WH Smith (LON:SMWH) high-street sale faces investor focus after TG Jones court delay
TG Jones, which bought WH Smith’s high street stores, was still waiting on a High Court
South32 Ltd (ASX:S32) share price bounce leaves June selloff intact before quarterly update
South32 Ltd entered Tuesday’s pre-open after a 1.79% rise on Monday, but the bounce did little to repair June’s damage. The miner closed at A$3.98; since June 22 it is down 4.1%,
FTSE 250 lags FTSE 100 as housebuilders pressured by mortgage drop
London had finished trading at the usual 0800-1630 BST hours when the numbers came in. The main story wasn’t the FTSE 100’s minor fall. Domestic names took the bigger hit, with mid-caps dropping harder than the FTSE’s biggest stocks. Hargreaves Lansdown’s market board was running late, with the FTSE 100 off 23.80 points at 10,484.22. The FTSE 250 dropped 132.34 points to 23,014.85. The FTSE All-Share slipped 0.26%.
Macquarie trades near record, staff plan buyup mostly off-market
Macquarie Group Ltd heads into Tuesday’s pre-open close to a record. But the A$734 million employee share plan isn’t the real figure for investors. Only A$53.3 million was actually bought on the market. The rest happened off market, meaning the exchange-traded purchase was much smaller than the full staff-share number. ASX cash trading was not open at the dateline since it was still ahead of the standard session. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sydney time on business days. June 30 isn’t on ASX’s 2026 list of named holidays.
National Grid stock climbs, £70bn grid plan exceeds market cap
National Grid plc added ground Monday, outpacing the broader London market. Investors continued to pile in, backing a regulated asset-growth pitch with a footprint that now outstrips the company's equity value. The stock was last seen at 1,255p, up 0.76%, at 15:02:06 BST. It traded between 1,239.5p and 1,257p so far today. The FTSE 100 slipped 0.06% on the same feed. Reuters said UK shares lost ground earlier after Middle East tensions weighed on sentiment.
Diageo (LON:DGE) shares edge up with traders watching cost-cut talk ahead of August update
Diageo plc climbed in London Monday, outperforming the FTSE 100 as traders looked to cost cuts and broker upgrades, setting aside lagging U.S. spirits sales. The London Stock Exchange was open as usual, with trading from 0800 to 1630 local time. Davy quoted Diageo at 1,596.00p, up 19.50p, or 1.24%, at 1401 BST with a 20-minute lag. Shares opened at 1,571.00p, hit a low of 1,556.10p, and pushed to 1,598.50p. That set a 2.7% range for the day against Friday’s close.
Lloyds (LON:LLOY) buyback questioned as mortgages drop, stock eyes 109p
Lloyds Banking Group plc shares saw a slight gain in late-morning trade in London on Monday. The move came as new data showed UK mortgage approvals dropped about 15% in May, raising questions for Lloyds, given its heavy reliance on home loans. Lloyds traded up on delayed UK quotes, with two other local bank stocks down.
Tesco trades higher as repurchase hits 59% of target, grocery share cools
Tesco PLC traded higher in London on Monday. A new buyback update showed Tesco has now executed around 59% of its planned £750 million repurchase, providing some direct per-share support as UK grocery volume figures remain mixed. London Stock Exchange was open for business, with the regular session running from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. BST. TradingHours.com confirmed the exchange was open Monday. As of 10:55 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.27% at 10,479.49. Tesco traded at 463.70p, up 3.80p, or 0.83%, according to delayed London South East data.
easyJet (LON:EZJ) stock trails Castlelake offer on deal terms snag
easyJet plc shares remain priced with a takeover discount, after the airline gave Castlelake access to only limited commercial information. The delayed quote showed the stock at 580.2p to sell, 580.6p to buy, off 0.51% for the day. Shares opened at 587p and closed previously at 583p. The discount figure is what investors are watching. Castlelake put forward a fourth offer at 650p a share in cash. easyJet turned it down, calling it too low, but said more access to data could bring a “more attractive proposal”.
