Source: Sharecast
At 0825 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 9,157.24.
Sentiment was lifted after US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed a trade deal over the weekend that will see the EU pay 15% tariffs on most goods entering the US. Trump had threatened to implement a 30% tariff from Friday.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "After a roaring victory on the football field for the Lionesses to retain the title in Euro 2025, UK investors are continuing to enjoy the feel-good factor with a strong open expected for the FTSE 100 this morning. There’s potential for indices both sides of the Atlantic to reach new high-water marks today.
"But rather than the £800m or so spending boost on items such as beer and football shirts that the tournament’s provided, it’s the inking of a trade deal between the United States and European Union that’s helping markets spring into action this morning.
"The 15% tariff on all transatlantic EU exports should be a huge relief for multiple European industries, from pharmaceutical companies through to electronic manufacturers and luxury brands. The likes of Airbus will be glad to hear that certain products, including aircraft and plane parts, will not attract any tariffs. As the world’s biggest trade corridor (30% of global trade and 43% of world GDP), this removes a huge element of doubt ahead of the 1 August deadline.
"European stocks are also up this morning and US futures point to a solid start to the week later today. There’s little economic or corporate news expected today, but looking to the rest of the week, investors have plenty of central bank meetings, economic data points, and earnings season read outs to get to grips with.
"The Fed is widely expected to hold rates steady on Wednesday, but markets will also be closely watching second-quarter US GDP figures. Forecasts expect a 2.4% rebound following a 0.5% in Q1. Surging imports caused by tariff fears are now thought to have subsided. Elsewhere, there’s also Eurozone second-quarter GDP numbers to keep an eye on and a rate decision by the Bank of Japan."
In equity markets, GSK rallied after entering into a partnership with Chinese pharmaceutical outfit Hengrui Pharma to jointly develop up to 12 medicines, providing new growth opportunities for the UK pharmaceutical group beyond 2031.
Food producer Cranswick gained after it held annual guidance as like-for-like revenue rose 7.9% on the back of new business wins and increasing consumer demand for natural protein.
Cranswick still expects adjusted profit before tax to be in line with consensus expectations of between £206.5m and £213.6m.
FirstGroup advanced after saying it has bought Tetley's Coaches, a Leeds-based coach and bus operator that has been in operation for over 75 years, for an undisclosed sum.
Associated British Foods nudged higher after a Sky News report over the weekend that the company - which owns Kingsmill's immediate parent, Allied Bakeries - has proposed paying around £75m to buy Hovis from its long-term private equity backers.
On the downside, Ocean Wilsons - a supplier of maritime services in Brazil - tumbled after it agreed a £900m all-share merger with Hansa.
IT support and services firm Computacenter slumped as it said it continues to expect FY25 adjusted operating profits to be ahead of FY26 after delivering strong revenue growth in the first half.
However, it also said it experienced softer trading in Germany and France in the second quarter, with the performance in France significantly weaker than last year.
Computacenter said that while the broader geopolitical and macro uncertainty is expected to persist, it expects some recovery in public sector activity in Germany in the second half while France is expected to remain challenging.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,157.24 0.40%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,233.13 0.52%
techMARK (TASX) 5,279.58 0.37%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,654.00p 2.47%
WPP (WPP) 441.10p 1.89%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 7,470.00p 1.72%
ICG (ICG) 2,180.00p 1.58%
Croda International (CRDA) 2,937.00p 1.56%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,176.00p 1.55%
GSK (GSK) 1,414.00p 1.54%
Spirax Group (SPX) 6,295.00p 1.53%
SEGRO (SGRO) 662.40p 1.44%
BP (BP.) 403.50p 1.43%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
BT Group (BT.A) 218.30p -1.98%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,388.00p -1.63%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,029.00p -1.34%
Glencore (GLEN) 314.60p -1.15%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 3,940.00p -0.91%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,830.50p -0.87%
Centrica (CNA) 161.35p -0.86%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 15,490.00p -0.71%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,874.00p -0.67%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,281.00p -0.61%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 340.20p 4.74%
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 718.00p 3.46%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 136.20p 3.34%
NCC Group (NCC) 153.60p 3.09%
FirstGroup (FGP) 224.60p 2.56%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 86.75p 2.24%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,108.00p 2.21%
Law Debenture Corp. (LWDB) 1,028.00p 2.19%
Carnival (CCL) 2,055.00p 2.14%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,990.00p 2.05%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Ocean Wilsons Holdings Ltd. (OCN) 1,305.00p -10.62%
Computacenter (CCC) 2,142.00p -4.12%
Foresight Group Holdings Limited NPV (FSG) 450.00p -2.28%
Rathbones Group (RAT) 1,850.00p -2.12%
JTC (JTC) 813.00p -1.45%
Chemring Group (CHG) 536.00p -1.29%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 494.80p -1.00%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 2,272.00p -0.87%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 277.20p -0.86%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 277.00p -0.72%