U.S. stocks edge higher after weekly jobless claims; Salesforce gains
Investing.com -- British stocks rebounded on Thursday afternoon, joining the wider European markets in the green, while the pound held steady against the dollar after strengthening the previous day.
The blue-chip index FTSE 100 rose 0.2%, and the British GBP/USD was flat against the dollar at 1.33.
The DAX index in Germany rose 0.9%, and the CAC 40 in France gained 0.4%.
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UK round up
International Workplace Group Plc (LON:IWG), the world’s largest hybrid workspace platform, reiterated its medium-term financial targets on Thursday and announced plans to extend its share buyback program into 2026.
The company, which operates brands including Regus and Spaces, provided 2026 EBITDA guidance of $585 million to $625 million during its Investor Day in New York City. IWG also projected revenue growth of at least 4% in its company-owned division.
In other market news, Barclays upgraded Bodycote PLC (LON:BOY) to "overweight" from "equal weight," raising its price target to 765p from 635p. The new target represents about 21% upside from the December 2 closing price. The brokerage identified five catalysts that could lift the heat-treatment specialist’s shares and drive earnings growth, noting that demand tied to data-center power represents an underrecognized growth driver.
RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage on Mitie Group PLC (LON:MTO) with an "outperform" rating and a 195p price target. According to RBC, the UK facilities-management and compliance services provider enters its 2025-27 strategic period with strong revenue visibility, a growing base of higher-value work, and improving profitability metrics. The brokerage noted that Mitie holds approximately 14% share of the £30 billion UK outsourced FM market, making it the largest among domestic providers.
In regulatory news, UK communications regulator Ofcom has fined AVS Group Ltd £1 million for failing to implement robust age verification measures across its 18 adult websites. The company received an additional £50,000 penalty for not responding to information requests. AVS must now implement effective age verification within 72 hours or face daily penalties of £1,000.
Meanwhile, UK construction activity fell to its lowest level since May 2020 in November, with the S&P Global UK Construction PMI dropping to 39.4 from 44.1 in October. The construction sector has now experienced declining output for eleven consecutive months. All three sub-sectors recorded their fastest downturns in five-and-a-half years, with housing activity at 35.4, commercial construction at 43.8, and civil engineering at 30.0.
Rio Tinto PLC (LON:RIO) upgraded its 2025 copper production guidance to 860-875 kt from 780-850 kt while reducing unit cost guidance to 80-100 c/lb from 110-130 c/lb.
The Anglo-Australian miner outlined its restructuring strategy at its 2025 Capital Markets Day, where Chief Executive Simon Trott detailed plans to streamline operations into three core businesses: Iron Ore, Copper, and Aluminium & Lithium.
"We are building from a position of strength for Rio Tinto’s next chapter, sharpening and simplifying the business to deliver leading returns," Trott said in the notice to the Australian Securities Exchange and London Stock Exchange.
In other corporate news, AJ Bell PLC (LON:AJBA) reported record annual results with revenue rising 18% to £317.8 million and profit before tax increasing 22% to £137.8 million, slightly ahead of consensus estimates. Earnings per share reached 25.6 pence, while profit before tax margin improved to 43.4% from 42% in the previous year.
Frasers Group PLC (LON:FRAS) maintained its full-year profit guidance of £550 million to £600 million despite a 2.8% decline in half-year adjusted profit to £290.9 million. The British sporting goods retailer saw a £82.3 million surge in impairments and interest costs rising £11.3 million to £48.1 million, though retail profit from trading jumped 12.2% to £411.4 million.
Watches Of Switzerland Group PLC (LON:WOSG) reported stronger first-half earnings with pretax profit rising to £61 million from £41 million a year earlier. Revenue reached £845 million, up 10% at constant currencies, while adjusted EBITDA increased to £91 million from £87 million.
Balfour Beatty PLC (LON:BALF) expects its order book to grow by around 20% in 2025 to approximately £22.1 billion, up from £18.4 billion in FY2024, the infrastructure group said. The substantial expansion is primarily attributed to strong momentum in the UK energy market, which added over £3.5 billion of new orders during the year.
The London-based construction and engineering company also upgraded its 2025 average monthly net cash guidance to the top end of its previously announced range of £1.1 billion to £1.2 billion, compared to £766 million in FY2024.
SSP Group PLC (LON:SSPG) reported a 6% rise in revenue to £3.64 billion for fiscal year 2025, with underlying operating profit increasing 8.4% to £223 million. The food and beverage operator saw like-for-like sales growth of 3.7% and earnings per share rose 19% to 11.9 pence.
Baltic Classifieds Group PLC (LON:BCG) posted a 7% increase in revenue to €44.8 million for the six months ended October 31, 2025, maintaining its strong EBITDA margin at 78%. Profit for the period jumped 22% to €26.4 million, and the company declared an interim dividend of 1.3 € cents per share, up 8% from the previous year.
Morgan Advanced Materials Plc (LON:MGAMM) reset its medium-term financial targets, aiming for EBITA margins of 12% by 2028, slightly below its previous target range of 12.5%-15%.
Britain’s energy regulator Ofgem approved a £28 billion investment to strengthen the country’s energy networks, with funding set to rise to an estimated £90 billion by 2031. The package allocates £17.8 billion to maintain gas networks and £10.3 billion to strengthen the electricity transmission network.