Weekly review
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Friday 04 Sep 2026
(Sharecast News) - The FTSE 100 closed flat at 10,831.09 on Friday.
Equity view
BHP said on Friday that it "regularly explores options that may create long-term value to its shareholders" following a report that steelmaker China Baowu Steel Group is considering taking a stake in the company's Jimblebar iron ore mine in Western Australia. BHP said: "WAIO remains central to BHP's portfolio and BHP remains fully committed to WAIO and to Western Australia." The statement came after Reuters reported that Baowu - China's largest steelmaker - is considering a stake of between 15% and 25%, which would come from BHP's share of the project. Reuters sources did not give a potential valuation or other details.
Grafton Group held on to its full-year earnings guidance after a solid first half, in which adjusted operating profits rose 8.2% year-on-year to £98.5m. The European construction products distributor said its first-half performance, which generated 6.7% higher revenues at £1.34bn, was supported by strong underlying trading and acquisitions in Iberia and Ireland, while operating margins improved by 10 basis points to 7.4%.
Hilton Foods lifted its full-year profit guidance as it hailed a good interim performance from core meat and fresh prepared food, but weakness in the Foppen seafood business. In the 26 weeks to 28 June, adjusted profit before tax from continuing operations fell 5.2% from the same period a year earlier to £32.8m, but was ahead of expectations. Hilton pointed to higher adjusted PBT overall from core meat and fresh prepared food businesses, but lower profit in seafood, mainly due to margin pressures in smoke salmon producer Foppen.
Crest Nicholson shares tumbled on Thursday as the housebuilder warned it now expects a full-year loss and cut its completions guidance, saying market conditions have been more subdued than expected over the summer. The housebuilder said in an update that affordability constraints and competitive pricing continuing to weigh on open market sales rates. Over the last six weeks, it achieved a net open market sales rate of 0.35, down from 0.48 in the first half and 0.55 in the same period last year.
Budget airline Ryanair trimmed its FY27 traffic guidance from 216m to 214m passengers on Wednesday, citing the need to reduce exposure to unhedged jet‑fuel costs during the winter season, even as August traffic continued to grow. Ryanair carried 22.2m passengers in August, up 6% year‑on‑year, with load factor steady at 96%. It operated more than 120,500 flights during the month, though over 400 were cancelled due to the Mt Etna eruptions. Rolling 12‑month traffic rose 5% to 214.4m, with load factor unchanged at 94%.
Oil and gas giant BP announced on Wednesday that Ian Tyler has been appointed chairman, taking up the role immediately following an extensive search that considered both internal and external candidates. Tyler joined the board as a non‑executive director in April 2025 and became interim chair in May 2026.
Capricorn Energy said on Tuesday that it has agreed to be bought by Norwegian oil company DNO in a $396m (£292m) deal that trumps an offer by Genel Energy. DNO will pay $5.214 in per Capricorn share. This comprises $4.224 in cash and a special dividend of $0.99. That equates to around 384p per share, which is a 45% premium to the closing share price on 10 March, the day prior to the start of the offer period.
Private equity firm Epiris said on Tuesday that it has agreed to buy Gamma Communications in a £1.02bn deal. Under the terms of the acquisition, Epiris will pay 1,120p per share in cash. This is a 53% premium to the closing share price on 7 April, which was the last trading day prior to the start of an offer period.
Reckitt Benckiser shot to the top of the FTSE 100 on Tuesday after an Illinois court ruled in favour of its Mead Johnson unit in a trial alleging that its baby formula was linked to a deadly bowel disease in premature babies. In a statement on Monday, Mead Johnson said it welcomed the unanimous jury verdict in the company's favour in the Inman case in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
US private equity firm Veritas Capital said on Tuesday that it has agreed to buy Bodycote in a £1.65bn deal. Under the terms of the acquisition, Veritas - through its special purpose vehicle Vulcan Alpha Bidco - will pay 940p per share for Bodycote, which provides heat treatment and specialist metallurgical technologies. This comprises 932.8p in cash and the FY26 interim dividend of 7.2p per share.
Bunzl lifted its full-year margin outlook on Tuesday as it reported a rise in first-half profit and revenue, with underlying growth in all regions. In the six months to the end of June, adjusted pre-tax profit rose 10.2% to £380.9m, while revenue ticked up 3% to £5.9bn. Bunzl said underlying revenue was supported by both volume growth, led by North America, and inflation, driven by product cost increases in the second quarter.
Economic news
The downturn in the UK construction sector deepened in August, according to a survey released on Friday. The S&P Global construction purchasing managers' index fell to 44.3 from 44.7 in July, coming in below the 50.0 mark that separates contraction from expansion for the 20th month in a row.
UK new car registrations rose sharply in August as demand for electric and hybrid vehicles strengthened, industry data revealed on Friday, although September is expected to provide a more meaningful test of underlying demand. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), registrations increased 13.7% year-on-year to 94,236 units, marking a ninth consecutive month of growth and the strongest August since the introduction of the biannual number plate change.
The UK services sector grew in August at the fastest pace since April, but cost pressures ramped up, according to a survey released on Thursday. The S&P Global services PMI business activity index rose to 52.5 from 52.1 in July. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below signals contraction.
Rising optimism surrounding business activity gave UK consumer confidence a boost in August, according to a survey out on Wednesday published by YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). The consumer confidence index rose to 106.4 last month from 105.5 in July, moving further beyond the 100-point mark which separates negative and positive sentiment.
