The FTSE 100 outperformed its European counterparts by some margin on Thursday, as strong results from Tesco and Halma and stronger oil prices helped support the index.

Global trade was again at the top of the list of things causing investors concern on Thursday after a US/China trade deal left many trade restrictions in place, threatening global growth. 

Other countries will be concerned that they also come away with a trade deal that leaves them vulnerable and that’s being reflected in European stocks on Thursday. The German DAX fell more than 1% while the French CAC lost 0.4%.

“There’s more of a downbeat mood in play as tariffs are once again the talk of the town and countries brace for punishment if they don’t play ball with the US,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“The Trump/Bessent good cop–bad cop routine is in full swing. Trump is saying nations can ‘take it or leave it’ when it comes to tariff deals on offer. But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is offering a carrot in the form of potential extensions to the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for those willing to negotiate. Markets have reacted badly nonetheless, and there’s a sea of red across Europe this morning, but the FTSE 100 is escaping the worst for now.”

The FTSE 100’s outperformance on Thursday is yet another example of its resilience as the index shrugged off poor UK GDP figures.

Following the release of disappointing UK jobs data and retail sales earlier this week, investors were provided with a more comprehensive, but equally disappointing, assessment of the economy in the form of 0.3% contraction in UK GDP in April.

“It’s hard not to look at today’s headline fall in economic growth as anything other than inevitable,” said Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis.

“Company after company had warned the chancellor that the decisions taken during last year’s Budget would impact business growth and create huge uncertainty about existing staffing levels.

“The latest jobs figures highlighted the fall in payrolled employees and rising unemployment earlier this week, and all those bill rises in April delivered another knock to consumer confidence, with the latest BRC retail sales figures showing spending on big ticket items has been reigned back.”

Donald Trump’s tariffs also played a major part in the slowdown, with exports dropping sharply.

Thankfully, there were plenty of good news stories for FTSE 100 companies to provide support for the index on Thursday.

Halma was the FTSE 100 top riser, jumping over 5%, after the company issued upbeat results, including an 11% increase in revenue.

“Health, safety and environmental solutions group Halma confirmed its status as one of the unsung heroes of the London market with its latest set of impressive results as revenue reached record levels,” said AJ Bell’s Russ Mould.

“The company is not resting on its laurels with strong cash flow being reinvested into the business to support future growth.”

Tesco shares were also higher as group like-for-like sales rose 4.6% despite the ongoing price war with the discounters.

“Britain’s largest grocer has delivered a resilient performance, despite a price war initiated by Asda and waning consumer confidence,” said Garry White, Chief Investment Commentator at Charles Stanley.

“Tesco reported a modest rise in UK like-for-like sales in its first-quarter update, during which it continued to gain market share. This was supported by its Aldi Price Match and Clubcard Prices initiatives, which helped retain cost-conscious shoppers amid ongoing inflationary pressures.”

BP and Shell provide the most support to the FTSE 100 index in terms of points as oil prices rose.

Quantum computing shares soared on Wednesday after Nvidia boss Jensen Huang said the industry was at inflection point. 

Speaking at Nvidia’s GTC Paris developer conference, Huang said he expects quantum computing to solve real-world problems in the next couple of years.  

Rigetti Computing shares jumped 14%, and Quantum Computing Inc. surged 30%.

Huang’s comments were in sharp contrast with a speech in January in which he said that useful quantum computers would be many years away. His dramatic change in tack will be music to the ears of quantum bulls who have recently cheered commercial progress by companies such as D-Wave.

AI Infrastructure

While the biggest market reaction to Huang’s Paris speech can be found in quantum shares, the bulk of his keynote was centred around AI infrastructure and the deployment of Nvidia’s Blackwell systems across Europe.

Nvidia partnered up with the Viva Technology conference to deliver GTC Paris, and the chip maker used the opportunity to announce several new AI infrastructure projects, including plans to build an AI Cloud with French AI firm Mistral and an AI factory in Germany.

“Every industrial revolution begins with infrastructure. AI is the essential infrastructure of our time, just as electricity and the internet once were,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA.

“With bold leadership from Europe’s governments and industries, AI will drive transformative innovation and prosperity for generations to come.”

Huang’s delivery in Paris came days after he headlined London Tech Week, saying the UK was in a goldilocks position and revealing that Nvidia would help establish an AI training centre in the UK. Nvidia also announced several partnerships with UK firms.

