- FTSE 100 falls 50 points to 9,727
- Bank of England holds base rate at 4%
- AstraZeneca beats forecasts but shares little-moved
- Smith & Nehpew and Hikma Pharma disappoint
4.08pm: FTSE flagging as finish line approaches
The FTSE 100 and its mid-cap sibling are both stumbling ever lower as the finishing line for the day approaches.
Blue-chips are flagging 0.5% lower and the FTSE 250 has drooped 0.8% so far.
Hikma Pharmaceuticals, down 13%, Smith & Nephew, down 11% and Diageo, down 7% are at the vanguard of the retreat after their results displeased the market.
Larger names like Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems, RELX, LSE and Compass are also down fairly heavily, without doing anything to cause it themselves today (that I am aware of).
At the other end, Sainsbury’s is not top of the risers, up 5% after its results got more ticks than crosses.
Likewise, IMI, up 4.3%, and Auto Trader, up 3.1%.
AstraZeneca has also made a late rally, its shares hitting a new all-time high after some reassurances were given on the conference call.
3.10pm: Sell-off resumes in US
Sellers have the upper hand on Wall Street in the three quarters of an hour, with the big three benchmarks sliding lower as the clock ticks on.
The Dow Jones and S&P 500 are both down 0.5% now, and the Nasdaq has dropped 0.9%.
Biggest fallers on the S&P are DoorDash, down 16% after the food delivery platform reported a weaker profit outlook for its Deliveroo UK arm.
Tapestry and Paycom Software are both down 13%, Carmax not far behind.
Among the Mag 7, Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta and Tesla are all down over 1%.
2.20pm: Tesla vote today
Today is when Tesla’s shareholders vote on what many are calling one of the most consequential votes in the company’s history, a meeting that pits Elon Musk’s towering ambitions against growing unease over power, pay, and priorities.
The headline act is Musk’s new pay proposal, a colossal package that could be worth up to $1 trillion if performance targets are met. Musk says the reward reflects his record of innovation and the value he’s created for investors.
Critics, however, see excess. Norway’s $1.9 trillion sovereign wealth fund, which owns about 1.2% of Tesla, has already vowed to vote against the deal, citing its size and the risk of overdependence on a single individual.
1.31pm: US stock futures marginally higher
US stocks are predicted to start higher after Challenger job cuts data pointed to hiring slowing to a 14-year low.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are both being called just over 0.1% higher on the futures market, while Dow Jones futures were up 0.05%.
As a reminder, Wednesday saw Wall Street stocks shook off Tuesday’s heavy losses as dip-buying investors pounced and fresh ADP jobs data lifted the mood, with the Nasdaq climbing 0.7%, the Dow up 0.5% and the S&P 500 gaining 0.4%.
Florida-based market analyst Kenny Polcari says: “It was NOT a buying frenzy at all, nor was it a stampede, but let’s make sure we are on the same page.”
Tuesday’s dramatic response to Palantir’s earnings and guidance “reminds us just how stretched this market is and how headline-sensitive it has become. One bad headline and it’s risk-off as the algos accentuate the negatives and eliminate the positives while one good headline causes a risk-on mentality that accentuates the positives and eliminate the negatives”.
The thing to watch, he says, is when the headlines remain negative for more than 24hrs., “because that is when the weakness will become an issue” something he doesn’t see happening anytime soon, he adds.
“We are less than eight weeks from year-end, performance (if you’ve been in) has been admirable, my gut says that no one is going to let it slip away in the next two months. But January 2nd? That’s another conversation…New year, clean slate, it’s all very orchestrated.”
Elsewhere, Nvidia’s leather jacket-wearing boss Jensen Huang has warned that China is on the verge of overtaking the States in the global race for artificial intelligence dominance, arguing that America’s growing “cynicism” and layers of state-level rules could hold back development.
“A policy that causes America to lose half of the world’s AI developers hurts us more,” he warned.
12.23pm: Pound rises, gilt yields soften, FTSE not sure
Gilt yields have dropped a touch, the pound has climbed 0.2% versus the US dollar, and the FTSE rapidly pared its losses back almost flat before slipping lower again.
“This is a dovish pivot at the BOE,” says market analyst Kathleen Brooks at XTB in a social media post, “rate cuts are coming.”
She says that give a “much needed boost” ahead of the budget, “but it could also lead to better growth prospects (less need for big tax rises). Overall, a good day for UK, and for UK real estate sector.”
Neil Wilson at Saxo says there were “no fireworks” and “the market called this one, just”.
As noted below, Andrew Bailey cast the deciding vote to hold rates unchanged at 4.0% in a 5/4 split.
