News 4 July 2026

Etihad Orders 10 Boeing Jets, Raising Talk of Hard-to-Get 787 Slots
··

Etihad Orders 10 Boeing Jets, Raising Talk of Hard-to-Get 787 Slots

Etihad Airways is nearing a deal for 10 more Boeing 787 jets, according to people briefed on the matter. The order would boost the Abu Dhabi carrier’s long-haul fleet, as early slots for wide-body deliveries are tight. Wide-bodies are twin-aisle planes mostly used for international routes. Reuters said the deal might be unveiled at the July 20-24 Farnborough Airshow, but sources said talks are still ongoing. Etihad and Boeing both declined to comment. The warning is getting more airtime these days — investors are watching not just how many jets sell, but which airlines can actually secure deliveries fast enough to cash in.
July 9, 2026
BAT stock lags FTSE as AI cuts face dividend question
·

BAT stock lags FTSE as AI cuts face dividend question

British American Tobacco p.l.c. finished the week down despite bouncing mid-week. The market saw its AI-driven cost cuts as a move to protect guidance, not a reason to push the shares higher. The London Stock Exchange was closed Saturday. The stock last changed hands Friday at 4,621p, off 13p, or 0.28%. Volume was 1.04 million. The stock slipped 2.7% since last Friday’s close at 4,751p. Shares saw the biggest one-day drop on Wednesday, not on Monday after job cuts were announced. The market didn’t dismiss the cost-cutting plan, but shares moved lower through the week.
July 4, 2026
Anglo American share price rise triggers £448m swing on merger-era share count
··

Anglo American (LON:AAL) gains, Teck (TSE:TECK.B) swap ratio turns thin on low turnover

Anglo American plc finished the week up, but volume told the real story. With London shut Saturday, the last close to trade was Friday at 3,785p, up 1.18% for the day and 1.8% for the week. The move ran out of steam as turnover dried up, only 1.28 million shares traded Friday compared to 7.88 million on Tuesday. That’s important because Anglo’s share price now sets the value in the merger formula. Teck Resources Limited said this week it sent out the forms needed for the Anglo deal. Teck holders get 1.3301 Anglo shares per Teck share, or exchangeable shares if they qualify in Canada. With Anglo closing Friday at its latest price, the implied value for the share part
July 4, 2026
GSK (LON:GSK) rises Friday, eyes on July 28 results for sales gap check
·

GSK (LON:GSK) rises Friday, eyes on July 28 results for sales gap check

GSK plc finished the week at 2,015p, closing at the top of its range for the past month. Shares jumped 3.83% on Thursday, then added another 0.55% on Friday. Market cap closed around £80.71 billion. GSK showed a P/E ratio of 11.65 and dividend yield of 3.28%, according to Hargreaves Lansdown. Investors shouldn’t just look at GSK’s weekly gain. The move came in the pattern of trading. GSK tracked the FTSE 100 for most of the week, but Thursday saw about a third of the five-day volume. Friday volume dropped to 2.55 million shares, down 76% from the week’s average.
July 4, 2026
IMI buyback math shows FTSE gap with results still ahead
·

IMI buyback math shows FTSE gap with results still ahead

IMI plc closed out the week up 0.82% at 2,940p, widening a weekly gap over the FTSE 100, which finished Friday up 0.25% at 10,679.03. London markets are closed for the weekend. For holders, the main point isn’t the daily price move but the share count calculation. IMI wrapped up its first £250 million buyback, part of the planned £500 million program. Now Deutsche Bank AG’s London branch, operating as Deutsche Numis, will oversee the next £250 million phase.
July 4, 2026
Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) steadies in London while lower-grade iron ore rivals take hit
·

Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) lags FTSE as iron ore pressure in China weighs on July

The London Stock Exchange doesn’t open Saturdays, leaving Friday’s numbers as the latest available. Rio Tinto closed at 7,070p, off 0.16% for the session. The FTSE 100 added 0.25%. Over the week, Rio dropped 1.37% from last Friday. The FTSE 100 gained 1.63%. Rio and FTSE weekly moves use Friday closing prices. Peer numbers are the latest Hargreaves Lansdown sell-buy quotes after London closed on Friday.
July 4, 2026
SSE PLC (LON:SSE) edges past market ahead of July grid spending review
·

SSE PLC (LON:SSE) edges past market ahead of July grid spending review

With London markets shut until Monday, SSE PLC ended Friday at £25.07, up 1.91% for the session but still 9.4% under its April peak. About 2.0 million shares traded, well below the 50-day average MarketWatch tracks. The FTSE 100 settled at 10,679.03 and finished the week ahead, as gains in financials and precious-metals miners lifted the index, Reuters said. SSE shares didn’t move up in a straight line this week. The stock dropped Tuesday and Wednesday, according to Investing.com daily prices and FTSE 100 data from Investors’ Chronicle, but then bounced back with a 5.1% rise in the last two sessions.
July 4, 2026
Experian buyback activity gives investors early signal ahead of July update
·