The FTSE 100 was on the verge of a record high on Wednesday as the index made another measured move to the upside amid hopes the US and China would strike a trade agreement.

London’s leading index was 0.1% higher at 8,858 at the time of writing after trading above 8,880 earlier in the session. Early gains we sold into as investors braced for the UK government’s spending review.

“The FTSE 100 looks like it might attain the closing high it missed by a whisker yesterday as positive news on trade talks between the US and China boosted sentiment,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“Banks, housebuilders and miners did the heavy lifting for the index with the retail sector proving a drag on Wednesday morning after weak sales data yesterday.

“US and China have agreed a framework trade deal as they ironed out some difference over export controls on rare earths and technology.”

Optimism around a trade deal helped London’s China-focused stocks once more. Prudential was the top riser with a gain of 2.4%, while miners Glencore and Rio Tinto gained on the session.

Housebuilders were also in focus as investors continued to add the sector to their portfolios following poor economic data that increased bets on interest rate cuts and an upbeat assessment of trade by peer Bellway yesterday.

The sector received another boost from Ibstock’s update that highlighted growing demand for bricks during the first half of the year. FTSE 250 Ibstock’s shares sank as rising costs offset the good news about improving demand.

BT shares were 2% on reports by the Telegraph that the group was considering making a bid for TalkTalk, one of OpenReach’s biggest customers.

Adsure Services has issued an encouraging update on its proprietary artificial intelligence tool, ‘TIAA Insight’, designed to deliver efficiencies across its operating subsidiary, TIAA Ltd.

The internal audit and business assurance firm is developing an AI tool that will first augment their internal processes before the company potentially explores licensing the software.

In 2023, Adsure Services received an Innovate UK grant to research and develop an artificial intelligence large language model targeted at improving the efficiency with which they carry out work for government-funded organisations. 

The model is being developed using only TIAA data to provide the optimal outcome for the company’s audit operatives. Specialist and internally built closed-source large language models (LLMs) are becoming increasingly popular because they ensure the privacy of the data used to train them. 

TIAA Insight is trained on vast data sets collated by Adsure Services’ operating subsidiary, TIAA Ltd, as opposed to the open internet, which is typical of models such as ChatGPT.

Privacy and securitty is of the utmost importance for Adsure Services given the nature of the work they carry out for their government-funded organisation clients, such as emergency services, education institutions and housing associations.

While the company hasn’t provided any specific details on the processes TIAA Insight will be deployed to carry out, it has alluded to early success with the tool entering a testing stage. 

“Through our ongoing investment in market leading technology, Adsure will be able to drive efficiencies within its core service lines and add greater value to our customers,” said Kevin Limn, CEO of Adsure Services.

“We are committed to being the provider of choice to the UK public sector, and this evolution in our technological capabilities will strengthen our ability to achieve this ambition.”

The successful deployment of the tool will likely translate into improved margins, although the company has yet to provide any guidance on this.

A licensed software product could open up very attractive revenue streams.

Adsure Services’ revenues grew 19% to over £5m in the first half of their financial year.

Shares in brick maker Ibstock were under pressure on Wednesday after the company announced rising fixed costs attributed to increasing capacity.

Ibstock shares were down 14% at the time of writing. 

If it had not been for the rising costs base, Ibstock’s trading statement would have been very well received. Volumes in the first half of the year are expected to far outstrip those of the same period last year. The company has been dogged by slow housing sales, which are now eventually picking up.

However, rising cost inflation is weighing on margins and is proving to be a major disappointment for investors. The company now sees adjusted EBITDA in the range of £77 million to £82 million, flat on last year’s £79 million.

“Ibstock continues to build momentum in 2025, with an increase in residential construction leading to an uplift in demand for the brickmaker’s products. As a result, first-half sales volumes look set to land materially ahead of the prior year,” said Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“But it’s not all good news. As Ibstock’s been firing up the kilns used to make the bricks and adding back capacity at several of its factories, its fixed costs have soared.

“Until demand and production ramp up further, operations won’t be as efficient as the group would like, and profitability is getting squeezed in the meantime. On top of that, average selling prices have been hurt by a shift in mix towards newbuild markets, which have recovered quicker than the broader construction market. Again, that’s weighing on profitability and full-year underlying cash profit (EBITDA) guidance of £77-£82mn fell well short of the market’s £90mn expectations.”