London and European stock markets are rising this morning, following a rise on Wall Street and ahead of the release of key economic data, with the FTSE 100 up 0.5% as attention shifts to euro zone inflation data, US retail sales and the Bank of England’s policy decision.
The Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates on hold at 5.25% before potentially cutting them in August. The central banks of Switzerland, Norway and Australia are also scheduled to meet this week. The Reserve Bank of Australia has already announced its decision, keeping its policy rate target unchanged at 4.35%, citing continuing inflation.
On the stock market, Whitbread shares rose after the company reaffirmed its full-year guidance and said first-quarter sales rose 1 percent to £739 million on improved trading in the UK and a stronger performance in Germany.
Meanwhile, Ashtead Group fell 5% after it forecast slower annual rental income growth for 2025. The company reported a 12% increase in full-year revenue but a 2.1% fall in pre-tax profits due to higher interest expenses.
AstraZeneca’s breast cancer drug Turkuup failed to meet a key goal in late-stage clinical trials. Shell announced the acquisition of Pavilion Energy to strengthen its LNG position. Meanwhile, EU antitrust regulators are scrutinizing British Airways parent IAG’s proposed takeover of Air Europa routes.
In other news, the UK Labour Party plans to increase the number of ‘banking hubs’ if elected.
There are some changes to the composition of the FTSE 100, adding Darktrace, Londonmetric and Vistry and removing Ocado, RS Group and St. James’s Place, while the S&P 500 is adding Crowdstrike, Godaddy and KKR and removing Comerica, Illumina and Robert Half.
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