(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still firmer by midday on Friday following strong gains in the US and Asia, with sentiment boosted by well-received earnings from Microsoft and NatWest powering ahead on the back of results.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 10,957.74, having hit another fresh intraday high, of 10,989.45
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The FTSE 100 tested new record highs on Friday morning as investors continue to climb the wall of worry and sentiment improves.
"The rebound in tech powered by Microsoft's extremely well-received numbers has helped lift the broader market mood, helping investors to put concerns about the Iran conflict and its continuing impact on ice for now.
"Miners were higher in London, with the UK market also boosted by some positive corporate updates."
Market participants were also digesting the latest data from Nationwide, which showed that annual house price growth eased in July.
House prices rose 1.8% on the year, down from 2.2% growth in June. On the month, prices were up 0.1% in June, following no growth the month before. The average price of a home was 277,542 in July, up from 277,484.
Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner said: "Market activity and house prices have remained soft in recent months, in part reflecting the uncertain economic backdrop. Geopolitical tensions remain high, with the conflict between Iran and the US again exerting upward pressure on energy prices and market interest rates in recent weeks. Financial market expectations for the future path of Bank Rate have been volatile, reflecting shifting views about the inflationary implications of events at home and abroad.
"Despite the ongoing risks from the latest energy price shock, the Monetary Policy Committee can take some comfort from the fact that consumer price inflation declined further in June. Signs that wage growth has continued to ease gives policymakers more breathing space to assess the extent to which tighter policy is necessary to ensure inflation returns to target."
In equity markets, NatWest shot to the top of the FTSE 100 as it reported strong half-year earnings driven by a jump in net interest income.
Profit for the half year to 30 June rose 19% to 3.1bn with net interest income up 12% to 6.9bn. The bank said it was expecting a return on tangible equity of more than 19% for the full year and would consider share buybacks from full year 2026, six months earlier than previously planned.
Sainsbury's was also in the black after agreeing to sell Argos to newly-formed retail vehicle Swift Partners - whose shareholders include former Co-op Group CEO Richard Pennycook - for 120m.
Heavily-weighted miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore were among the top performers as copper prices ticked higher.
On the downside, IG Group tumbled after saying late on Thursday that it had agreed to buy US daily fantasy sports and prediction markets operator Underdog for up to $1.3bn.
Melrose slumped as it warned it expects to take a hit of between 25m and 30m in the second half after an incident at its Garden Grove facility in California. The engineer and owner of GKN Aerospace also said it has decided to pause the current 175m share buyback programme pending clarification of the impact of the incident.
Greggs was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'sector perform' from 'outperform' at RBC Capital Markets following first-half results.
Taylor Wimpey fell as the housebuilder trimmed its forecast for annual home completions, reported a decline in first-half profit and completions, and said it was reducing shareholder returns due to a more prolonged than expected downturn in the housing market.
BA and Iberia owner IAG nudged lower as it reported a drop in first-half profit as the war in the Middle East caused fuel costs to surge, and said it no longer expects any capacity growth this year.
Educational publisher Pearson also lost ground after results.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,957.74 0.55%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,179.42 0.42%
techMARK (TASX) 6,092.49 0.57%
FTSE 100 - Risers
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 716.40p 4.83%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,511.60p 3.76%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,839.00p 3.19%
BAE Systems (BA.) 2,111.00p 3.07%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,792.00p 2.32%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 364.00p 2.31%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 7,283.00p 2.16%
Glencore (GLEN) 549.90p 2.12%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,340.50p 1.98%
Shell (SHEL) 3,374.50p 1.70%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 1,537.00p -9.32%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 461.80p -2.84%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 91.06p -2.42%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,164.50p -2.27%
Entain (ENT) 538.80p -2.00%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 116.95p -1.97%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,757.50p -1.89%
Relx plc (REL) 2,623.00p -1.83%
BT Group (BT.A) 200.50p -1.72%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,488.00p -1.62%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 383.00p 9.62%
AEP Plantations (AEP) 184.00p 7.60%
Pacific Horizon Inv Trust (PHI) 1,070.00p 6.79%
Templeton Emerging Markets Inv Trust (TEM) 310.50p 4.37%
JPMorgan Emerging Markets Growth & Income (JMGI) 163.80p 4.20%
Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 636.50p 4.17%
Fidelity Emerging Markets Limited Ptg NPV (FEML) 1,402.00p 4.16%
JPMorgan Emerging Markets Dividend Income (JEMI) 203.00p 3.84%
Schroder Asia Pacific Fund (SDP) 807.00p 3.46%
XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,676.00p 3.33%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Greggs (GRG) 1,914.00p -5.66%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 79.94p -3.91%
Hays (HAS) 58.05p -3.57%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 197.50p -2.88%
Michael Page (PAGE) 182.80p -2.61%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 4,000.00p -2.44%
WH Smith (SMWH) 436.20p -1.98%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,830.00p -1.91%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 598.00p -1.89%
SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 37.55p -1.83%
10.05 (0.09%)
0.00