Hot Features
Premium
Trade smarter, not harder: Unleash your inner pro with our toolkit and live discussions.
London stocks on the FTSE 100 were steady in early trade on Wednesday as investors sifted through a raft of corporate news.
At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was flat at 8,605.43.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Stocks stateside have gone on a run as more trade deals are inked, but the baton hasn’t been passed to the FTSE 100, which is flat in early trade.
“The more cautious sentiment may partly have been prompted by concerns that interest rates look set to stay higher for longer in the UK. Bank of England policymakers have been striking notes of wariness about the risk that inflation may stay stubbornly above target. Market expectations for further rate cuts this year have cooled off, with only one to two further reductions being priced in.
“Decision makers are worried that pay growth remains steamy, which could have a knock-on effect on broader price rises. In the three months to March, pay growth including bonuses, came in at 5.5%, above market forecasts. Huw Pill, the chief economist at the Bank of England, voted against cutting rates last week, favouring keeping them unchanged, and other members have stressed they are wary about going too fast.”
In equity markets, Mondi surged after an upgrade to ‘overweight’ from ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan, while Hikma rallied after an initiation at ‘outperform’ by BNPP Exane.
Burberry jumped as investors welcomed the luxury brand’s turnaround plans. Burberry said it swung to a full-year loss amid a slump in revenue and that 1,700 jobs could be at risk as part of its ongoing turnaround plan.
On the downside, Imperial Brands tumbled as its first-half adjusted operating profit missed expectations and the company announced the retirement of chief executive Stefan Bomhard, who will be succeeded by Lukas Paravicini.
Spirax was also in the red as the manufacturing group delivered a cautious outlook, saying that the uncertainty caused by trade tariffs is impacting customers’ capital investment decisions.
Compass fell as the catering firm held on to full-year guidance, which points to a slight slowdown in underlying revenue and profit growth, despite a strong first half.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Marks And Spencer Group Plc | +3.39% | +11.70 | 357.10 |
| 2 |  |
Bae Systems Plc | +2.21% | +37.00 | 1,710.50 |
| 3 |  |
Airtel Africa Plc | +2.13% | +3.60 | 172.70 |
| 4 |  |
Relx Plc | +1.39% | +55.00 | 4,004.00 |
| 5 |  |
Gsk Plc | +1.22% | +16.50 | 1,374.50 |
| 6 |  |
Next Plc | +1.11% | +135.00 | 12,335.00 |
| 7 |  |
Banco Santander S.a. | +1.06% | +6.00 | 572.00 |
| 8 |  |
National Grid Plc | +0.99% | +10.00 | 1,016.50 |
| 9 |  |
British American Tobacco Plc | +0.79% | +24.00 | 3,055.00 |
| 10 |  |
Auto Trader Group Plc | +0.73% | +6.20 | 858.00 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Imperial Brands Plc | -6.99% | -202.00 | 2,688.00 |
| 2 |  |
Ashtead Group Plc | -2.61% | -116.00 | 4,336.00 |
| 3 |  |
Crh Plc | -2.46% | -186.00 | 7,362.00 |
| 4 |  |
International Consolidated Airlines Group S.a. | -2.08% | -6.70 | 316.00 |
| 5 |  |
Standard Chartered Plc | -2.03% | -23.50 | 1,132.00 |
| 6 |  |
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. | -2.01% | -120.00 | 5,840.00 |
| 7 |  |
Hsbc Holdings Plc | -1.96% | -17.20 | 858.90 |
| 8 |  |
Flutter Entertainment Plc | -1.95% | -360.00 | 18,060.00 |
| 9 |  |
Barratt Redrow Plc | -1.94% | -9.00 | 454.80 |
| 10 |  |
Melrose Industries Plc | -1.91% | -9.20 | 471.70 |
US close: Stocks mixed as inflation comes in cooler
Wall Street closed mixed on Tuesday as investors digested a weaker-than-expected US inflation report that revived hopes of interest rate cuts later this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.64% to 42,140.43, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.72% to 5,886.55, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.61% to finish at 19,010.08.
In currency markets, the dollar was last down 0.98% on sterling to trade at 75.16p, as it lost 0.93% versus the euro to 89.36 euro cents, and declined 0.71% against its Japanese counterpart, changing hands at JPY 147.40.
“Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 are trading back in positive territory for the year as US inflation unexpectedly slows and China lowers tariffs on US goods,” said IG senior technical analyst Axel Rudolph.
“Who would have thought that within a matter of weeks US stock indices would be trading back in positive territory for the year? Yet, here we are.
“Slowing US inflation, both headline and core, coupled with China’s Finance Ministry announcing a pause in additional tariffs – effectively lowering tariffs on US goods from 34% to 10% – helped heave the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 back into positive territory for the year.”