IAG shares dip on Heathrow cost dispute, offsetting oil price drop and dividend
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA shares dropped Monday. But for investors, fuel wasn’t the only concern. The British Airways parent is trading close to its old highs, as a new dispute about who pays for Heathrow’s expansion brings attention to a costly item the company can’t hedge. IAG was last at 473.25 pence, off 9.45 pence, as of 0946 BST. Volume was 2.24 million shares. The stock is trading 3.99% under its 52-week high of 492.90 pence from June 25, but it's still up 39.5% for the year, per delayed market data.
Tesco trades higher as repurchase hits 59% of target, grocery share cools
Tesco PLC traded higher in London on Monday. A new buyback update showed Tesco has now executed around 59% of its planned £750 million repurchase, providing some direct per-share support as UK grocery volume figures remain mixed. London Stock Exchange was open for business, with the regular session running from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. BST. TradingHours.com confirmed the exchange was open Monday. As of 10:55 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.27% at 10,479.49. Tesco traded at 463.70p, up 3.80p, or 0.83%, according to delayed London South East data.
easyJet (LON:EZJ) stock trails Castlelake offer on deal terms snag
easyJet plc shares remain priced with a takeover discount, after the airline gave Castlelake access to only limited commercial information. The delayed quote showed the stock at 580.2p to sell, 580.6p to buy, off 0.51% for the day. Shares opened at 587p and closed previously at 583p. The discount figure is what investors are watching. Castlelake put forward a fourth offer at 650p a share in cash. easyJet turned it down, calling it too low, but said more access to data could bring a “more attractive proposal”.
IAG shares dip on Heathrow cost dispute, offsetting oil price drop and dividend
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA shares dropped Monday. But for investors, fuel wasn’t the only concern. The British Airways parent is trading close to its old highs, as a new dispute about who pays for Heathrow’s expansion brings attention to a costly item the company can’t hedge. IAG was last at 473.25 pence, off 9.45 pence, as of 0946 BST. Volume was 2.24 million shares. The stock is trading 3.99% under its 52-week high of 492.90 pence from June 25, but it's still up 39.5% for the year, per delayed market data.
Glencore lags other miners as copper tightness doesn’t boost shares
Glencore plc ticked higher early in London on Monday, adding 0.79% to 518.75 pence in a Cboe Europe print at 09:10:56 BST. The move gave little relief to a shaky short-term trend for the big FTSE 100 commodities group. The FTSE 100 slipped 0.08% in delayed trading. What’s strange is Glencore shares dropped even though copper supply is still tight. LME cash copper finished at $13,287 a tonne on June 26, up 0.7% from a day ago. LME copper inventories slid to 336,475 tonnes from 349,225 tonnes on June 22, down 12,750 tonnes.
BP stock trails Shell after Brent rally leaves discount on debt
BP PLC ticked up on Monday. But gains lagged Shell as traders continued to give BP a weaker read, keeping a discount in place over its higher debt load, despite oil pushing higher after new U.S.-Iran strikes. BP was at 470.60 pence, gaining 1.20p, or 0.26%, as of 08:55 BST after London opened. Shell added 13p to 2,911p, up 0.45% at the same time. BP volume stood at about 2.02 million shares, only 4% of the 65-day average. Shell saw 272,110 shares change hands, roughly 3% of its 65-day average.
Rolls-Royce (LON:RR) stock steady as China A330neo deal eyes cash flow
Rolls-Royce Holdings plc ticked higher in early London trading on Monday, but the gain was modest for a stock often seen as a top test of aero-engine cash generation in Europe. By 09:04 BST, shares changed hands at 1,414.60p, up 0.60% during London’s main session, as the FTSE 100 slipped around 0.11%. China Eastern’s latest order landed with 25 A330neo widebodies on the table at a sticker price of around $9.35 billion. The jets run on Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines—so with two engines for each plane, that’s 50 installed. The filing seen by Reuters didn't break out a separate price for the engines or say anything about service contracts.
