TSX slightly higher on employment data
Investing.com -- British stocks gained on Thursday, boosted by earnings as Currys and Grafton shares rose, while the pound fell but held the $1.34 level.
The blue-chip index FTSE 100 rose 0.4% and the British GBP/USD fell 0.1% against the dollar to around 1.3437.
The DAX index in Germany rose 0.7%, and the CAC 40 in France fell 0.3%.
BoE survey shows steady price expectations, softer hiring; eyes gilt repo reforms
British companies maintained steady price inflation expectations in August while showing softer hiring trends, according to a Bank of England survey released Thursday.
The Decision Maker Panel survey, which gathered responses from 2,126 participants between August 8 and 22, revealed that realized annual own-price growth increased slightly by 0.1 percentage points to 3.7% in the three months to August.
Year-ahead own-price inflation expectations remained unchanged at 3.7%, suggesting businesses anticipate pricing pressures to stay stable over the next 12 months.
In a separate development, the Bank of England released a discussion paper on Thursday exploring potential reforms to strengthen the UK gilt repo market.
The paper, developed with the Financial Conduct Authority and input from HM Treasury and the UK Debt Management Office, examines two key measures: expanding central clearing of gilt repo transactions and implementing minimum haircuts on non-centrally cleared gilt repo transactions.
FTSE movers: Currys surges on sales jump, Jet2 slumps on late bookings, Grafton gains on outlook
Currys PLC (LON:CURY) shares jumped 15.7% after the British electrical retailer reported a 3% increase in group sales over the first 17 weeks of its financial year.
The company said sales were supported by strong demand for air conditioners, fans, and gaming products during the hot summer.
Currys also announced the launch of a £50 million ($68 million) share buyback program, which will start immediately. This follows a previously declared £25 million cash dividend.
In other market news, Jet2 PLC (LON:JET2) shares sank more than 12% after the airline and tour operator reported later summer bookings and weaker flight-only pricing in its annual general meeting trading update.
The company noted that for summer 2025, demand has shifted later in the season, with late bookings becoming more prevalent since July. Analysts have cut earnings forecasts in response.
Grafton Group PLC (LON:GFTU_u) shares rose after the building materials distributor confirmed its full-year 2025 outlook, citing a recovery in recent trading.
The company posted revenue of £1.25 billion in the first half, a 10.1% increase from a year earlier, with like-for-like sales up 2.4%. Adjusted EBIT rose 9.5% to £91 million, slightly ahead of expectations.
International Public Partnerships reported a sharp increase in profit before tax for the first half of 2025, with earnings rising to £142.6 million from £16.7 million a year earlier.
The FTSE 250-listed infrastructure investment company said its net asset value rose 1% to £2.74 billion as of June 30, compared with £2.71 billion at the end of 2024.
Genus PLC (LON:GNS) reported higher annual profit and record cash flow after securing U.S. approval for its gene-edited pigs, the first of their kind cleared for the food supply chain.
For the year ended June 30, 2025, adjusted profit before tax rose 24% to £74.3 million from £59.8 million.
WAG Payment Solutions PLC (LON:WPS), or Eurowag, affirmed its full-year outlook after reporting first-half revenue above expectations.
The company posted a 15% year-on-year increase in first-half net revenue to €162 million, coming in 4% above consensus. Eurowag shares slipped 2% in early London trading.
Safestore Holdings Plc (LON:SAFE) reported a 5.7% year-on-year increase in group revenue for the third quarter at constant exchange rates, with like-for-like group revenue rising 3.4%.
In the U.K., revenue climbed 2.8% on a like-for-like basis.
Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LON:LLOY) plans to place about 3,000 employees, the bottom 5% of its 63,000 staff, at risk of dismissal as part of a major performance shake-up, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
The initiative is designed to lift efficiency and comes as CEO Charlie Nunn finalizes a strategy to cut costs and diversify income.
BT Group PLC (LON:BT) shares slipped after BofA Securities cut its rating on the company to "neutral" from "buy," arguing that the stock has reached full valuation following a sharp rally this year.
Analysts said BT’s shares have climbed about 45% year to date, outperforming Dutch rival KPN by around 30%. BofA left its price objective unchanged at 210p.