US technology giants Amazon and Apple were due to release results after the close of the New York session on Thursday.
Fresh record high for Rolls-Royce
Aerospace and defence engineer Rolls-Royce surged to the top of the FTSE 100 as it raised its full-year guidance after a strong first half, in which underlying revenues grew by double-digits and operating profits surged by 50%.
The company now expects to book a full-year underlying operating profit of 3.1bn-3.2bn for 2025, up from previous guidance of 2.7bn-2.9bn, while the free cash flow target has been upped to 3.0bn-3.1bn from 2.7bn-2.9bn.
Rentokil advanced as it backed its full-year outlook and hailed a "solid" first half, in line with expectations, and an improving performance in North America.
St James's Place also gained after results, while energy giant Shell gushed higher as it reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings but still sharply lower than a year ago on the back of weak oil and gas prices.
Adjusted earnings came in at $4.26bn for the three month period, beating average estimates of $3.74bn in a company-compiled poll, but down 24% on 2024's $6.3bn. For the half year earnings were down 30% to $9.8bn.
Shares in financial services firm Just Group rocketed after it agreed to be bought by US-based Brookfield Wealth Solutions in a 2.4bn deal.
JTC also rose sharply after the professional services business reported a record first half for new business wins and announced the acquisition of trust and estate planning services firm Kleinwort Hambros Trust (KHT).
Standard Chartered ticked up as it posted a better-than-expected 26% jump in first-half pre-tax profit to $4.38bn.
On the downside, Mondi slid as the paper and packaging group warned that an uncertain economic environment would continue to impact trading in the second half of the year and reported a fall in interim profits.
Pets at Home slumped as it cut its full-year profit guidance, pointing to "subdued" retail market growth rates.
Retailer Next edged up as it lifted guidance for full-price sales in the second half and full-year pre-tax profit after a better-than-expected second quarter.
Vodafone lost ground after a downgrade to 'sell' at Goldman Sachs.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,132.81 -0.05%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,962.83 0.86%
techMARK (TASX) 5,279.45 -0.21%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,071.50p 8.45%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 369.00p 6.46%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,239.50p 5.99%
Spirax Group (SPX) 6,480.00p 2.37%
Shell (SHEL) 2,734.50p 2.07%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 378.20p 1.94%
Croda International (CRDA) 2,594.00p 1.77%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,680.00p 1.75%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 235.00p 1.73%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 516.80p 1.69%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Mondi (MNDI) 1,105.00p -5.43%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,887.00p -5.39%
Glencore (GLEN) 298.80p -4.14%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,407.00p -3.95%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,146.00p -3.81%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 9,674.00p -3.79%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 80.78p -3.30%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,052.00p -2.37%
Haleon (HLN) 357.10p -2.14%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,402.00p -1.96%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Just Group (JUST) 211.50p 67.86%
JTC (JTC) 925.00p 12.53%
Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 123.80p 10.54%
Elementis (ELM) 171.00p 6.34%
Drax Group (DRX) 711.50p 4.94%
Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 404.00p 2.80%
Hammerson (HMSO) 302.20p 2.65%
Henderson Smaller Companies Inv Trust (HSL) 880.00p 2.56%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 475.50p 2.48%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 250.40p 1.95%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,495.00p -5.13%
Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,108.00p -3.74%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 549.00p -2.66%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 237.20p -2.55%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 115.80p -2.36%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 272.00p -2.30%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 419.90p -2.08%
HICL Infrastructure (HICL) 119.20p -1.49%
Mony Group (MONY) 200.60p -1.47%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,318.50p -1.38%
64.23 (0.70%)
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