Experian buyback activity gives investors early signal ahead of July update

Experian PLC finished the week with its capital-return moves more visible than the share price action suggested. The credit data firm repurchased nearly 1.9 million shares across four reported trades. New share awards for staff stayed small next to that. Experian ended Friday up 0.84% at 2,644p, while the FTSE 100 added 0.25%. The stock climbed 4.9% from last Friday’s 2,520p close. The index was up 1.6% for the same period.
July 4, 2026
DCC Plc (LON:DCC) shares lose ground before takeover deadline
····

DCC Plc (LON:DCC) shares lose ground before takeover deadline

London trading was closed Saturday, so DCC Plc kept Friday’s ex-dividend price as its reference heading into next week’s takeover deadline. The stock didn’t move much for a deal situation, but what happened counts: the shares dropped even as some investors wanted a higher bid. DCC traded at 6,105p late Friday, around 420p below the 6,525p per share cash offer from the Energy Capital Partners and KKR & Co. group. If you add the 147.22p final dividend, the spread widens to 567.22p. But since the shares are ex-div, the cash offer is the main comparison for new buyers.
July 4, 2026
RELX faces July results test after 40% drop and buyback math
·

RELX faces July results test after 40% drop and buyback math

RELX PLC closed at 2,334p on Friday, slipping 0.8%. The stock fell 1.2% for the week as it kept losing ground ahead of its July 23 half-year earnings. London trading was closed Saturday. The London Stock Exchange trades from 0800 to 1630 BST Monday through Friday. The main news for investors is the buyback. RELX said on June 29 it will kick off a £100 million non-discretionary buyback from July 1 to July 21, right after it wrapped up a £200 million buyback on June 26. Both are part of the company's £2.25 billion buyback target for 2026.
July 4, 2026
Tesco share buyback on watch after stock drops from high
···

Tesco share buyback on watch after stock drops from high

Tesco PLC heads into Monday trading below the level of its most recent announced buyback. Shares reached a 52-week high this week. Saturday was outside regular hours for the London Stock Exchange, which runs Monday to Friday from 0800 to 1630 BST. Tesco shares dropped 7.00p to 466.60p on Friday. It’s a minor move over the bigger picture, but stands out because Tesco picked up 4 million shares July 2 at an average 471.47p. That latest buyback is sitting above market, at least until trading starts again.
July 4, 2026
BP PLC (LON:BP) stock ends volatile week below FTSE as Brent curve turns against trading cushion
·

BP PLC (LON:BP) stock ends volatile week below FTSE as Brent curve turns against trading cushion

With the London Stock Exchange shut for the weekend, BP PLC ended a choppy week with a small loss that hid the larger shift under the stock. The shares closed Friday at 467.15p, after falling as low as 450.60p on Thursday and trading as high as 474.75p on Monday. That was a 5.4% intraday peak-to-trough swing in four sessions. Friday volume fell to 13.06 million shares, about one-third of the week’s daily average, based on Reuters calculations from Investing.com data. *Week move compares July 3 close with June 26 close, using closing prices.
July 4, 2026
Unilever (LON:ULVR) lags FTSE 350 with traders eyeing buyback and July results
·

Unilever (LON:ULVR) lags FTSE 350 with traders eyeing buyback and July results

Unilever PLC edged higher for the week, but shareholders are still left asking about the stock’s lag versus the wider UK market. The company’s buyback has lowered the share count, though that hasn’t fixed the underperformance. With London markets closed for the weekend, Friday’s close stands: 4,620.00p, down 16p, or 0.35%. The FTSE 100 finished up 26.16 points at 10,679.03, a gain of 0.25%. The stock traded like this against the index on Friday, quote data showed:
July 4, 2026
Shell stock week ahead: $3 billion disposals meet paused buyback before ARC vote
···

Shell stock week ahead: $3 billion disposals meet paused buyback before ARC vote

The London Stock Exchange was shut on Saturday, its normal weekend break, leaving Shell Plc’s Friday close as the last price for the week. The stock closed at 2,891.50 pence, down 0.26% on the day, versus 2,898.00 pence at the previous Friday close. That left the shares down about 0.2% for the week, while the FTSE 100 ended Friday up 0.25%. The cleaner read for investors was not the share move. It was the cash line. Shell completed or agreed two disposals last week worth a combined $3.0 billion, exactly matching the size of its current buyback programme, which the company has paused because of securities law requirements tied to its takeover of ARC Resources. The comparison is numeric, not
July 4, 2026
National Grid’s AI investment leaves stock unmoved, Ofgem review still ahead
·

