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London stocks on the FTSE 100 ticked up in early trade on Thursday as investors awaited an expected US-UK trade deal announcement later in the day and a 25 basis points rate cut from the Bank of England.
At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 8,575.66.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “There’s a fresh sense of optimism in the air, with the FTSE 100 opening 0.3% higher as markets react to the latest trade news. The US and China may finally be sitting down to talk and, closer to home, there’s expected to be a UK-US agreement announced later today.
“The auto industry will be paying particular attention, given the current 25% auto tariff is a tough pill to swallow. Aside from trade talks, it’s central bank decisions that are dominating the newsreel this week. While the US Fed held things steady, UK rates are expected to see some action, as the combination of a weaker growth outlook and better than expected inflation offers enough wiggle room to cut.”
Investors were also mulling the latest data from Halifax, which showed that house prices rose in April for the first time since January.
House prices edged up 0.3% on the month following a 0.5% decline in March and a 0.2% drop in February.
On the year, house prices rose 3.2% in April following 2.9% and 2.8% growth in March and February, respectively.
The average price of a property stood at £297,781 last month, compared to £296,899 in March.
Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said: “We know the stamp duty changes prompted a surge in transactions in the early part of this year, as buyers rushed to beat the tax-rise deadline. However, this didn’t lead to a significant increase in property prices, with the last six months characterised by a stability in prices rarely seen since the pandemic. While the market has cooled slightly since this rush, buyer activity remains strong in comparison to recent years.
“Mortgage rates have continued to fall, with most lenders now offering rates below 4%. Coupled with positive earnings growth that has outpaced broader inflation, these factors have helped to steadily improve affordability for many buyers.
“Overall, the market continues to show resilience despite a subdued economic environment and risks from geopolitical developments. There is likely to be a bump-up in consumer price inflation as household bills increase, but with further base rate cuts also expected, we anticipate a similar trend of modest price growth this year.”
In equity markets, IMI was among the top risers as the engineering firm reaffirmed its guidance for the full year.
Fashion and homeware retailer Next rose as it lifted annual profit guidance after reporting forecast-busting first-quarter sales, citing warmer weather which boosted purchases of summer clothing, but held annual estimates of flat revenues.
Harbour Energy surged as it increased its production outlook a day after announcing plans to cut 250 jobs in Aberdeen.
Centrica tumbled as the British Gas owner cautioned that its residential energy business has been impacted by warmer than usual weather in the second quarter.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Melrose Industries Plc | +3.60% | +16.10 | 463.50 |
| 2 |  |
Smurfit Westrock Plc | +3.53% | +106.00 | 3,107.00 |
| 3 |  |
Intermediate Capital Group Plc | +3.48% | +67.00 | 1,992.00 |
| 4 |  |
Weir Group Plc | +3.29% | +76.00 | 2,386.00 |
| 5 |  |
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Plc | +3.07% | +28.40 | 952.40 |
| 6 |  |
Intercontinental Hotels Group Plc | +3.04% | +262.00 | 8,870.00 |
| 7 |  |
Rolls-royce | +3.00% | +23.00 | 789.00 |
| 8 |  |
Ashtead Group Plc | +2.64% | +106.00 | 4,125.00 |
| 9 |  |
Ferguson Enterprises Inc. | +2.48% | +310.00 | 12,830.00 |
| 10 |  |
Halma Plc | +2.40% | +68.00 | 2,898.00 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Centrica Plc | -7.61% | -12.10 | 147.00 |
| 2 |  |
Fresnillo | -2.47% | -26.00 | 1,028.00 |
| 3 |  |
Vodafone Group Plc | -2.40% | -1.72 | 69.86 |
| 4 |  |
Flutter Entertainment Plc | -2.35% | -430.00 | 17,855.00 |
| 5 |  |
Astrazeneca Plc | -2.21% | -232.00 | 10,272.00 |
| 6 |  |
Rio Tinto Plc | -1.78% | -81.00 | 4,458.50 |
| 7 |  |
Severn Trent Plc | -1.59% | -44.00 | 2,715.00 |
| 8 |  |
Imperial Brands Plc | -1.46% | -46.00 | 3,109.00 |
| 9 |  |
Bt Group Plc | -1.32% | -2.20 | 164.25 |
| 10 |  |
Bhp Group Limited | -1.04% | -19.00 | 1,809.00 |
US close: Stocks lifted by Powell’s steady hand, tariff talks
Wall Street stocks finished higher on Wednesday as a calm and measured statement from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell eased fears, along with increased optimism regarding trade talks between the US and China.