“The calculation is that it’s best to wait until after the Budget before moving – no big risk in waiting six weeks is the assumption. But equally, I would argue why wait?
“The Bank must be acutely aware of a big fiscal drag on the economy contained within the Budget and could get ahead of an inevitable slowdown. And unlike last year’s Budget the tax hikes being dreamed up will be more broad-based and disinflationary, which makes it a simpler equation for the Bank.”
He sees “little to be gained by waiting until after the Budget”.
Another reason, he says, is that there is “already an impact from the Budget”, as the delay in Rachel Reeves’ speech had a cooling effect on output, with rampant speculation around what it will contain until this week’s speech made it clear that the impact will be on incomes rather than businesses.
Many corporate results this week have blamed the Budget for hitting demand, including Vistry and ITV, Wetherspoons and Barratt Redrow yesterday.
12.11am: Waiting until December or February
The BoE says it “CPI inflation is judged to have peaked”, with progress on underlying disinflation continuing in part due to support from monetary policy that is still restrictive.
“This is reflected in an easing of pay growth and services price inflation. Underlying disinflation is being underpinned by subdued economic growth and building slack in the labour market.”
The MPC sees monetary policy as bringing CPI back to the 2% inflation target “sustainably”, with the risk from persistent inflation seen as having become “less pronounced recently”, with risks to medium-term inflation from weaker demand “more apparent”, making overall risks more balanced.
“But more evidence is needed on both,” the committee said, in other words waiting until the next meetings, which are on 18 December or 5 February.
The four who voted for a cut were Sarah Breeden, Swati Dhingra, Dave Ramsden and Alan Taylor, who all previously voted for a cut in August, meaning the difference and deciding vote from the August rate cut was Governor Andrew Bailey.
12.02pm: BoE keeps rates unchanged
The Bank of England has left interest rates unchanged after a knife-edge vote by the monetary policy committee.
A majority of 5-4 was the result in favour of maintaining the base rate at 4%.
Four members voted to reduce Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 3.75%.
11.09am: Construction patchy, US job cuts increase
An update on a few wider market and economic developments in the past couple of hours.
The UK construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) landed at 44.1 for October, well below the 50 mark the separates growth from contraction, and the 46.2 from the previous month and the 46.9 expected.
Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: “UK construction companies reported another challenging month in October as the prolonged weakening of order books so far in 2025 resulted in the fastest decline in business activity for over five years.”
Civil engineering and residential activity saw the fastest rates of contraction, while commercial building showed some resilience, however overall optimism levels edged up to the highest since July as the prospect of lower borrowing costs reportedly helped to boost demand projections.
The EY Item Club’s Matt Swannell said he thinks the recent weakness in the PMI is “overdone”.
“Over the last year or so, it has been heavily influenced by soft business sentiment and provided a relatively unreliable guide to official activity estimates. The construction sector’s outlook is patchy. On the one hand, government investment and planning reforms may support construction activity, but ongoing uncertainty around the domestic and international economy could see some large projects either cancelled or delayed.”
Elsewhere, across the Pond, US job cuts per the US Challenger survey were 153,074, up 175.3% year-on-year to a seven-month high, and the highest for October since 2003.
Across the Channel, the EU Commission has opened an antitrust investigation into possible collusion between Deutsche boerse and Nasdaq.
10.04 am: Sainsbury’s steady for now, but for how long?
After chatting with grocery insiders, Third Bridge analyst Orwa Mohamad reckons Sainsbury’s has hit a patch of stability, evidenced by its upbeat half-term report.
Market share gains made over the past two years are likely to hold, but with Asda fighting back and Aldi sharpening its prices, further headway may be harder to come by.
The supermarket’s secret sauce? Its own-brand range, especially premium lines, which continue to draw loyal shoppers.
Another bright spot is convenience; Sainsbury’s smaller store network still trails rivals like Tesco, but experts see plenty of untapped potential there. The catch: it will take time to really move the dial.
Online grocery is a tougher nut to crack. Sainsbury’s is still playing catch-up on availability and delivery experience, but analysts say a bolder approach (even if it means short-term pain) could help secure the customers and loyalty needed for the next phase of growth.
The shares were up 1.5%.
9.00 am: Towering performance
Helios Towers lit up the London market today, soaring 15% to 178.6p after unveiling its punchy new five-year “IMPACT 2030” plan. The telecoms infrastructure group – which operates mobile towers across Africa and the Middle East – is promising investors the best of both worlds: growth and cash.
It’s targeting more than $1.3 billion in recurring free cash flow over five years and a juicy $400 million in shareholder returns via buybacks and dividends. A $75 million repurchase kicks off today, while dividends will start in 2026 and rise more than 10% a year.
