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The FTSE 100 was lower on Wednesday, with some corporate earnings disappointing, though sentiment was more optimistic in mainland Europe, ahead of US data and a Federal Reserve decision. The FTSE 100 index traded down 25.73 points, 0.3%, at 9,110.59. The FTSE 250 was up marginally by 16.48 points, 0.1%, at 21,809.55, and the AIM All-Share was down 1.11 points, 0.1%, at 764.64. The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 910.33, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 19,144.40, and the Cboe Small Companies was 0.6% lower at 17,567.32. In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.5%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.1% higher. The pound rose to $1.3362 midday Wednesday, from $1.3337 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. The euro was largely flat at $1.1539 from $1.1537. Against the yen, the dollar faded to JP¥148.21 from JP¥148.38. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury eased to 4.32% from 4.35%. The 30-year yield slimmed to 4.86% from 4.88%. Still to come on Wednesday is the ADP US jobs report at 1315 BST, a US gross domestic product reading at 1330 and a Federal Reserve decision at 1900. The Fed is expected to hold, while according to FXStreet cited consensus, the GDP is expected to have returned to growth in the second quarter, after a 0.5% fall in the first. The ADP report is expected to show 78,000 private sector jobs were added this month, after a 33,000 slide in June. ‘Markets are closely watching the Federal Reserve’s decision, widely expected to keep interest rates within the 4.25%4.5% range. However, what truly matters to investors is not the decision itself but the tone of Jerome Powell’s accompanying remarks. The Fed is in a highly sensitive position, attempting to balance inflation levels near its target while avoiding stifling economic growth, which has shown early signs of weakness in indicators such as the June JOLTS report,’ XS.com analyst Rania Gule commented. The number of job openings fell more than expected in June, suggesting a slight softening in the US labour market, a report on Tuesday showed. According to the job openings and labour turnover survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of job openings fell to 7.44 million in June from 7.71 million in May. May’s figure was revised down by 57,000. The figure was weaker than FXStreet consensus which projected a drop to 7.55 million. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is called to open slightly higher, the S&P 500 up 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.2%. Economic data in Europe was in focus on Wednesday morning. The eurozone economy had a stronger than expected second quarter, though growth slowed markedly amid tariff worries, numbers on Wednesday showed. Eurostat reported that the single currency area economy rose 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to June. Euro area gross domestic product had been 0.6% higher in the first quarter. The latest reading beat the FXStreet cited consensus, which had seen the eurozone economy treading water in the second quarter. Nonetheless, it represents the tamest quarter for the eurozone economy since the final three months of 2023. Readings of the French and German economies were also released on Wednesday, as well as Spanish inflation data. Rostro analyst Joshua Mahony commented: ‘The early upside surprise for the French economy provided a welcome reacceleration to 0.3% in Q2, although that strength came largely in response to a sharp uptick in inventory accumulation which could reverse in the third quarter. Meanwhile, the German economy contracted by -0.1%, with the first quarter figure also downgraded to 0.3%. Notably, the German economy saw a decline in equipment and construction investment activity, potentially reflecting the concern over how tariffs could inform businesses over their future plans. ‘On the inflation front, the Spanish CPI release brought an unwelcome rise in the annual CPI metric, pushing to a five-month high of 2.7% largely in response to rising electricity prices. While the monthly figure of -0.1% does still point towards an economy that has inflation under control, the 0.7% surge seen a month ago means we have seen some signs of reacceleration in prices.’ In London, Taylor Wimpey shares fell 5.0% after a guidance cut. The Buckinghamshire, England-based housebuilder said it now sees full-year operating profit at £424 million, up 1.9% from £416.2 million in 2024. It had previously expected an outcome in line with consensus of £444 million. HSBC lost 2.4%. The Asia-focused lender maintained its dividend and announced a new share buyback programme despite reporting a sharp drop in first half profit. The bank said pretax profit fell 27% to $15.81 billion in the six months ended June 30 from $21.56 billion a year earlier. Revenue declined 8.5% to $34.12 billion in the first half from $37.29 billion in the previous year. HSBC maintained its interim dividend at $0.10 per share, but announced plans to initiate and complete a $3 billion share buyback before its third quarter results are released. AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould commented: ‘Investors got out of the wrong side of the bed, judging by the negative reaction to the latest round of corporate earnings. While certain stocks fell for good reason such as HSBC and Taylor Wimpey amid negative news, there were plenty of other big stocks like BAE Systems and GSK who couldn’t get a break despite positive messages in their results.’ BAE Systems fell 2.4% after posting an earnings improvement and backing its outlook. GSK recovered from earlier weakness to sit 1.4% higher, after reporting growth and saying it now sees annual profit at the upper end of guidance. Elsewhere in London, FDM Group slumped 32%. The IT-focused professional services provider expects annual results ‘significantly lower than its previous expectations’. ‘Our engagement with our clients remains positive and there are many ongoing conversations regarding future deployments and projects. However, the inherent lack of certainty and confidence in many of our end markets is resulting in much-lengthened timelines, with client procurement processes elongated and commercial decisions frequently delayed or deferred,’ FDM said. Pretax profit in the first six months of 2025 slumped 48% to £8.0 million from £15.5 million, while revenue falls 31% to £97.3 million from £140.2 million. A barrel of Brent rose to $70.94 midday Wednesday, from $70.74 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday, but fading from an intraday high of $72.19. Gold rose to $3,328.72 an ounce from $3,327.45. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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