Business
FTSE 100 Climbs to a Fresh Record High as Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems Earnings Beats Lift Shares Higher
London’s benchmark stock index climbed to another all-time high on Thursday, extending a remarkable rally that has left the FTSE 100 among the world’s best-performing major indexes even as chip-heavy markets in the U.S. and Asia continue to churn through volatility tied to artificial intelligence spending concerns.
The FTSE 100 rose 0.44%, adding 48.24 points to trade at 10,956.65 as of early afternoon in London, according to index data. The index touched an intraday high of 10,979.60 during the session, another fresh record, while its low for the day stood at 10,865.37. Thursday’s close compares with Wednesday’s finish of 10,908.41, itself a record at the time, meaning the index has now set new all-time highs in consecutive trading sessions.
Strong corporate earnings drove much of Thursday’s advance, with Rolls-Royce among the standout performers after the aerospace and defense engineering giant lifted its full-year guidance. The company raised its forecast for underlying operating profit to a range of £4.7 billion to £4.9 billion, alongside expected free cash flow of £3.8 billion to £4.0 billion, an upgrade that analysts characterized as reflecting genuine operational improvement rather than simply a broader defensive-sector bounce. The upgrade helped lift the FTSE’s aerospace and defense sector by 3.6% during the session.
BAE Systems also contributed significantly to Thursday’s gains, raising its own full-year profit guidance after reporting stronger first-half results driven by higher defense spending. The company posted a 9% increase in sales to £15.8 billion for the six months through June, with growth recorded across all of its business divisions. Underlying operating profit rose 11% to £1.7 billion, while underlying earnings per share climbed 13% to 38.9 pence. Order intake for the period increased to £16.4 billion from £13.2 billion a year earlier, leaving BAE Systems with a record order backlog of £84 billion.
Thursday’s gains build on a broader rally that has taken hold across the FTSE 100 over the past several trading sessions, driven substantially by strength in the index’s heavyweight energy, banking and mining sectors. Wednesday’s session saw the index touch what was then an all-time intraday high of 10,951.06 points, propelled by a surge in oil and gas stocks after renewed fighting in the Middle East pushed Brent crude prices up nearly 7% in a single session, settling at $90.74 a barrel. Energy stocks jumped 2.9% during Wednesday’s trading as investors weighed the implications of dashed hopes for an imminent resolution to the ongoing conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran.
Analysts have pointed to the FTSE 100’s relatively limited direct exposure to major semiconductor manufacturers and megacap technology companies as a key factor insulating the index from the sharp volatility hitting chip-heavy markets elsewhere in the world this week. That contrast has been especially stark against South Korea’s KOSPI index, which has fallen roughly 20% over the past five trading sessions amid a punishing selloff in memory chip stocks, and against the Nasdaq Composite in the United States, which has declined roughly 10% over the past month as investors reassess the sustainability of artificial intelligence infrastructure spending. XTB market analyst Kathleen Brooks noted that the backdrop heading into Thursday’s session was “one of rising volatility,” particularly for technology-heavy indexes in the U.S. and Asia, a dynamic the FTSE 100 has so far largely avoided given its heavier weighting toward energy, banking and mining stocks rather than technology.
Thursday’s trading session also coincided with the Bank of England’s latest interest rate decision, announced at midday London time. The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee vote showed a degree of internal division, with policymaker Catherine Mann joining a more hawkish faction within the committee. Peel Hunt economist Kallum Pickering said Mann’s position likely “only matters at the margin,” suggesting it could reflect a more reactive response to recent escalation in the Middle East rather than a fundamental shift in the committee’s broader policy stance. Minutes from the meeting noted that while the committee judged “the risks to the inflation outlook are tilted to the upside relative to the central projection,” policymakers also stressed there “remains scope for the outlook to change materially as events in the Middle East unfold.”
Other notable corporate movers on Thursday included Mondi, the packaging and paper group, which surged on improved trading momentum and lower capital expenditure despite weaker first-half earnings, a pattern some analysts characterized as signaling the company may be emerging from a margin trough. Rentokil Initial moved in the opposite direction, falling after the pest control company reported weakening lead flow in its North American residential business toward the end of the second quarter and withdrew a previously stated 2027 margin target, a move analysts said signaled potential softening in the company’s growth trajectory.
