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Stock prices in Europe were higher at Wednesday midday while bonds globally were under pressure, meanwhile UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves set November 26 as date for her much-awaited autumn budget. The FTSE 100 index was up 51.75 points, 0.6%, at 9,168.44. The FTSE 250 was 118.24 points higher, 0.6%, at 21,281.13, and the AIM All-Share was up 4.00 points, 0.5%, at 769.57. The Cboe UK 100 was 0.5% higher at 920.31, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.4% at 18,615.87, and the Cboe Small Companies climbed 0.4% to 17,105.39. In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was 1.0% higher, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.9%. ‘Having been troubled by a jump in long-dated government bond yields yesterday, equities got off to a wobbly start again as investors woke up to leaders of China, Russia and North Korea coming together in public for the first time,’ said AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin flanked Xi Jinping at a massive parade of military might in Beijing on Wednesday. Kicking off the parade, President Xi warned the world was still ‘faced with a choice of peace or war’, but said China was ‘unstoppable’. Mould added: ‘The FTSE 100 acted like a yo-yo in early trading. Having enjoyed a small bump at the market open amid further weakness in the pound, the UK currency began to stage a recovery and that created a headwind for the blue-chip equity index. It then quickly bounced back as investors loaded up on healthcare stocks, with AstraZeneca leading the charge.’ Gilt yields continued to rise in the UK on Wednesday as bond investors worried about the state of the public finances. Chancellor Rachel Reeves faces pressure to provide solutions at the upcoming budget. On Wednesday, the date was set for the centre-piece policy event to take place on November 26. The UK chancellor set the date for her highly-anticipated budget amid rampant speculation about tax rises and market jitters over the UK’s public finances. ‘The rise in the gilt yield sends a clear message that investors believe the UK is now a riskier proposition and they want a higher return for lending money to the government,’ Mould said. Reeves has acknowledged the economy is ‘not working well enough’ and promised a ‘tight grip’ on spending in her autumn budget. In a video on X, the chancellor said: ‘Britain’s economy isn’t broken. But I know it’s not working well enough for working people. Bills are high. Getting ahead feels tougher. You put more in, get less out. That has to change.’ She said ‘fixing the foundations’ has been her mission for the past year, and touted government action including trade deals with the US, India and the EU and making a start on tearing up planning rules to reach the target to build 1.5 million homes. ‘But I’m not satisfied,’ she said. ‘There’s more to do. Cost-of-living pressures are still real. We must bring inflation and borrowing costs down by keeping a tight grip on day-to-day spending through our non-negotiable fiscal rules. It’s only by doing this can we afford to do the things we want to do.’ The pound was up at $1.3396 at midday on Wednesday in London, compared to $1.3389 at the equities close on Tuesday. The euro stood lower at $1.1640, against $1.1659. Against the yen, the dollar was trading up at JP¥148.72 compared to JP¥148.20. Stocks in New York were called higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called to open flat, the S&P 500 index up 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite 0.7% higher. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.29%, stretching from 4.28%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was flat at 4.98%. Earlier in the day, the 30-year Treasury hit 5.00% for the first time since July. Overnight, Alphabet escaped a forced divestiture of Google’s Chrome browser after a judge rejected the US government’s demand as part of a major antitrust case. However, the court imposed sweeping remedies aimed at restoring competition in online search. The landmark ruling came after Judge Amit Mehta found in August 2024 that Google illegally maintained monopolies in online search through exclusive distribution agreements worth billions of dollars annually. Class A shares in the Mountain View, California-based company jumped 6.5% during pre-market trading in New York on Wednesday morning. Back in London, Babcock International rose 2.9%. The UK government is in advanced discussions with Denmark and Sweden to build warships for the two Scandinavian countries, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing ‘people familiar with the talks’. An agreement would see Babcock International build Type-31 frigates in Rosyth, Scotland. A deal for Denmark to buy three of the Type-31 ’Arrowhead 140’ frigates is expected to be announced this month, the newspaper said, while Sweden is looking to place orders for four of the ships, with a decision due by the end of the year. The talks with Denmark and Sweden follow the £10 billion agreement, announced at the weekend, for Norway to buy five Type-26 frigates to be built in Glasgow by BAE Systems. M&G fell 1.0% on the FTSE 100 index. The London-based asset manager said its profit increased in the first half of the year, amid ‘strong’ net flows from open business and a larger investment return. Pretax profit more than doubled to £559 million in the six months to the end of June from £209 million a year ago. The investment return climbed 18% to £5.30 billion from £4.47 billion. However, the insurance service result fell 4.5% to £514 million from £538 million, as insurance revenue increased 0.4% to £1.99 billion from £1.98 billion, but insurance service expenses ticked up 1.8% to £1.45 billion from £1.43 billion. Overall, M&G’s net insurance and investment result for the first half more than doubled to £1.60 billion from £766 million. Watches of Switzerland led the FTSE 250 index and jumped 7.2%. The Leicester, England-based watch and jewellery retailer told its annual general meeting that it continues to see strong demand from the US despite the steep tariffs imposed on imports from Switzerland. It said it is ‘pleased’ with its business performance in the 18 weeks that ended on Sunday and is on track for a good first half of financial year 2026 in line with its expectations. Watches of Switzerland said it saw consistently strong trading throughout the period, particularly in the US, despite the Trump administration’s imposition of 39% tariffs on imports from Switzerland, starting on August 1. ‘While the trading update is light on detail, the lack of any major alarms and the fact the company is sticking with existing guidance is enough for investors to give it a warm welcome,’ said AJ Bell’s Russ Mould. Hilton Food Group led the laggers on the index and sank 16%. The food packaging company said aid a shortage of white fish prompted ‘significant’ raw material inflation and softer UK demand, contributing to a drop in half-year profitability. Hilton Food reported pretax profit of £24.3 million for the 26 weeks that ended June 29, falling 4.7% from £25.5 million the year prior. Adjusted operating profit edged down 0.4% to £46.6 million from £46.8 million, but rose 1.9% on a constant currency basis. Revenue increased 7.6% to £2.09 billion from £1.94 billion, reflecting higher volumes and higher raw material prices, while administrative expenses rose 5.0% to £157.8 million from £150.3 million. On the AIM market, Jangada Mines rose 30%. The natural resources development company with interests in Brazil said exploration work has now begun at its Paranaita gold project, following its recent capital raise. The firm aims to validate the existing gold resource of around 210,000 ounces of gold a year at the project. Maintel sank 22%. The provider of communications services for the UK public and private sectors reported ‘delays in pipeline closures and the loss of a significant key deal for the year’. As a result, it expects annual revenue of £95.0 million, with a ‘slightly unfavourable’ gross margin due to the remaining revenue mix. The company now expects adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of around £7.0 million. Revenue in 2024 amounted to £97.9 million, while adjusted Ebitda totalled £10.5 million. Brent oil fell to $67.66 a barrel at midday in London on Wednesday from $68.81 late Tuesday. Gold continued to climb, quoted up at $3,540.40 an ounce against $3,511.91. The yellow metal hit a new record of $3,546.96 early on Wednesday morning. Still to come on Wednesday’s economic calendar is US factory goods orders data and the release of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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