Porvair (LON:PRV) gains as Deutsche Bank calls Buy, Metal Melt drives H1
Porvair plc shares closed higher Tuesday, after Deutsche Bank AG started coverage at Buy. The stock ended the day quoted at 822p to sell and 826p to buy, up 4p, or 0.49%. Earlier in the session, Porvair traded as high as 834p in London, almost 2% up, after the broker note. The broker’s 1,050p target is the main figure for the stock. That’s 28.4% above Monday’s 818p close and 14.1% higher than AJ Bell’s stated high for the year at 920p. With 46.50 million shares in issue per Hargreaves Lansdown, that difference is around £108 million in equity value.
Legal & General buyback leaves stock near year high as yield gap narrows
Legal & General Group Plc has spent more than a third of its £1.2 billion buyback while its share price stands less than 3% from its year high. For income funds, the price paid in the buyback has become the main near-term number. The London cash session had ended at the dateline. The London Stock Exchange’s normal weekday trading hours are 0800 to 1630 local time.
Steppe Cement (LON:STCM) steady, H1 revenue close to valuation
Steppe Cement Ltd focused on prices and shares on Tuesday, rather than demand. First-half revenue climbed 43% in tenge even as Kazakhstan’s cement market didn’t move much, and the share price held at 20.50 pence. MarketScreener listed the market cap at $59.96 million, just below the $61 million in first-half sales. The Kazakhstan-based cement maker sold 978,950 tonnes in the first half, up from 850,424 tonnes last year. Revenue increased to KZT29.59 billion from KZT20.72 billion, boosted by stronger delivered cement prices and a two-point gain in market share to 15%.
Beauty Tech Group stock up as FY26 profit floor outpaces sales growth
The Beauty Tech Group Plc told investors Tuesday profit will outpace sales in its latest upgrade. The at-home beauty device company said first-half sales came in well ahead of last year, and now sees 2026 revenue and adjusted EBITDA at least £170 million and £45 million. The company had guided the market to expect £161.7 million revenue and £41.5 million in adjusted EBITDA before the update. The new minimum lifts revenue guidance by £8.3 million and adds £3.5 million to the adjusted EBITDA figure. That moves the margin floor up to 26.5%, compared with 25.7% in the previous consensus.
Vianet (LON:VNET) up as AGM details bring cash return into focus
Vianet Group plc shares edged higher Tuesday, outperforming a soft AIM market after an AGM update focused attention on recurring revenue. The stock closed at 68p, a gain of 2p or 3.03%, after the London market closed. LSE regular hours for July 7 ran 0800-1630 BST. Vianet outperformed the small-cap sector. The FTSE AIM All-Share dropped 1.14% according to Barclays, but Vianet was quoted at 66p to 70p heading into the close.
Aviva shares tick higher after Tesco deal aims at parents’ insurance gap
Aviva plc ticked up Tuesday after tying up a distribution deal with Tesco plc, offering a new sign on Aviva’s push to grow protection sales. Protection still trailed the insurer’s wealth and general insurance business in the first-quarter update. Aviva’s investor page had the shares trading at 677.80 pence, up 0.30%, at 15:40 UK time. Market cap on the same page was 20.3 billion pounds as of Monday’s close. Hargreaves Lansdown listed the bid-offer spread at 677.60p/678.00p with a prior close at 675.80p, volume of 3.22 million shares, a 5.80% dividend yield and P/E of 25.12.
Iofina stock trades higher after low-capex iodine expansion distinguishes it from AIM peers
Iofina plc moved higher late Tuesday before the London close. Shares gained even as the AIM slipped. The quote was from a routine London session—LSE trades between 0800 and 1630 BST, with no bank holiday listed for July 7 in England and Wales. Iofina hasn’t put out anything new since the June 30 Director/PDMR notice. Market focus is still on earlier updates: the new brine supply, low plant spending, and iodine prices above $70/kg.