Chief executive Tom Greenwood called it the “sweet spot” for the company after a decade of expansion and outperformance. Investors clearly agree – Helios is beaming confidence, and for once, the market’s signal is loud and clear.
Turning to the wider market, the blue-chip index was on the red side of flat
8.44am: FTSE in the red stuff, due to medical stocks
The Footsie has dropped into the red now.
Leading the fallers is Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (LSE:HIK), down 12% after the generic drug manufacturer cut medium-term guidance for its injectables division.
Alongside a third-quarter trading update that was broadly in line with expectations, the company also flagged the departure of the injectables divisional CEO and a restructuring of R&D operations.
Analysts at Peel Hunt said this is the group’s most profitable segment, with margins set to be nearer 30% rather than the historical 35038%, after a delayed start to commercial production at a new Bedford manufacturing facility, “partially related to global supply chain challenges”.”
“Though we are yet to speak to the company to ascertain how rapid this margin deterioration may be, the shares might assume the worst this morning.”
Smith & Nephew PLC (LSE:SN) and newcomer Metlen Energy & Metals PLC (LSE:MTLN) are down 8.2% and 6.2% respectivley after their quarterly results.
Smith & Nephew revenue growth came in at 5.0% vs consensus expectations of 6.1%, with orthopaedics slower than forecast due to weaker US knees, sport medicine also softer than expectd.
Panmure analyst Seb Jantet notes that guidance was unchanged but US knee revenues fell 2.3%, “which suggests that S&N has lost meaningful market share over Q3”, driven by steps to rationalise the portfolio.
His view is that t”he shares have been strong over the last few months and with nothing materially new in today’s statement we would expect the shares to be a touch weaker given the revenue miss. What will be more important, in our view, is what the company says in December’s CMD where it will set out its longer-term strategy.”
8.15am: FTSE opens slightly higher
The FTSE 100 is struggling for direction in early Thursday trading, with the index up 4 points to 9,781 as buyers and sellers duke it out.
Early risers are led by IMI PLC (LSE:IMI), up 4.2% after the fluid engineer said it remained on track to deliver a fourth consecutive year of mid-single digit organic revenue growth and return cash to shareholders.
Next is Auto Trader Group PLC (LSE:AUTO), which also was up over 4% after saying its year outlook remains unchanged.
BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) shares are up 2.5% after its interim results, see below, while AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN, NASDAQ:AZN) investors are less enthused, with the shares up 0.2%.
7.58am: BT holds firm
BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) reported first-half results broadly in line with expectations, as earnings remained flat despite a falling top line.
Second-quarter revenue of £4.93 billion was very slightly below the average analyst forecast of £4.97 billion, while EBITDA of £2.08 billion was marginally ahead of the expected £2.04 billion.
After exiting various overseas businesses, chief executive Allison Kirkby said the focus on the UK and “radical simplification and modernisation” plans were helping offset declines from international and legacy businesses and higher labour-related costs since the start of this tax year, with cost savings totalling £247 million during the period.
She and the board company increased the interim dividend 2% and reiterated full-year guidance too.
7.40am: AstraZeneca beats expectations
Results from the largest company in the FTSE 100 look pretty solid, with AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN, NASDAQ:AZN) posting a confident set of third-quarter results, not only beating revenue and core earnings forecasts, but also hailing “strong underlying momentum” across the business to set up growth through next year as well.
The drugmaker’s Q3 revenues were up 12% to $15.19 billion, beating the consensus forecast of $14.8 billion.
Core EPS climbed 14% to $2.38, which was above the expected $2.30.
Chief executive Pascal Soriot also reiterated full-year 2025 guidance.
7.15am: FTSE to start in low gear but results may provide some fuel
The FTSE 100 is expected to start in a low gear on Thursday, though some extra fuel may be injected by the arrival of a hefty number of large corporate results.
Indeed, on the futures market, investors were initially predicting a gain of one point for the London benchmark but over a few minutes this started to rise to nine points. Yesterday, the index turned around a negative start to finish 62 points higher at 9,777.08.
Overnight, US stocks clawed their way higher on Wednesday, shaking off heavy losses from the day before as dip-buying investors pounced and fresh jobs data lifted the mood.
The Nasdaq climbed 0.7%, while the Dow Jones rose 0.5% and the S&P 500 gained 0.4%.
The US government shutdown stretched into its 36th day to become the longest in US history, with economists estimating a $15 billion weekly hit to the economy.
Back to the UK, where this morning’s trading results releases include AstraZeneca, BT, Sainsbury’s, Diageo, ITV, National Grid, Smith & Nephew, Tate & Lyle, Wise, Vistry and Howden Joinery.
