FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

UK's FTSE Ends Higher; Segro Leads Gainers After Rejecting Prologis Bid

By

British equities gained on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 closing 0.31% in the green, as investors digested a series of corporate updates.

Shares in Segro (SGRO.L) jumped 17.44%, leading blue-chip gainers, after the UK warehouse landlord rejected a 12.6 billion-pound-sterling takeover approach from US-based industrial real estate investment trust Prologis (0KOD.L).

Segro said the proposal "falls a long way short of" its own views on value, adding that the offer was "opportunistically timed and sought to take advantage of the clear dislocation" between its current share price and its underlying business.

Housebuilder Berkeley Group (BKG.L) rose 8.36% even as profit after tax attributable to shareholders for the 12 months ended April 30 declined to 318.3 million pounds from 382 million pounds a year ago, while revenue dropped to 2.38 billion pounds from 2.49 billion pounds.

"Berkeley reported FY26 PBT (April year-end) in line with consensus and guidance, and reiterated their 4-year PBT guidance over FY27-30 for GBP1.40bn ([Visible Alpha] cons. GBP1.46bn)," RBC Capital Markets noted. "Management continued to strike a cautious tone, with the housing market post-Middle East conflict being 'characterised by caution and lacking in urgency.'"

British wealth manager St. James's Place (STJ.L) climbed 3.71% after Deutsche Bank Research raised its price target to 20.5 pounds from 20 pounds and maintained its buy rating.

"SJP shares have been weak so far in 2026 (-16% TSR YTD vs. FTSE Allshare +7%)," analysts said. "This is a disappointing outcome for us given it was, and remains, our top pick. We think there are three primary drivers of the weakness: 1) Concerns on AI persists amongst some investors, 2) Q1 flows were at the softer end (importantly though still adequate to deliver the earnings growth expected) and 3) the share price was strong in 2025, in part driven by momentum focused investors, many of whom have at least paused for now given #1 and #2."

In geopolitical news, the US Senate passed a war powers resolution by 50-48 in an effort to restrict President Donald Trump's authority to resume military operations against Iran without congressional approval. "Although its legal force is disputed, the vote signals growing bipartisan scepticism over the administration's Iran policy," Danske Bank said.

Related Articles

Asia Markets

Update: US Equity Indexes Decline Amid Hard Sell-Off in Chipmakers

(Updates with index/price moves and analysts' comments from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes slumped as profit-taking in mega-cap semiconductor names pushed the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 sharply lower on Tuesday.The tech-heavy Nasdaq sank 2.2% to 25,587.04, the S&P 500 dived 1.4% to 7,365.46, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped less than 0.1% to 51,666.84 at the close. Technology, industrials, and materials were the standout decliners, while consumer staples, real estate, and health care topped the gainers.In a category of stocks with a market capitalization of over $200 billion, 18 out of the 20 worst-performing stocks were technology firms. Sandisk (SNDK), Micron Technology (MU), and Arm (ARM) were the steepest decliners, sinking by at least 10% each. Within technology, semiconductors bore the brunt of investors' apathy.The sharp selling is likely profit-taking after market exuberance pushed tech stocks to record highs this year, Javier Correonero, Morningstar senior equity analyst, said in a news report published on the company's website. "There's a lot of froth in the markets."Tech stocks may face spillover impact from the selloff in South Korea, though the slide appears to be a "pullback/breather" in a market that nearly doubled this year, Wedbush Securities said in a note."We view the KOSPI sell-off as a pullback/breather on a market up almost 100% this year and also believe [SK Hynix, an affiliate of SK Telecom (SK)] overtaking Samsung was a big symbolic move that caused some investors to worry about an 'overheated' memory chip trade," Wedbush analysts, including Dan Ives, said in the note.Offering a different viewpoint on market moves, the Wells Fargo Investment Institute said in a research note that stocks often weaken before elections, referring to the US midterm polls in November. "Markets typically respond to a clearer policy outlook, so long-term investors should stay focused on fundamentals and consider adding equity exposure during election-driven pullbacks."In geopolitical news, President Donald Trump told reporters outside the White House that International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors will be heading to Iran, according to a report from Al Jazeera. In response to a journalist who said that Tehran claims that there are no scheduled IAEA visits, Trump said: "They're wrong, they know they're wrong. They told us inside, and we have it down 100 percent. If they were right, I'd cancel the meetings right now."Separately, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said no negotiations will take place on the country's ballistic missiles, Al Jazeera reported.Front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent retreated 1.2% to $76.95 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate slid 1% to $73.13 per barrel, with both crude oil types off session lows.In economic news, the June flash reading of manufacturing conditions from S&P Global rose to a 49-month high of 55.7 from 55.1 in May, in contrast with an expected decrease to 54.6 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.Most US Treasury yields fell, but were off session lows. The 10-year slipped one basis point to 4.5%, and the two-year rate declined 2.7 basis points to 4.2%.In precious metals, gold futures dropped 1.8% to $4,129.00, and silver futures slumped 6.1% to $62.01.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$ARM$MU$SNDK
Asia Markets