IAG trims voting power with buyback as fuel costs return
IAG slid in late London trading Tuesday, but the bigger move for investors came a day earlier when International Consolidated Airlines Group disclosed it had pulled about 191 million shares into treasury. That lowers the number of shares with votes while the stock trades near a 52-week high. IAG was at 478.70p at 1558 BST, down 1.2%. Volume was 4.47 million, well below the 17.20 million average. The change in share count isn't just window dressing. IAG reported having 4.4207 billion voting shares as of July 6, a drop of 44.3 million since May 1. Total issued capital was unchanged at 4.6117 billion shares. Using the current voting share base, a 1p move in the stock equals around £44.2 million
NeoTerra shares gain on Monte Muambe gallium update, rare earth pressure grows
NeoTerra Group PLC climbed Tuesday after the company, which recently changed its name, reported that results from initial Monte Muambe work connected its fluorspar process to a potential gallium pre-concentration stream. The announcement gave investors another angle to consider the small-cap miner as a rare-earth supply chain play. Shares last traded at 2.25 pence on delayed lse.co.uk data, up 0.25p, or 12.5%. About 5.94 million shares changed hands, making up 1.3% of the 457.67 million on issue. Market value stood at 10.30 million pounds. The stock showed a 0.30p bid-ask spread, or 14.3%, pointing to thin trading behind the day’s move.
Sutton Harbour: tiny 7-share deal hits spotlight on stock’s liquidity, debt deadlines
Sutton Harbour Group Plc was last quoted at 4.49p, up 12.25%, at 15:02 BST during the LSE's 0800-1630 session. Volume stood at seven shares. Trading data from AJ Bell showed the open and previous close at 4.00p, with a high at 4.49p. Market cap was reported at £6.42 million. That's what investors are seeing. The move on the screen is big, but the actual traded value is very small. Just seven shares changed hands at 4.49p—so about 31 pence worth of stock. Still, the quote jumped 0.49p. With 142.94 million shares on the table, that move adds about £700,000 to the headline market cap.
Corero Network Security thinly traded on AIM after Middle East DDoS partnership
Corero Network Security plc traded in London Tuesday with a 9p-10p spread after it said it formed a channel partnership in the Middle East. The price move was hard to read, as trading was thin and the company didn’t disclose any contract value. The London Stock Exchange operated as normal from 0800 to 1630 BST. Corero said Commercis will bring its DDoS protection platform to telecom, internet, banking, government, energy, critical infrastructure and enterprise customers in the Middle East. The announcement named the partner and listed the sectors, but didn't mention deal size, margins, when the rollout starts or what kind of revenue to expect.
Shoe Zone PLC (LON:SHOE) share price jumps on thin AIM turnover as family stake limits float
Shoe Zone PLC rose in London on Tuesday, but the tape showed a small amount of cash moved the stock. The bid-offer spread was 45p to 50p and London South East data showed a 47.5p price at 13:00:13 BST, up 3p on the day. The latest ordinary trade shown was a 10,000-share buy at 48.45p at 12:56:12 BST. The stock’s listed regulatory-news feed showed no Shoe Zone RNS after May 20, when holdings and director-dealing notices followed the May 11 interim results and the April 22 profit warning. That makes Tuesday’s move mainly a liquidity and register story, not a fresh earnings story.
Insig AI (AIM: INSG) stock up after CEO puts in cash offer above market price
Insig AI PLC shares moved higher Tuesday after CEO Richard Bernstein made a new offer to buy shares at a premium to the current price. Still, the offer price was less than the 20p-a-share level the company mentioned in a funding update three months back. At 15:02 BST, trading in London was still going during the London Stock Exchange’s normal 0800-1630 BST session. Google Finance quoted Insig AI at 13.60p, up 15.74%, as of 14:14 BST. Volume stood at 388,510 shares versus an average 281,390.
