Early market roundup: Shares fall; UK retail sales outperform

Stock prices in London were lower on Friday morning despite data showing UK retail sales beating expectations in August, while the price of Brent oil per barrel edged down a notch but remained firmly above USD100.

The FTSE 100 index opened down 57.40 points, 0.5%, at 10,758.74. The FTSE 250 was flat at 24,352.64 points, and the AIM All-Share was down 26.75 points, 0.5%, at 5,795.40.

The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.5% at 1,070.49, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 21,129.84, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.1% at 18,748.01.

In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.5%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was also down 0.5%.

The pound was quoted at USD1.3369 early Friday, higher than USD1.3356 at the London equities close on Thursday. Against the euro, sterling rose to EUR1.1640 from EUR1.1627 a day prior.

The euro traded at USD1.1486 early Friday, marginally higher than USD1.1480 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY157.11 versus JPY155.80.

UK retail sales rebounded in August and beat expectations, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Retail sales volumes rose 0.5% month-on-month, reversing a 0.5% decline in July and outperforming the 0.2% fall expected by markets, according to FXStreet. June's increase was revised down to 0.6% from 0.7%.

The ONS said non-store retailers partially recovered from July's decline, when sales were affected by promotions taking place earlier in June, while department store sales improved following stock availability issues.

Retail sales volumes rose 2.4% year-on-year in August. Over the three months to August, volumes increased 0.9% from the previous three-month period and were 2.4% higher annually, supported by non-store retailers and food stores.

Back in London, Lion Finance Group was at the top of the FTSE 100, up 2.4%, followed by Fresnillo, up 2.3%, and IG Group Holdings, up 2.2%.

At the other end of the blue-chip index, Airtel Africa fell 6.7%, Coca-Cola HBC lost 4.0% and BT Group was down 3.5%.

AstraZeneca rose 0.6% after saying the US Food & Drug Administration had accepted and granted 'Priority Review' designation to Alexion's biologics licence application for efzimfotase alfa to treat patients aged two years and older with hypophosphatasia, a rare inherited metabolic disease.

The FDA's regulatory decision is expected in the first half of 2027.

On the FTSE 250, Softcat fell 0.3% after raising around £354 million gross through an equity issue to help fund its USD1.05 billion acquisition of US IT solutions provider GDT Topco.

Softcat placed 18.5 million new shares at 1,890 pence each with institutional investors, while retail investors subscribed for a further 211,640 shares at the same price.

Harworth Group fell 0.3% after unanimously rejecting an increased cash takeover offer from Peel Point, saying the revised 177.5 pence-per-share proposal, up from 172.5p, continued to significantly undervalue the Rotherham, South Yorkshire-based property regeneration company.

Among smaller companies, Defence Holdings rose 8.0% after announcing its second UK government contract.

Mothercare plummeted 68% after launching a strategic review and warning that its long-term solvency is "highly uncertain".

The Hemel Hempstead-based retailer said it currently has sufficient resources to continue trading for several more months, but expects the closure of the "substantial majority" of its Middle East franchise stores during 2027.

Mothercare said its Middle East partner is reviewing its franchise store portfolio against a volatile backdrop, while a "material reduction" in its 2028 order book is expected to hurt revenue, profit and cash flow.

Elsewhere, fintech firm Revolut is considering a dual stock market listing in London and New York, although founder and Chief Executive Nik Storonsky said the company prefers the US for a potential initial public offering.

Storonsky told French newspaper Les Echos that Revolut is looking at listing on both the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, citing the larger pool of institutional and retail investors in the US.

In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo closed up 1.4%. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed 1.0% higher, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong ended up 0.6%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed marginally lower.

In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.6%, the S&P 500 up 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.7%.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.94%, narrowing from 4.95%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 5.29%, narrowing from 5.30%.

Brent oil was trading at USD102.46 a barrel early Friday, down from USD103.65 late Thursday.

Gold was quoted at USD4,391.25 an ounce early Friday, higher than USD4,356.36 on Thursday.

Still to come on Friday's economic calendar, the eurozone reports construction output, while the US releases industrial production figures.

Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.