(Reuters) -British stocks held steady on Wednesday as investors assessed a mixed bag of corporate earnings while waiting for potential trade updates as the United States’ August 1 tariff deadline drew closer.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 barely moved with a just 0.01% rise, while the domestically focused midcap FTSE 250 index fell 0.08%.
British automobiles and parts led declines, with the sector down 3.8% after Aston Martin issued a profit warning due to U.S. import tariffs and weak Chinese demand. Shares of the luxury carmaker fell 9.7%.
Banking shares fell 2% after HSBC Holdings reported a sharper-than-expected drop in quarterly profit. The British lender fell 4.5%.
The pharma and biotech subindex rose 2.9%, led by GSK’s 4.7% gain after the drugmaker beat second-quarter results estimates and said it expects full-year sales and profit to hit the top end of its forecast range.
Taylor Wimpey was the top loser in the FTSE 100 index, down 6.3% after the homebuilder cut its annual operating profit forecast.
Rio Tinto fell 1.3% after the world’s largest iron ore producer reported its smallest first-half underlying profit in five years.
Glencore rose 1.9% after the miner said it aims to save $1 billion in costs by the end of 2026, as part of a review of its industrial assets.
Sportswear retailer JD Sports was down 3.5% after its partner Adidas missed second-quarter sales expectations.
Defence firm BAE Systems dropped nearly 2% despite upgrading its annual earnings forecast.
RHI Magnesita slumped 10.2%, the biggest loser on the FTSE 250 midcap index, after cutting its annual profit outlook.
Bodycote jumped 12.7% to the top of the FTSE 250, after the thermal processing services provider announced an additional 30 million pounds ($40 mln) share buyback.
Meanwhile across the Atlantic, U.S. economic growth rebounded more than expected in the second quarter.
On the radar next week, the Bank of England is expected to cut borrowing costs for the fifth time since last August.
(Reporting by Sukriti Gupta and Sanchayaita Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore, Kirsten Donovan)
