--- title: "FTSE 100 Closes Higher as Vodafone Surges 13% and easyJet Jumps on Apollo Bid" publisher: "Share Talk" author: "sharetalk" published: "2026-07-10T18:03:30+00:00" modified: "2026-07-10T18:03:30+00:00" date: 2026-07-10 canonical: "https://www.share-talk.com/ftse-100-closes-higher-as-vodafone-surges-13-and-easyjet-jumps-on-apollo-bid/" category: "Blogs" categories: ["Blogs", "Technology", "Technology, Media & Telecoms"] tags: ["Asia", "Bangkok", "Denmark", "Endeavour Mining", "Fed", "Federal Reserve", "Finland", "FRANCE", "FTSE 100", "GERMANY", "Glencore", "Greenland plan", "Hong kong", "Japan", "London", "Manila", "mining stocks", "Mumbai", "Nasdaq Composite", "NATO alliance", "Netherlands", "Nikkei 225", "Norway", "S&P 500", "shanghai", "Singapore", "Sweden", "Sydney", "Taiwan", "UK", "United States", "Wall Street", "Wellington"] image: "https://i0.wp.com/www.share-talk.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LONDON-10_11_23.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&quality=89&ssl=1" format: "news" language: "en-GB" --- # FTSE 100 Closes Higher as Vodafone Surges 13% and easyJet Jumps on Apollo Bid **Published:** July 10, 2026 **Author:** sharetalk **Categories:** Blogs, Technology, Technology, Media & Telecoms **Tags:** Asia, Bangkok, Denmark, Endeavour Mining, Fed, Federal Reserve, Finland, FRANCE, FTSE 100, GERMANY, Glencore, Greenland plan, Hong kong, Japan, London, Manila, mining stocks, Mumbai, Nasdaq Composite, NATO alliance, Netherlands, Nikkei 225, Norway, S&P 500, shanghai, Singapore, Sweden, Sydney, Taiwan, UK, United States, Wall Street, Wellington **Featured image:** ![](https://i0.wp.com/www.share-talk.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LONDON-10_11_23.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&quality=89&ssl=1) --- The FTSE 100 ended higher on Friday in calmer trading, helped by a double-digit rise in Vodafone shares as investors largely took the latest US-Iran tensions in stride. London’s blue-chip index closed up 24.84 points, or 0.2%, at 10,497.29. The FTSE 250 gained 130.85 points, or 0.6%, to 23,371.41, while the AIM All-Share rose 1.57 points, or 0.2%, to 763.82. Despite Friday’s gains, the FTSE 100 finished the week down 1.7%, while the FTSE 250 fell 0.7% and the AIM All-Share also lost 1.7%. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2%, the S&P 500 was broadly flat, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2%. Brent crude for September delivery fell to US$75.86 a barrel from US$77.03 on Thursday. In currency markets, the euro traded at US$1.1434 against the dollar, while sterling strengthened to US$1.3419. Against the euro, the pound rose to EUR1.1737. Gold eased to US$4,101.39 an ounce from US$4,126.64 on Thursday. Back in London, Vodafone was the standout FTSE 100 performer, closing 13% higher after investment vehicle Vega agreed to acquire e&’s entire 16.2% stake in the telecoms group for £4.4 billion. The transaction will make French billionaire Xavier Niel Vodafone’s largest shareholder, subject to regulatory approval. Vega has said it does not currently intend to make a takeover offer for Vodafone and plans to engage with the UK government over the transaction. Vodafone also confirmed that its relationship agreement with e& has ended and that e& nominee director Hatem Dowidar has stepped down from the board with immediate effect. At the other end of the FTSE 100, St James’s Place slumped 8.6% following a report that Sovereign Wealth, one of its large partner firms, had decided to leave the group. AstraZeneca fell a further 3.9%, extending losses following disappointing phase three trial results for Wainua earlier in the week. On the FTSE 250, recruiter Hays surged 20% after forecasting annual profit at the top end of market expectations despite challenging trading conditions. The company said net fees fell 4% year-on-year in the final quarter, or 5% on a like-for-like basis, which was better than market expectations for a 6% decline. easyJet climbed 14% after reaching agreement in principle on the key financial terms of a possible £5.7 billion takeover proposal from Apollo. Apollo’s proposed cash offer values easyJet at 715p per share, ahead of a rival 690p-per-share proposal from Castlelake. The easyJet board said it was now no longer minded to recommend the Castlelake proposal and regarded Apollo’s approach as a superior outcome for shareholders. However, the Apollo proposal does not yet constitute a firm offer under the UK Takeover Code. The biggest FTSE 100 risers were Vodafone, Entain, JD Sports Fashion, Spirax and Pershing Square Holdings. The biggest fallers were St James’s Place, AstraZeneca, Hiscox, Rentokil Initial and Babcock International. Next week’s global economic calendar includes US inflation data, UK GDP figures and an interest rate decision from the Bank of Canada. On Monday’s UK corporate calendar, recruiter PageGroup is scheduled to issue a trading update. --- **Original URL:** https://www.share-talk.com/ftse-100-closes-higher-as-vodafone-surges-13-and-easyjet-jumps-on-apollo-bid/ *Created by [WP Markdown Endpoint](https://wpmarkdownendpoint.com/)*