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UK stocks rose slightly on Thursday, with luxury brand Burberry leading gains in the mid-cap index after announcing a turnaround plan, while declines in mining stocks limited overall gains.

Single Stock Stories:

• Burberry's shares rise 6.8%, leading the FTSE mid caps index. The British luxury retailer initiates a £40 million annual cost-savings programme. The company swung to a half-year adjusted operating loss of £41 million from a profit of £223 million last year. First-half revenue declined 20% in constant currencies, with Asia Pacific being the weakest region in Q2 with sales down 28%. Burberry announces a turnaround plan to focus on core products like trench coats and scarves. The CEO states they are acting with urgency to course correct, stabilise the business, and position Burberry for a return to sustainable, profitable growth. Burberry's stock is down approximately 45% year-to-date.

• Aviva, a British insurer, sees its shares rise 2.5%. The company reports a 15% increase in 9-month general insurance gross written premiums and a 9-month combined operating ratio of 96.8%. Retirement sales have risen 67% to 7.3 billion pounds. CEO Amanda Blanc states that Aviva is financially strong, trading well each quarter, and has significant growth opportunities. The company reaffirms its group targets outlined earlier this year. The stock is up 4.6% year-to-date as of the last close.

• Spirax-Sarco Engineering's shares rise 4.5% to 6,675p, leading the FTSE 100 index. The company maintains its full-year forecast despite challenging macroeconomic conditions in China, and reports organic sales growth for the 10 months ended October 30 ahead of the first-half sales in all three business units. Jefferies says the statement is as good as expected. Two out of 17 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, 12 "hold," and 3 "sell," with a median price target of 8,000p. The stock is down approximately 39.36% year-to-date as of the last close.

• B&M, a British discount retailer, saw its share price jump 3.8% to 394.2p, making it one of the top gainers on the FTSE 100 index. The company reported that it is "well positioned" for the key Christmas quarter, with its first-half core earnings rising 2% and revenue growing 3.7%. The company's focus on competitive prices, improving products, and raising standards has been paying off, despite the uncertain consumer environment. The session's gains have helped the stock cut its year-to-date losses to around 27%.

Broker Updates:

• UK retailer WH Smith's shares down 5.2% at 1,233p, reports FY revenue of 1.9 bln pounds vs analysts' estimate, FY adj. pretax profit of 166 mln pounds vs analysts' estimate 163.6 mln pounds, JP Morgan trims FY25, 26 & 27 PBT estimates, cuts stock target price to 1,950p from 2,000p, stock down ~8.55% YTD.

Technical & Trade View

FTSE Bias: Bullish Above Bearish below 8225

• Primary support 8000
• Below 8000 opens 7855
• Primary objective 8600
• Daily VWAP Bearish
• Weekly VWAP Bearish

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