Investing.com -- The British pound touched $1.34 on Monday, before a slight pullback. The rise was driven largely by a weaker dollar following last week’s credit rating downgrade of the U.S. government by Moody’s, as well as a new deal between the United Kingdom (TADAWUL:4280) and the European Union.
The blue-chip index FTSE 100 rose 0.2%, while DAX index in Germany gained 0.8%, the CAC 40 in France fell 0.04%.
The U.K.- EU deal
The United Kingdom and European Union have reached an agreement aimed at strengthening bilateral relations, according to an official announcement released ahead of a major summit scheduled for Monday.
The deal marks a breakthrough following six months of negotiations and is the third major international pact unveiled by the U.K. government in recent weeks.
It spans multiple areas, signaling a shared commitment to closer cooperation. Among the key components is a new Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) arrangement designed to ease food and beverage trade between the U.K. and EU.
The agreement also outlines deeper collaboration on defense, security, and migration, highlighting efforts to expand ties beyond just trade.
Ryanair profit slips despite record traffic
Ryanair Holdings PLC (LON:0RYA) posted a drop in full-year profit after tax to €1.61 billion from €1.92 billion the previous year, even as it flew a record 200 million passengers.
The airline saw traffic rise 9%, but average fares slipped 7%, while total revenue climbed 4% to €13.95 billion.
Ryanair shares rose over 6%.
Diageo rises on Q3 sales growth
After initially rising, Diageo PLC (LON:DGE) shares fell around 1% after the company reported a 2.9% rise in third-quarter net sales, reaching $4.4 billion for fiscal 2025.
The beverage giant delivered solid underlying results, with organic net sales up 5.9% year-over-year, driven by a 2.8% gain in organic volume and a 3.1% uplift from favorable price and mix effects.
Genuit Group sales jump in early 2025
Genuit Group PLC (LON:GENG) posted a 5.3% rise in like-for-like sales for the first four months of 2025, marking a strong start to the year.
The company’s latest performance reflects a notable improvement from the latter half of 2024, during which sales were up just 0.5% over the comparable timeframe.
Kainos shares slide as annual revenue, profit decline
Shares of Kainos Group PLC (LON:KNOS) dropped more than 7% after the company posted a fall in both annual profit and revenue, marking a challenging year overall.
The Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) Products segment was a notable outperformer. For the year ended March 31, 2025, revenue slipped 4% from the previous year to £367.2 million, driven by an organic contraction and currency-related impacts.
BP (NYSE:BP) downgraded by Jefferies
Jefferies revised its outlook on BP PLC (LON:BP) on Monday, lowering the stock’s rating to “hold” from “buy” and slashing its price target by 29% to £3.90.
The brokerage pointed to rising execution challenges and a weaker oil price outlook for 2025 and 2026 as key reasons for the downgrade.
U.K. home asking prices hit record high in May: Rightmove (OTC:RTMVY) (LON:RMV)
The average asking price for homes in the U.K. climbed to a new record high in May, despite the expiration of a buyer tax cut that had previously supported the market.
According to Rightmove, average asking prices rose 0.6% to £379,517.