Dividend-focused investors have also taken note of the strength across the FTSE 100 this earnings season. Investment platform AJ Bell has forecast total FTSE 100 dividends of £88.8 billion for the year, alongside declared 2026 share buybacks estimated at £36 billion, according to the firm’s most recent dividend tracking data. AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said Wednesday’s wave of corporate earnings announcements had helped push the running buyback total toward £40 billion, though both figures remain estimates and running tallies rather than confirmed final outcomes for the year.
With the Bank of England’s decision now delivered and corporate earnings season continuing to unfold across London’s blue-chip companies, investors are likely to remain focused on whether the FTSE 100’s current run of records can be sustained against a backdrop of continued geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East and ongoing volatility across global technology and semiconductor markets in the sessions ahead.
Hermes RMS shares dropped despite the luxury group booking an acceleration in sales, with some analysts pointing to a lack of a convincing rebound in the key Chinese market.
The Parisian fashion house, maker of the famed Birkin bag, made revenue of 4.09 billion euros ($4.66 billion) over the quarter through June. That marks an organic increase of 6.7% from the same period a year earlier. For the first quarter, the group booked a 5.6% rise in revenue.
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The euphoria for this technology has boosted the value of some world’s biggest companies even as they spend hundreds of billions of dollars on the building blocks of the technology.
But over the last few weeks, the value of some of the companies that make those building blocks has plummeted – prompting some to question whether what some have dubbed “the AI bubble” is about to burst.
Some of the sharpest falls have been in Asia, with shares in Korean chip makers such as SK Hynix and Samsung down 46% and 35% respectively over the last month as investors worry the recent boom in demand for the chips that power AI is unsustainable.
Yet these shares still are up threefold and fivefold respectively over the last year, leading many to conclude that some caution and profit taking after such massive gains was inevitable – and indeed healthy.
The South Korean stock market is notoriously volatile, but concerns have spilled over into the big US companies.
Shares in Google and Tesla plunged briefly before recovering last week after both firms pledged to spend billions more on AI in the months and years to come despite so far it losing them money.
And with other big names such as Meta, Microsoft and Amazon reporting their latest financial results this week, investors have the opportunity to scrutinise just how much these companies are now betting on AI.
On Wednesday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the trading day about 9% below its June record high, driven down in part by worries over heavy AI spending.
“There is still a healthy degree of scepticism about the ability of these investments to generate a commensurate level of return,” Russ Mould, an investment director at AJ Bell, said.
But according to leading tech investor Eileen Burbidge despite the concerns there’s not yet a serious reckoning.
“The AI bubble hasn’t burst but it’s letting out air,” she told the BBC.
L to R: Director Christopher Nolan with Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, ASC on set of his film THE ODYSSEY, written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan.
Courtesy: Melinda Sue Gordon | Universal Studios
“The Odyssey” continues.
Universal and IMAX have extended the availability of 70mm screenings of Christopher Nolan’s retelling of Homer’s epic into mid-September, but that might not be enough to meet demand.
Tickets are selling out as quickly as they are being released to the public as moviegoers seek to see Nolan’s film in the aspect ratio that it was shot in and on physical film. While IMAX offers a variety of screen options, including digital versions of the 70mm aspect ratio, these viewings are often cropped to fit the auditorium in which they are being shown.
There are only 25 screens in the U.S. that can play physical film reels of Nolan’s “The Odyssey” and only 41 locations in total globally. Those screens are limited because the majority of movies are filmed and screened digitally. As demand for “The Odyssey” soars, IMAX has introduced late night and early morning screenings to accommodate some of the demand.
As of the weekend, IMAX ticket sales for “The Odyssey” have surpassed $140 million worldwide. That’s a little more than 20% of the $652 million the film has tallied globally. Yet, the IMAX locations represent less than 1% of total screens.
The theatrical industry saw a similar phenomenon in 2023 when Nolan released the Oscar-winning biopic “Oppenheimer.”
Overall, “The Odyssey” has dominated at the box office, with second week ticket sales dropping just 27% from its domestic opening weekend. Typically, Hollywood blockbusters will see ticket sales fall between 50% and 70% each week after its debut. A smaller decline often indicates strong word of mouth and repeat viewings.
“The Odyssey” has also benefitted from audiences booking tickets in advance. Some screenings of the film became available for purchase in July 2025, a year before its release.
For the last three weeks, “The Odyssey” has run in theaters with relatively low competition. However, with Sony and Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” arriving this Friday as well as the filmed-for-IMAX features “The End of Oak Street” and “Resident Evil” on the horizon, “The Odyssey” will have to share screen time with others.
However, IMAX’s next 70mm commitment isn’t until Dec. 18, when Warner Bros. and Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Three” hits theaters.