Petards (LON:PEG) shares climb after £1.4m of orders increase 2026 revenue cover
Petards Group plc traded higher Tuesday after the AIM-listed security and surveillance tech firm reported over £1.4 mln in new orders. The amount compares with the company’s current market cap. Fidelity’s data showed Petards with a sell quote at 10.00p and buy at 10.50p, up 8.16%, as of 13:03 BST. The FTSE AIM All-Share dropped 0.60% at 14:30 BST, which put Petards close to nine percentage points ahead of the small-cap index for the day.
Vodafone (LON:VOD) shares up as market looks at buyback details and 23 billion voting base
Vodafone Group Public Limited Company ticked higher with London’s blue chips on Tuesday, but investors zeroed in on changes to the share count. The shares closed up half a penny just below 99p. Vodafone’s new voting-rights update showed a reduced figure for ownership calculations following recent buybacks and shifts to treasury stock. The London Stock Exchange traded normally, open from 08:00 to 16:30 BST. July 7 was a regular Tuesday trading day, according to TradingHours. At 14:07 BST, Davy data showed Vodafone at 98.60p, up 0.52p or 0.53%. Davy Group FTSE 100 was ahead 0.43% at 10,697.65 on delayed stats from Investors Chronicle. Earlier, Reuters put it up 0.2% at 10,673.85 at 10:57 GMT as energy stocks lifted the index.
Wolfram Resources shares reach 52-week high in London as cash falls under £11,000
Wolfram Resources stock hit a 52-week high in London trading, but the move came on very light volume. The company’s cash is now below £11,000. Wolfram Resources PLC traded at 2.00p in London on Tuesday, up 14.29%. Shares are back to their 52-week high. Only 300 shares changed hands, according to Google Finance, about £6 worth at the Tuesday price. Market cap stands at £1.64 million. The London Stock Exchange runs from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. BST, so this dateline landed during open trade.
Victrex rises as Q3 volumes recover
Victrex plc shares traded higher Tuesday in London after the polymer specialist posted a volume recovery in Q3 but stuck to its current profit outlook. The London Stock Exchange was open as usual from 0800 to 1630 BST. Shares jumped 17.7% to 685p at 13:53 BST, after reaching as high as 704.05p. Google Finance reported 592,910 shares traded, more than double the average volume of 280,040. Hargreaves Lansdown data had the FTSE 250 up 0.03%.
Keller stock jumps after order book tops 60% of sales forecast
Keller Group plc shares rose Tuesday after the ground-engineering company said it expects full-year revenue and underlying operating profit to beat consensus by a wide margin, thanks to a jump in U.S. infrastructure and data center orders. The ramp in orders now puts the company’s valuation in focus for the rest of the year. London stocks were trading with the market open as of publication. The London Stock Exchange’s regular hours on July 7 are 0800 to 1630 BST. Keller last changed hands at 3,252p at 14:02 BST, up 570p for the day. Volume hit 708,230 shares, topping Google Finance’s average of 173,280 by more than four times.
Proteome Sciences shares leap on slim trading, debt still higher than AIM value
Proteome Sciences shares jumped on thin action in London, but the company's debt remains much larger than its AIM market cap. Proteome Sciences plc shares moved up in London on Tuesday. The gain came with light trading and no new announcement, keeping the focus on the balance sheet and current order flow.
Tanker attacks in Strait of Hormuz revive supply risks, split shipping routes
Two tankers were hit near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, snapping a weeks-long run of steadier Gulf shipping. LNG carrier Al Rekayyat, owned by Qatar Gas Transport Co., was struck near Oman’s coast. Security sources said a Saudi-flagged crude tanker, believed to be Wedyan from Bahri, was also damaged off Oman. Dubai — Cash trading wrapped up in Riyadh and Doha. The Saudi Exchange holds its main session from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Riyadh time. Qatar’s open is 9:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Doha time, according to the Qatar Stock Exchange.