Finance
UK stocks mixed; FTSE 100 marks best month in six
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on July 31, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on July 31, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
UK stocks closed mixed with FTSE 100 marking its best month in six. Key sectors like aerospace saw gains, while industrial miners declined.
(Reuters) -British equities closed mixed on Thursday, as investors assessed a spate of corporate earnings and looked for potential trade deals before the August 1 tariff deadline expires.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 fell 0.05%. However the index posted its best month in six.
The domestically focused midcap FTSE 250 index rose 0.9% and logged its fourth consecutive monthly gain.
Over the past month, investors have digested a flurry of trade headlines from Washington and are still assessing the impact of U.S. tariffs on corporate earnings, although attention is now turning to hopes of a Bank of England rate cut next week.
In the market, aerospace and defence stocks gained the most among sectors, up 5.1%, after Rolls-Royce raised its full-year operating profit and free cash flow outlook. Shares of the British aero-engineer hit a record high with 8.5% rise.
Shell gained 1.2%. The oil major's second-quarter net profit tumbled by almost a third, but exceeded analysts' forecasts.
On trade, Trump released fresh levies ranging from updates on copper tariffs, goods from Brazil, South Korea and India, as well as ending exemptions for small-value overseas shipments, ahead of his August 1 tariff deadline.
Industrial miners slipped 2.6% tracking lower copper prices. [MET/L]
Glencore, Anglo American and Antofagasta fell between 2.2% to 5.9%.
Among other corporate updates, St James's Place was the top gainer in the FTSE 100, up 11.9%, after the wealth manager's half-yearly net inflows doubled and it launched a new share buyback.
Rentokil soared 9.5% after the pest control company kept its full-year outlook unchanged and posted half-yearly revenue growth of 3.1%.
British American Tobacco rose 1.3% after the company exceeded its first-half profit estimates.
Conversely, Mondi fell the most in the FTSE 100, down 12.1%, after the packaging firm posted a near 17% fall in first-half pretax profit.
A slowdown in the London Stock Exchange Group's recurring revenue growth sent the company's shares down nearly 8%.
Just Group surged 67.5% to top the FTSE 250 midcap index, after Canada's Brookfield Wealth Solutions agreed to acquire the insurer for 2.4 billion pounds ($3.18 billion).
On the radar next week, the Bank of England is expected to cut borrowing costs for the fifth time since last August.
(Reporting by Sukriti Gupta and Sanchayaita Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Giles Elgood)
The FTSE 100 is a stock market index that represents the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, measured by market capitalization.
Corporate earnings refer to the profits a company generates during a specific period, typically reported quarterly or annually, reflecting its financial performance.
A Bank of England rate cut refers to a decrease in the interest rate set by the Bank, aimed at stimulating economic growth by making borrowing cheaper.
The FTSE 250 is a stock market index that includes the 250 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, excluding the FTSE 100.
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