Exchange-Traded Funds Decline, US Equities Mixed After Midday

Broad Market IndicatorsBroad-market exchange-traded funds IWM and IVV edged lower. Actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) shed 2.7%.US equity indexes traded mixed as a rout in heavyweight semiconductor names hit the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 in Tuesday's midday trading.EnergyIShares US Energy ETF and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) each added about 0.7%.TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) fell 3.2%; iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) eased 3%, and iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was down 2.7%.The State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) declined 5.8%, and iShares Semiconductor (SOXX) dipped 7%.FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) added 0.4%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) climbed 1.1%, and its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), declined 1.2%.CommoditiesCrude oil fell 1.2%, and the United States Oil Fund (USO) slipped 1.5%. Natural gas dropped 3.2%, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was down 2.7%.Gold on Comex eased 1.2%, and the State Street SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) fell 1.2%. Silver was down 5.3%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) shed 4.6%.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) rose 1.6%. The Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) added 1.7%, and iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) was up 1.6%.The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) dipped 0.6%. VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) rose 1%, and the State Street SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) was up 0.7%.HealthcareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) rose 1.2%, iShares US Healthcare (IYH) added 1.2%, and Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) was up 1.2%. IShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) gained 1.6%.IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) fell 1.2%. Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) and iShares US Industrials (IYJ) were also lower.CryptocurrencyIn midday activity, bitcoin (BTC-USD) eased 3.2%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) fell 3.2%, ProShares Ether ETF (EETH) was down 4.5%, and ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was 2.9% lower.

Dow Jones^EEM^EXI^FAS^FAZ^GLD^IBB^IGM^IGV^IPK^IVV^IWMNasdaq Composite^IYE^IYH^IYJ^IYK^IYW^PMR^QQQ^RTH^SOXXS&P 500^SPY^UNG^USO^VDC^VHT^VIS^XLE^XLF^XLI^XLK^XLP^XLV^XRT^XSD$BETH$BITO$EETH
Asia Markets

Update: US Equity Indexes Mixed as Mega-Cap Sell-Off Sends Nasdaq, S&P 500 Sliding

(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, and analysts' comments from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes traded mixed as a rout in heavyweight semiconductor names hit the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 in Tuesday's midday trading.The Nasdaq Composite slumped 1.4% to 25,803.1, and the S&P 500 dropped 0.9% to 7,403.2 intraday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 51,821.7.Technology and industrials were the standout decliners, while consumer staples and real estate topped the gainers intraday.In a category of stocks with a market capitalization of over $200 billion, 17 out of the bottom 20 stocks were technology firms. Sandisk (SNDK), Micron Technology (MU), and Qualcomm (QCOM) were the steepest decliners, sinking by at least 9% each intraday. Within technology, semiconductors bore the brunt of investors' apathy.Tech stocks may face spillover impact from the selloff in South Korea, though the slide appears to be a "pullback/breather" in a market that nearly doubled this year, Wedbush Securities said in a note. South Korea's Korea Composite Stock Price Index, which was up roughly 90% year-to-date, fell about 10% on Tuesday, the brokerage said in a note."We view the KOSPI sell-off as a pullback/breather on a market up almost 100% this year and also believe [SK Hynix, an affiliate of SK Telecom overtaking Samsung was a big symbolic move that caused some investors to worry about an 'overheated' memory chip trade," Wedbush analysts, including Dan Ives, said in the note.Offering a different viewpoint, the Wells Fargo Investment Institute said in a research note that stocks often weaken before elections, referring to the US midterm polls in November. However, history shows those declines have often been followed by strong rebounds and better returns in the year after midterm results are known."Markets typically respond to a clearer policy outlook, so long-term investors should stay focused on fundamentals and consider adding equity exposure during election-driven pullbacks," the WFII note said.In geopolitical news, the Strait of Hormuz will remain open "with no further naval blockade," and Iran has agreed to the "highest level nuclear inspections," Al Jazeera cited US President Donald Trump as saying. Tehran has no plans to allow international inspections of its nuclear facilities, the Middle East news agency cited Iran's Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei as saying.Front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent retreated 1.32% to $76.86 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate slid 1.3% to $72.93 per barrel.In economic news, the June flash reading of manufacturing conditions from S&P Global rose to a 49-month high of 55.7 from 55.1 in May, in contrast with an expected decrease to 54.6 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.Redbook US same-store sales surged 10% from a year earlier in the week ended June 20 after a 9.4% year-over-year increase in the previous week.Most US Treasury yields declined, with the 10-year down 2.8 basis points to 4.48%. The two-year rate dropped 4.7 basis points to 4.18%.In precious metals, gold futures dropped 1% to $4,159.10, and silver futures slumped 5.2% to $62.65.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$MU$QCOM$SNDK