Wednesday night’s main event, the Donald Trump versus Jean-Claude Juncker face-off, went better than anyone could have expected, the pair of Presidents agreeing to work towards ‘zero’ tariffs, barriers and subsidies between the US and EU.
While there isn’t exactly much substance to what was announced, with the fact the relationship didn’t worsen being more notable than the plans to negotiate, it was enough to lift the spirits of the previously fearful markets.
The Dow Jones ended up surging 170 points, allowing it to hit 25450 for the first time since mid-March. The eurozone indices understandably followed suit after the bell on Thursday; the CAC rose 0.8%, crossing 5460 in the process, while the DAX really let loose, rocketing nearly 200 points higher to return to 12750.
The FTSE, however, was notable in the meagreness of its growth. The UK index ended up starting the session just 0.3% higher, unable to recover the commodity-led losses incurred on Wednesday, in large part because those stocks themselves are still in the red. Even Shell (LON:RDSa) fell 1%, despite announcing a $25 billion share buyback scheme, investors disappointed by the news that Q2 net income attributable to shareholders missed estimates by more than $1.2 billion despite rising 30% year-on-year.
The oil giant wasn’t the only FTSE 100 firm in the red this Thursday. Intu Properties (LON:INTUP) fell afoul of the UK’s retail woes once again, plunging 5.5% after swinging from an interim pre-tax profit of £123.2 million in 2017 to a loss of £506.5 million for the 6 months to the end of June. The company’s market decline likely wasn’t larger thanks to the fact it maintained its 4.6p interim dividend.
There was good news elsewhere, keeping the FTSE from posting a loss. AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) rose nearly 2% as it revealed adjusted earnings of 69 cents per share, 8 cents ahead of estimates. British American Tobacco (LON:BATS), meanwhile, ignored currency headwinds, jumping 4% as it unveiled a 72% surge in first half profit to £4.4 billion.
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