Early market roundup: Stocks mixed as Vodafone, easyJet surge

Stock prices in London were mixed on Friday morning, with easyJet and Vodafone shares rising amid takeover activity, while attention remained on the Middle East.

The FTSE 100 index opened 0.83 points, marginally higher, at 10,473.55. The FTSE 250 was up 51.51 points, 0.2%, at 23,287.70, and the AIM all-share was up 2.40 points, 0.3%, at 764.65.

The Cboe UK 100 was flat at 1,038.95, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 19,994.53, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.2% at 18,364.70.

In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt gained 0.3%.

Attention remained on the Middle East, where traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen sharply since Wednesday, particularly along the UN-backed Omani shipping route, after attacks on commercial vessels earlier this week and renewed military exchanges between the US and Iran.

Flows through the strategic waterway had recovered to their highest levels since the two sides agreed a truce in mid-June, although they remained around one-third of normal peacetime volumes.

That recovery now appears to have stalled, however. According to Kpler data, just six commodity tankers had passed through the strait by 1430 GMT on Thursday, compared with 21 vessels on Wednesday.

Oil prices continued to ease as concerns over immediate supply disruption softened. Brent crude traded at USD75.58 a barrel early Friday, down from USD77.03 late Thursday.

The pound was quoted at USD1.3427 early Friday, up from USD1.3397 at the London equities close on Thursday. Against the euro, sterling strengthened to EUR1.1731 from EUR1.1717. The euro rose to USD1.1441 from USD1.1432, while the dollar slipped to JPY161.66 from JPY162.37.

On the FTSE 100, Vodafone surged 11% after investment vehicle Vega, owned by the Xavier Niel family, agreed to acquire Emirates Telecommunications' 16.2% stake in the telecoms group for £4.4 billion, subject to regulatory approval.

The deal will make Vega Vodafone's largest shareholder. Vega said it has no intention of making a takeover offer for the company and plans to engage with the UK government over the transaction. Vodafone said its relationship agreement with Emirates Telecommunications has now ended, while e& nominee director Hatem Dowidar stepped down from the board with immediate effect.

LondonMetric Property rose 0.5% and Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust gained 0.2% after increasing the share component of their proposed all-share offer for Picton Property Income, which rose 0.6%.

The revised proposal values Picton at £397.0 million, or 77.0 pence per share. Under the new terms, Picton shareholders would receive 0.190 new LondonMetric shares and 0.894 new Schroder REIT shares for each Picton share. Picton said it remains minded to unanimously recommend the revised offer, subject to confirmatory due diligence and final transaction documentation. The consortium said it continues to progress towards a possible firm offer, although there is no certainty that one will be made.

On the FTSE 250, easyJet jumped 13% after announcing it had reached an agreement in principle with Apollo on a possible cash takeover worth £7.15 per share, valuing the airline at around £5.7 billion.

The proposal tops Castlelake's latest £6.90-per-share approach, and easyJet's board said it would be minded to recommend Apollo's bid if a firm offer is made on the same terms. Apollo is also proposing an equity alternative for eligible shareholders wishing to retain exposure to the airline.

The board added it is no longer minded to recommend Castlelake's proposal. Apollo has until August 7 to announce a firm offer or walk away.

Hays climbed 11% after saying it expects financial 2026 pre-exceptional operating profit to come in at the top end of the current £37.0 million to £46.0 million consensus range as continued cost discipline offset weaker trading conditions.

Fourth-quarter net fees fell 5% on a like-for-like basis, with temporary and contracting fees down 3% and permanent recruitment fees declining 7%. Hays said temporary recruitment volumes remained stable, while permanent hiring softened slightly during the quarter.

It also reported net cash of around £20 million at June 30, compared with net debt of £15 million at the end of March, and said it has delivered £50 million of annualised structural cost savings, exceeding its target three years ahead of schedule.

Johnson Service Group fell 8.4% after saying financial 2026 is expected to be "a year of progress and margin improvement".

Fermi slumped 17% after announcing a proposed USD35 million offering.

In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo closed up 1.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended down 1.0%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong ended up 0.4%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.5%

In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.3%, the S&P 500 up 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.3%.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.53%, narrowing from 4.55%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 5.05%, narrowing from 5.06%.

Elsewhere, German inflation eased as expected in June. According to the Federal Statistical Office, annual consumer price inflation slowed to 2.3% from 2.6% in May, while harmonised inflation, used for comparison across the eurozone, decelerated to 2.4% from 2.7%.

Energy price inflation also moderated, with energy products up 3.4% on the year, slowing from 6.6% in May. All June figures matched preliminary estimates.

Separately, Heathrow is on the verge of losing its status as Europe's busiest airport to Istanbul, according to new figures from ACI Europe.

Heathrow handled just 3,012 more passengers than its Turkish rival in May, with both airports serving around 7.12 million travellers during the month. Passenger numbers at Heathrow fell 1.2% year-on-year, while Istanbul recorded 2.0% growth.

Gold was quoted at USD4,107.00 an ounce early Friday, down from USD4,126.64 on Thursday.

Still to come on Friday's economic calendar, Canada releases unemployment figures, while Ireland publishes industrial production and turnover data.

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