National Grid’s AI investment leaves stock unmoved, Ofgem review still ahead

London markets were closed Saturday, capping a week where National Grid plc ended little changed. The London Stock Exchange runs from 0800 to 1630 local time, Monday through Friday, so the next move for the stock will come Monday when trading returns. National Grid finished Friday at 1,244p, up 1.14%. That topped the FTSE 100, which added 0.25%. Still, shares are down 12.9% from their March 2 peak of 1,428.5p. The market isn’t fully pricing National Grid’s AI push yet.
July 4, 2026
Glencore (LON:GLEN) gains as coal and copper boost takes focus off iron ore pressure
·

Glencore (LON:GLEN) holds steady ahead of cobalt deadline, copper in focus

Glencore plc wrapped up a four-week rally by finishing flat this week. Investors now look to July, weighing whether copper production and trading profits can balance lower coal prices and cobalt shipping risk. The stock ended Friday at 513.60p, up 2.80p for the session. That still left it 1.10p under last Friday’s finish. Just 14.83 million shares traded, the lowest daily volume this week and about half the average for the past five sessions, according to daily price figures.
July 4, 2026
Barclays buyback math looks better with stock closing week near highs
·

Barclays buyback math looks better with stock closing week near highs

Barclays PLC edged up on Friday and ended the week trading above last month’s buyback price. Shares finished at 522.30p on July 3, up 0.04%. The FTSE 100 added 0.25% to 10,679.03. Hargreaves Lansdown reported the London market was shut Saturday. Barclays wrapped up its £500 million buyback on June 25, picking up 110.1 million shares at an average price of 454.2957p. The stock closed Friday 68.0p higher than that buyback level. That’s a notional difference of £74.8 million on the cancelled shares—not a profit, but a measure for investors on how the buyback went. Barclays took out stock at a price about 15% under the current market.
July 4, 2026
NatWest Group Plc (LON:NWG) shares slip as Evelyn deal puts attention on capital ratios
·

NatWest stock weekly gain puts buybacks and Evelyn capital hit in focus

London’s stock market was closed on Saturday, leaving Friday’s close as the latest price. NatWest Group Plc ended July 3 at 682.80p, up 0.62% on the day and 4.02% over the week. The FTSE 100 closed at 10,679.03, up 1.63% from June 26; Reuters said financial stocks led Friday’s gains. On weekly closes, NatWest beat Barclays PLC and the index, but trailed Lloyds Banking Group plc. The moves are based on June 26 and July 3 closes from Investing.com data.
July 4, 2026
HSBC share price pushes toward analyst highs as investors brace for next buyback
·

HSBC Holdings (HSBA) trades near its highest level since 1999 as analyst upside looks more limited

HSBC Holdings Plc finished the week close to where it traded before the dot-com bust. The shares listed in London closed at 1,451p on Friday, up 5.8p, or 0.4%. That leaves the price nearly aligned with most sell-side targets. HSBC’s investor page listed the last quote as of 2251 GMT on July 3. Hours on the London Stock Exchange run from 0800 to 1630, so Friday marked the latest session. The stock has gained 63.8% in the last 12 months, well ahead of the 21.0% move in the UK benchmark tracked by Trading Economics. Shares hit 1,456p on July 2, a level not seen since July 1999, and ended Friday just below AJ Bell’s 1,457p year high.
July 4, 2026
Lloyds stock near 52-week high as buyback at peak puts July strategy in focus
·

Lloyds stock near 52-week high as buyback at peak puts July strategy in focus

Lloyds Banking Group plc goes into the weekend at a price that makes its own buyback tape more useful than usual. The stock closed Friday at 115.05p after touching 115.40p, the top of its 52-week range, and was up 5.4% from the prior Friday close of 109.20p. The FTSE 100 closed Friday up 0.2% at 10,679.03, with financials among the stronger sectors. The week’s Lloyds tape was plain: a weak Monday, then four up days.
July 4, 2026
Rolls-Royce trades close to record, buyback yield dips before July 30 earnings
·

Rolls-Royce trades close to record, buyback yield dips before July 30 earnings

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc heads into the week just off record highs, but the main story is in the buyback numbers. With the stock close to 1,500p, the big cash return now looks less significant versus the company’s market cap. London Stock Exchange trading is weekdays only, so this Saturday’s view covers last week and the coming week. The stock gained every day through the week ending July 3. Shares finished Friday at 1,504.20p, up 1.97%. The FTSE 100 added 0.2% to 10,679.03 and also ended higher for the week.
July 4, 2026
1 … 14 15 16 17 18 … 492