Despite a temporary sell-off after the Fed decision, markets erased losses by the close as the Dow rose 0.7%, the S&P 500 gained 0.4% and the Nasdaq rose 0.3%.
Rate-setters in Washington D.C. stood pat on interest rates, as expected, while conceding the difficulty of pursuing its goals in the current climate. In its policy statement, the Federal Open Market Committee said that the economy was continuing to expand at a solid pace, notwithstanding swings in imports, and that the jobs market remained “solid” too.
In his post-meeting press conference, Powell said that whether or not interest rate cuts would be needed over the remainder of 2025 would depend on how the current disruptions to trade finally play out. Uncertainty about the future path of the economy was “extremely elevated”, Powell said.
But right now “the economy is doing fine” and policy was “less restrictive and in a good place”, he said, stressing the need to wait for more clarity on how the economic outlook evolves.
Bonds and the dollar benefitted from Powell’s “steady hand”, according to Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, along with the latest tariff newsflow. The yield on a 10-year US Treasury was down 4 basis points at 4.274% while the dollar index was up 0.6% at 99.87.
“Powell didn’t blink under the barrage of doomsday headlines—no recession confession, no panic-to-please-the-press soundbite. He sidestepped the tariff hysteria, pointed to resilient jobs data and cooling inflation, and effectively shut the door on any pre-Q3 rate cut. The panic button? Safely back in the drawer, at least for now,” Innes said.
Helping sentiment on Wednesday were reports that treasury secretary Scott Bessent and trade representative Jamieson Greer will meet with their Chinese counterparts in Switzerland later this week.
However, as pointed out by analyst David Morrison from Trade Nation, “these are seen as preliminary talks to set the stage for more substantive discussions down the line, so investors took the news in their stride”.
Elsewhere on the macro front, US mortgage applications shot up 11% in the week ended 2 May, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, with applications to purchase a home shot up 11%, as did applications to refinance a mortgage.
Market movers
Nvidia was performing well on rumours that Trump may veto strict rules on AI chip shipments introduced by the Biden administration, which had been set to go into effect next week. The overhaul could pave the way for more AI chips to be sent to countries including India, Mexico and Israel.
Elsewhere in the tech space, shares in Super Micro Computer were lower after the group’s Q3 earnings missed expectations on the Street, while Advanced Micro Devices traded higher on the back of better-than-expected Q1 earnings.
Ride-hailing giant Uber reported a stronger first quarter than last year, though shares dropped as numbers fell short of forecasts. Gross bookings and total revenues both improved by 14% year-on-year to $42.8bn and $11.5bn respectively, but analysts were widely expecting figures closer to $43bn and $11.6bn, respectively.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Orsted, drought conditions, HSBC, uninsurable homes
The world’s biggest wind power developer has cancelled plans for one of the UK’s largest offshore windfarms, in a significant blow to the government’s green energy targets. The Danish wind power company Ørsted said the Hornsea 4 project no longer made economic sense because of soaring costs in the industry’s global supply chain, after it won a government contract last year. – Guardian
Crops are already failing in England because of drought conditions this spring, farmers have said. People should start to ration their water use, the Environment Agency said, as water companies prepare for a summer of drought. The government has also asked the water CEOs to do more to avert water shortages, and the EA said hosepipe bans are on the horizon if a significant amount of rain does not fall. – Guardian
HSBC is facing the prospect of a major desk shortage at its new City of London headquarters after forcing staff back into the office three days a week. Senior managers at the lender are predicting a shortfall of up to 7,700 desks when workers move into the bank’s new offices near St Paul’s Cathedral in 2027. – Telegraph
Tens of thousands of uninsurable homes risk being built on flood plains across the UK under Angela Rayner’s housing blitz, experts have warned. The Association for British Insurers (ABI) said the Government’s efforts to build 1.5m homes over the next five years could include houses built in some of the UK’s highest-risk areas. – Telegraph
The largest oil and gas producer in the North Sea has blamed government policy as it prepares to cut 250 jobs. Harbour Energy criticised the “punitive” fiscal regime in oil and gas and the slow pace of progress on carbon capture projects. – The Times