A panel discusses the weeks market selloff, driven by inflation fears, rising oil prices and disappointing Big Tech earnings on Barrons Roundtable.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge fell in June, as the pace of price growth pulled back amid volatility in energy markets.
The Commerce Department on Thursday reported that the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index declined 0.1% on a monthly basis in June and was up 3.7% from a year ago. Both figures were in line with the expectations of economists polled by LSEG.
Core PCE, which excludes volatile measurements of food and energy prices, was up 0.1% on a monthly basis and 3.3% from a year ago. The monthly figure was cooler than the 0.2% predicted by the LSEG poll of economists, while the annual figure was in line with expectations.
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Federal Reserve policymakers are focused on the PCE headline figure as they try to bring inflation back to their long-run target of 2%, though they view core data as a better indicator of inflation. Compared with May’s readings, headline PCE declined from 4.1% to 3.7%, while core PCE fell from 3.4% to 3.3%.
Goods prices were up 3% in June compared with one year ago, while they were up 0.7% from the prior month.
Services prices rose 2.3% from a year ago, while they rose 0.3% on a monthly basis.
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PCE inflation eased but remained elevated in June. (Will Newton/Getty Images)
The personal savings rate as a percentage of disposable personal income was 2.7% in June, down slightly from 2.8% in May.
Since the start of 2025, the personal savings rate has declined from a peak of 5.5% in April 2025, and it began this year at 4.4%.
What experts are saying
Bret Kenwell, U.S. investment analyst at etoro, noted that “June’s in-line PCE report did not show the same cooling reflected in the CPI report earlier this month.”
“Still, investors may be inclined to look past it. The data predates July’s sharp rebound in energy prices, which could put renewed upward pressure on inflation throughout the summer,” Kenwell explained. “As long as tensions continue driving oil prices higher, consumers could face additional pressure at the pump while markets contend with a more complicated inflation outlook.”
FED CHAIR KEVIN WARSH SAYS CENTRAL BANK HAS ‘NO TOLERANCE’ FOR ELEVATED INFLATION
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh and the FOMC left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, said that, “Despite moderating inflation, strong domestic activity across consumption and business investment will keep the Fed diligent about the risks overheating could have on the inflation trajectory.”
“We continue to expect the Fed to be patient as it waits for more inflation data,” Zentner added.
DOHA, Qatar-Saudi Basic Industries Corp. reported a narrower second-quarter loss helped by higher average selling prices across key products, but revenue declined on lower sales volumes.
Sabic, which ranks among the world’s largest petrochemicals manufacturers, said its net loss narrowed to 833 million Saudi riyals ($222 million) from 4.07 billion riyals in the same period a year earlier. Revenue fell to 24.81 billion riyals from 30.23 billion riyals.
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Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, discusses the House voting on reconciliation framework and the urgent need for voter ID.
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is sending notices of intent to 100 agents affiliated with the Obamacare marketplace who allegedly violated the exchange’s standards of conduct by submitting insurance applications without recipients’ Social Security numbers or other identifying information.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), led by Dr. Mehmet Oz, alleged that agents did this “repeatedly.”
A marketplace agent is a professional who helps people shop for healthcare through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange.
More broadly, CMS estimates that “roughly 35% of Marketplace enrollments may be illegitimate.”
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Administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz speaks about the Trump administration’s anti-fraud initiatives on July 8, 2026. (Mark Schiefelbein-Pool/Getty Images / Getty Images)
If 35% of enrollments by agents are illegitimate, that represents about 5 to 6 million people “whose premiums could be improperly subsidized,” CMS said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
The action being taken against the 100 agents comes after a report published by the Health and Human Services Department found that “2.6 million improper or phantom enrollments remain, including more than 1 million enrollments submitted without a Social Security number.”
In response, the CMS has advanced a number of ACA reforms meant to protect taxpayers and patients from alleged fraud, waste and abuse.
The proposed reforms, the CMS said, would have saved $3 billion. The agency accused Democrats in Congress of preventing the full implementation of these provisions.
Vice President JD Vance speaks during a Congressional Tribute to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on July 28, 2026. (im Lo Scalzo-Pool/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The CMS’s latest action against ACA agents is another step in the agency’s crackdown on fraud.
Oz sent letters in May to Minnesota, California, Florida, New York and Maine about possible medical equipment fraud.
An anti-fraud task force, led by Vice President JD Vance, announced in February that durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS) suppliers will be targeted through a nationwide moratorium.