Growth in the UK manufacturing sector eased to a five-month low in August as growth rates in both output and new orders lost momentum, according to a survey released on Tuesday. The S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers' index declined to 51.7 from 51.9 in July but was above the flash estimate of 51.5. The index has now registered above the 50.0 mark that separates contraction from expansion for 10 months in a row.
UK mortgage approvals fell in July to their lowest level since January 2024, according to data released on Tuesday by the Bank of England. The latest monthly Money and Credit report showed that net mortgage approvals for house purchases declined to 56,100 from 58,200 in June. Net borrowing of mortgage debt fell to £4.3bn in July from £7.7bn the month before.
UK house prices returned to growth in August but remained subdued, according to figures released on Tuesday by Nationwide. House prices ticked up 0.2% on the month following a revised 0.1% decline in July. On the year, house prices rose 1.6% in August following growth of 1.4% the month before. The average price of a home was £275,465 last month, down from £276,581 in July.
UK shop price inflation hit a two-year high in August amid higher energy prices, according to figures released on Tuesday. The BRC-NIQ shop price index showed that shop price inflation rose to 1.5% year-on-year last month, following growth of 0.9% in July. This was above the three-month average of 1.2%. Food inflation increased to 2.8% following 2.2% growth in July, while non-food inflation rose to 0.9% in August, following 0.2% growth the month before.
International events
US non-farm payrolls came in hotter than expected in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, rising by 162,000 against economists' expectations for a 53,000 increase. Upward revisions to June and July also added a further 55,000 jobs to prior estimates, reinforcing the sense that hiring momentum has been firmer than previously reported.
Volkswagen said it would go ahead with the biggest restructure in its 89‑year history, announcing plans to cut around 50,000 extra jobs and halve the number of models produced as it confronts mounting pressure from Chinese rivals, high energy costs and the expensive shift to electric vehicles. The move followed tense negotiations with unions representing the company's more than 650,000 workers worldwide, with labour leaders ultimately backing the deal.
The US trade deficit widened in July as exports fell and imports rose, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, with the goods and services gap increasing to $88.6bn after a sharp rise in the goods deficit and a small uptick in the services surplus.
Exports dropped to $310.7bn, down $6.6bn from June, driven by lower shipments of industrial supplies, crude oil, non‑monetary gold and computers, partly offset by higher capital goods, consumer goods and pharmaceuticals.
Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated pace in the week ended 29 August, according to the Labor Department, extending recent resilience in the labour market despite an unexpected contraction in payrolls. Initial jobless claims rose by 2,000 to 206,000, ahead of expectations for a print of 205,000 and in keeping with a recent run of low claim counts since hitting an almost 60-year low of 189,000 in mid July.
Private sector activity across the eurozone expanded more or less as expected in August, according to the final reading of the S&P Global composite purchasing managers' index on Thursday, with solid growth across both the services and manufacturing industries. The final estimate of the composite PMI was revised to 52.0, just 0.1 down from the initial estimate released two weeks ago but in line with July's eight-month high.
Growth in China's services sector picked up in August, according to a private survey released on Thursday. The RatingDog general services purchasing managers' index, compiled by S&P Global, rose to 51.4 from 50.4 in July. This was above the 50.0 mark that separates contraction but was the second-lowest reading in 14 months.
Lottomatica shares slumped on Wednesday after the Italian gaming group agreed an all-share merger with Spain's Cirsa that would create the world's second-largest listed gaming and sports betting operator. Under the proposed cross-border merger, Cirsa will be absorbed into Lottomatica, with Cirsa shareholders receiving 0.668 newly issued Lottomatica shares for each share held.
The Bank of Canada kept interest rates at 2.25% on Wednesday, as widely expected, for the seventh meeting in a row. BoC governor Tiff Macklem said: "Since our last decision in July, the conflict in the Middle East has persisted without a clear path to resolution. Closer to home, the United States has imposed new tariffs on Canadian exports, and the Canadian government has responded with proportionate counter-tariffs and new supports for hard-hit businesses and workers. Against this background, the Governing Council assessed the economic data since our last decision, the evolving risks to the outlook, and the implications for monetary policy."
Uber Technologies is reportedly cutting about 3,300 roles, or 10% of its staff globally, in a massive restructuring aimed at reducing management layers and reallocating spending into its ride-sharing, delivery and robotaxi businesses. Chief executive officer Dara Khosrowshahi announced the changes in an email obtained by Bloomberg News. He said that Uber's growth in recent years has created "more layers, more coordination, more fragmented ownership, and in some cases structures that made sense when businesses were smaller but no longer serve us well at our current scale".
US private sector employers added 38,000 jobs in August, according to Automatic Data Processing, the weakest monthly increase since January. August's figure follows a revised 46,000 rise in July, but came in below expectations for a reading around 47,000, pointing to a broader cooling in labour‑market conditions.
New Zealand's central bank on Wednesday lifted interest rates to 2.75% as higher energy prices caused by the Iran war drove a spike in inflation. The widely-expected 25 basis point jump in the official cash rate - the second in succession - came after inflation that hit 4.1% in the June quarter.
Growth in the eurozone manufacturing sector hit a four-and-a-half year high in August, according to a survey released on Tuesday. The S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 52.7 from 51.9 in July. This marked the highest level since May 2022 and was above the 50.0 mark that separates contraction from expansion.
US factory activity continued to expand in August, with both the ISM and S&P Global manufacturing PMIs signalling further growth even as demand, output and supply‑chain conditions showed signs of cooling. The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing PMI eased to 54.6 in August, down from 55.6 in July, but still marking an eighth straight month of growth.
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