Rudolph noted that the Dow was closely following suit, but said the small cap Russell 2000 was lagging behind, trading around 5% lower when compared to the beginning of 2025.
“The German DAX index continues to trade near this week’s record high amid a sharp rebound in the country’s investor sentiment with only the FTSE 100 trading slightly lower on the day in Europe despite UK wage growth coming in slightly below estimates.”
US inflation lower than expected, Goldman revises economic outlook
In economic news, US inflation came in lower than expected in April, easing pressure on the Federal Reserve and prompting a reassessment of economic and market forecasts.
Headline consumer prices rose 2.3% year-on-year, just below the 2.4% consensus forecast, while the core inflation rate held steady at 2.8%.
On a monthly basis, CPI increased 0.2%, a modest rise that suggests recent tariff hikes have yet to feed through into broader price levels.
Shelter costs accounted for roughly half of the monthly increase, while energy also contributed.
Meanwhile, prices declined in categories such as food, airfares, and used vehicles, helping temper overall inflation.
Elsewhere, in response to the US-China tariff truce announced earlier this week, Goldman Sachs revised its economic and market outlook.
The bank said it now expected US GDP growth to reach 1% in 2025 on a Q4-over-Q4 basis, up from a previous 0.5% forecast, and cut its 12-month recession probability from 45% to 35%.
It also raised its S&P 500 targets, forecasting levels of 5,900 in three months and 6,500 in a year, reflecting anticipated gains of 1% and 11% respectively.
Goldman said the lower-than-expected tariff increases and looser financial conditions support stronger corporate earnings and reduce downside risks.
As a result of the firmer growth outlook, the bank said it now expected the Federal Reserve to delay its first rate cut until December and to ease policy more gradually than previously anticipated.
Rather than back-to-back cuts, the Fed was now expected to lower rates at alternate meetings, as the rationale shifts from recession insurance to policy normalisation.
UnitedHealth tumbles on suspended guidance, Boeing in the green
In equity markets, UnitedHealth Group fell 17.79% after the healthcare giant suspended its annual guidance and announced that chief executive officer Andrew Witty would step down for personal reasons.
Microsoft shares edged 0.03% lower amid reports the company was planning to cut 3% of its global workforce.
On the upside, Boeing rose 2.46% following reports that China had lifted its ban on deliveries of US-made aircraft.
The move marked a significant de-escalation in trade tensions and could unlock orders previously frozen during the trade dispute.
Nvidia jumped 5.63% after it was reported the company would supply 18,000 of its advanced AI chips to Saudi Arabia, fuelling a rally in chip stocks.
Sector peers Broadcom and AMD gained 4.89% and 4.01%, respectively.
Elsewhere, Swiss running shoe company On Holding soared 11.83% after reporting better-than-expected earnings and revenue.
Chevron added 0.52%, defying a downgrade from HSBC, which cut the oil major’s rating to ‘hold’ and lowered its price target.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Channel 4, Jaguar Land Rover, Thames Water
European companies are increasingly lobbying for strong climate action, research has found, in a “profound shift” that analysts say challenges the narrative that businesses see green rules as a threat to profits. The share of companies whose corporate lobbying is “aligned” with pathways to meet global climate goals rose from 3% in 2019 to 23% in 2025, according to an analysis of 200 of the largest European companies by InfluenceMap, while the share of companies who were deemed “misaligned” fell from 34% to 14%. – Guardian
Thousands of migrant workers are likely to die in Saudi Arabia as a result of a building boom fuelled by the 2034 World Cup and other major construction projects, human rights groups have warned. The Gulf kingdom has seen a surge in demand for cheap migrant labour, with a significant increase in foreign workers since 2021, as it starts preparations for hosting the World Cup and drives forward projects including the futurist megacity Neom. – Guardian
The former boss of broadband provider TalkTalk is bidding to become the first woman to chair Channel 4. Dame Tristia Harrison is among the contenders to replace Sir Ian Cheshire, The Telegraph has learnt. She served as chief executive of TalkTalk from 2017 until late last year. – Telegraph
The boss of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has refused to rule out producing cars in America in an effort to avoid tariffs. Adrian Mardell, JLR’s chief executive, said the company had no plans to move production across the Atlantic but could not dismiss the possibility for the future amid lingering questions about how the UK-US trade pact will work in practice. – Telegraph
Thames Water’s chairman has apologised to customers while insisting it is “not a failing company” and saying that hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of recent bonuses for bosses were justified. Sir Adrian Montague told MPs on Tuesday that he wanted to apologise for “letting customers down” in recent years and at times causing people “real hardship”. – The Times