That task force revealed new figures in early July that show a drastic 7,100% spike in Medicare claims for skin substitutes in just six years.
Still photo of a manual handbook for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. (Yin Yang / Getty Images)
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The staggering increase in claims occurred between 2019 and 2025, surging from $200 million to $14.4 billion, prompting the anti-fraud task force and CMS to identify potentially fraudulent claims and deny 96% of claims made since March.
The CMS identified 4,200 suspicious claims for skin substitutes, known as allografts, totaling $224 million in charges through May of this year.
Pembina Pipeline earnings in focus: Can momentum sustain?
ASM International ASM shares plunged after a boost to revenue guidance for next year came short of rosy forecasts, as investor expectations for companies exposed to artificial intelligence keep growing.
The Dutch group, which supplies chip makers with wafer processing equipment for the deposition of thin films, in September set a 2027 revenue target between 3.7 billion and 4.6 billion euros, equivalent to $4.21 billion to $5.24 billion.
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Reformation Inc. signage as traders work during the company’s initial public offering (IPO) on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Thursday, July 30, 2026.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Women’s clothing retailer Reformation began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, with the stock essentially unchanged after pricing its IPO at $15.
The company, which is trading under the ticker symbol “REF,” is offering 14,062,500 shares, putting its IPO raise at $210.9 million.
“Reformation is ready, and that is really the driving reason we’ve spent a lot of time working to build a business that redefines retail, really innovates on what the role of a brand is in the fashion space, and we’ve done a great job at that,” CEO Hali Borenstein told CNBC on Thursday. “Today, we have a foundation that is ready to scale.”
It joins just a handful of consumer and retail companies that have gone public this year amid a slump in IPOs since the 2021 boom. Reformation went public the same day as sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s, which also listed on the NYSE.
According to its S-1 fact sheet, Reformation has seen 20 consecutive quarters of double-digit net revenue growth through the first quarter of 2026. Its net revenue for the full year 2025 came in at $507.1 million, and net income was $12.6 million, including the impact of President Donald Trump‘s tariffs.
As of the first quarter of 2026, the company owns 70 stores across the U.S., UK, Canada and France.
“We believe we will continue to benefit from operating within the highly fragmented fashion industry, and that we are well positioned to capitalize on growing global demand for sustainable fashion,” the company wrote in its S-1 filing.
Borenstein said Reformation’s focus in its next phase of growth is to increase its distribution with more stores, accelerate its e-commerce business, invest in category diversification and expand overseas.
She added that the retailer is seeing “really strong double-digit growth” across the U.S., with 70% of its revenue coming from outside of New York and California.
Reformation also said it saw more than 1 million active customers across its direct-to-consumer channel in 2025. The majority of its customers, 70%, are aged between 25 and 50 years old.
Borenstein told CNBC’s “Morning Call” that the company’s customer base is diverse, with 20% of new customers last year under the age of 25 and 20% over the age of 50.
She added that the company’s average consumer makes over $100,000 in a year, making it more insulated from macroeconomic pressures hitting other retailers.
Despite tariff and trade uncertainty, Borenstein told CNBC the company has a “good track record” of navigating the macro backdrop, with 34% of its units last year coming from North America.
“We are really focused on two things: our brand and our product. We think those are the winning recipes for consumers, so Reformation has a brand that cuts through,” Borenstein said.
The IPO is backed by J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and RBC Capital Markets.
As the company embarks on its public journey, Borenstein said she’ll define success as the way that Reformation makes its customers feel.
“Today is the first day,” she said. “It’s a long journey ahead, and at Reformation, we have very big goals. We’re ambitious, and so where we are really focused is on building a once-in-a-generation type brand.”
Operator
Welcome to the O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. My name is Matthew, and I’ll be your operator for today’s call. [Operator Instructions]
I’ll now turn the call over to Jeremy Fletcher. Mr. Fletcher, you may begin.
Jeremy Fletcher
Executive VP & CFO
Thank you, Matthew. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. During today’s conference call, we will discuss our second quarter results and our updated outlook for the remainder of 2026. After our prepared comments, we will host a question-and-answer period.
Before we begin this morning, I would like to remind everyone that our comments today contain forward-looking statements, and we intend to be covered by, and we claim the protection under the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as estimate, may, could, will, believe, expect, would, consider, should, anticipate, project, plan, intend or similar words. The company’s actual results could differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to several important factors described in the company’s latest annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, and other recent SEC filings. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made during this call.
At this time, I would like to introduce Brad Beckham.
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