FTSE 100 today: Stocks climb, GBP slips further; Unilever, Lloyds report earnings

Investing.com -- British stocks rose on Thursday even as the pound continued to decline, while broader European markets traded mixed, with major U.K. companies including Unilever and Lloyds reporting their earnings.

The blue-chip index FTSE 100 closed 0.7% higher and the British GBP/USD dropped 0.3% against the dollar to 1.3320. 

The DAX index in Germany gained 0.3%, and the CAC 40 in France rose 0.2%. 

U.K. earnings round up:

• Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LON:LLOY) reported a 36% drop in third-quarter pretax profit to £1.17 billion ($1.57 billion) as costs related to the motor-finance mis-selling scandal weighed on results. The figure broadly matched analyst expectations of around £1 billion, while year-to-date profit fell to £4.7 billion from £5.1 billion in the same period of 2024.
• Unilever PLC (LON:ULVR) reported a 3.9% rise in underlying sales for the third quarter, supported by balanced volume and pricing growth. Turnover fell 3.5% to €14.7 billion due to currency impacts and disposals. The consumer goods maker reaffirmed its full-year outlook as it prepares to complete the spin-off of its Ice Cream unit in the fourth quarter.
• In other earnings news, London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LON:LSEG) raised its full-year profit margin guidance after reporting stronger-than-expected third-quarter results. Total income excluding recoveries rose 6.4% to £2.22 billion, beating consensus by about 1%, with broad-based growth across its data, analytics and markets operations. Shares soar after the announcement. 
• Schroders PLC (LON:SDR) shares fell after the asset manager reported third-quarter net new money of £2.2 billion, below analyst expectations. Total assets under management rose 5% to £817 billion, 2% above consensus, supported by market and foreign exchange movements.
• St. James’s Place PLC (LON:SJP) shares dropped despite funds under management surpassing £200 billion for the first time. The wealth manager reported gross inflows of £5.7 billion for the third quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of £5 billion, but cautioned about potentially weaker flows in the fourth quarter.
• InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (LON:IHG) reported a slight increase in global RevPAR of 0.1% for the third quarter, with year-to-date growth reaching 1.4%. Regional performance was mixed, with EMEAA delivering strong RevPAR growth of 2.8%, while Americas declined 0.9% and Greater China decreased 1.8%.
• Inchcape PLC (LON:INCH) reported 8% organic revenue growth in the third quarter to £2.3 billion, up 7% at both constant currency and reported basis, in line with company expectations.
• AJ Bell PLC (LON:AJBA) reported record platform assets under administration of £103.3 billion for the year ended September 30, up 19% from the previous year, driven by strong customer growth and favorable market conditions.
• Wickes Group PLC (LON:WIX) shares edged up after reporting a 6.9% increase in third-quarter revenue to £420.1 million, driven by volume growth across all business segments.
• Dunelm Group PLC (LON:DNLM) shares slipped despite reporting a 6.2% increase in first quarter sales to £428 million. Investors reacted to management’s indication that profits would be more heavily weighted toward the second half of the fiscal year than previously expected.
• Renishaw PLC (LON:RSW) shares fell after reporting first quarter revenue below analyst expectations. The company posted a 2.8% increase in constant currency revenue, falling short of the 4.6% consensus forecast.
• Antofagasta PLC (LON:ANTO) reported third-quarter copper production of 161,800 tonnes, up 1% from the previous quarter, as the mining company benefited from record by-product credits that drove net cash costs lower.
• Rentokil Initial PLC (LON:RTO) shares jumped after reporting third-quarter revenue of $1.81 billion, up 4.6% year-over-year. Organic revenue growth stood at 3.4%, above the 2.4% expected by consensus estimates.
• In other news, Alphabet Inc’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google has reportedly struck a multimillion-pound investment deal with THG Ingenuity, the e-commerce fulfillment and logistics arm. According to Sky News, the investment takes the form of a convertible instrument that could eventually give Google a small direct equity stake at a valuation of $1 billion (£749 million) or more.