FTSE 100 Trades Slightly Lower

2026-07-01 07:48 By Agna Gabriel 1 min. read

The FTSE 100 traded flat to lower on Wednesday, weighed down by corporate updates and a drop in gold prices that pressured precious metal producers.

AB Foods fell roughly 2.5% after warning that its sugar division suffered further deterioration from the Middle East conflict, even as plans to spin off fashion retailer Primark progressed.

Also, Fresnillo was down 2.1%, and Endeavour was falling 0.8% on lower gold prices.

On the other hand, defense heavyweights provided a crucial upside buffer, with aerospace company BAE Systems up 0.8%, submarine contractor Babcock rising over 2%, and engine-maker Rolls-Royce up over 1%.

AstraZeneca and GSK were also up around 0.3-0.7%.

On the macroeconomic front, Nationwide reported that UK house prices remained flat on a monthly basis in June, missing growth expectations.

However, the annualized housing rate rose 2.2%, supported by a brighter market outlook as anticipated Bank of England interest rate hikes began to soften.



News Stream
FTSE 100 Trades Slightly Lower
The FTSE 100 traded flat to lower on Wednesday, weighed down by corporate updates and a drop in gold prices that pressured precious metal producers. AB Foods fell roughly 2.5% after warning that its sugar division suffered further deterioration from the Middle East conflict, even as plans to spin off fashion retailer Primark progressed. Also, Fresnillo was down 2.1%, and Endeavour was falling 0.8% on lower gold prices. On the other hand, defense heavyweights provided a crucial upside buffer, with aerospace company BAE Systems up 0.8%, submarine contractor Babcock rising over 2%, and engine-maker Rolls-Royce up over 1%. AstraZeneca and GSK were also up around 0.3-0.7%. On the macroeconomic front, Nationwide reported that UK house prices remained flat on a monthly basis in June, missing growth expectations. However, the annualized housing rate rose 2.2%, supported by a brighter market outlook as anticipated Bank of England interest rate hikes began to soften.
2026-07-01
The FTSE 100 Index Opens 0.08% Lower
The FTSE 100 Index is falling 8 points. Losses were driven by Associated British Foods (-2.44%), JD Sports Fashion (-2.24%) and Compass (-2.23%). Biggest rises came from Babcock International (2.02%), J Sainsbury (1.36%) and Melrose (1.03%).
2026-07-01
FTSE 100 Rises More than 3% in Q2
The FTSE 100 rose slightly on Tuesday, securing its sixth consecutive quarterly gain with an over 3% rise in Q2 following a 2.5% climb in Q1, marking the index's strongest performance streak since 2022. Market momentum was led by a rally in aerospace and defense shares, with Rolls-Royce climbing 2.1% and BAE Systems adding 2%. Heightened geopolitical optimism and improving base metal values similarly lifted mining stocks like Rio Tinto and Glencore. Financial institutions provided solid support as Lloyds Banking jumped 2.1% alongside steady gains for HSBC, Barclays, and NatWest, while J Sainsbury rose 1.3% on heatwave driven food sales. Conversely, heavyweights AstraZeneca, Unilever, and BP all dropped over 1%, and British American Tobacco fell 0.9%. On the macroeconomic front, the UK’s annualized first quarter GDP growth was scaled back to 0.9%, while quarterly growth matched projections at 0.6% and shop inflation held flat at 1.2%.
2026-06-30