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London’s blue chip index performed worse than its European peers at the start of a week filled with interest rate decisions and key economic data. ‘It is a big week for central bank meetings with the Fed (Wed), Bank of Canada (Wed), Norges (Thu), Bank of England (Thu) and the Bank of Japan (Fri), listed there in descending order of market-implied rate cut probability.’ analysts at Lloyds Bank commented. Elsewhere, eyes will be on UK labour market and inflation data. A reading on the UK’s public finances will also be eyed, as the countdown to the autumn budget continues. The FTSE 100 index fell 6.26 points, 0.1%, at 9,277.03. The FTSE 250 rose 61.89 points, 0.3%, at 21,687.29, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.16 points, 0.3%, at 770.60. The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.2% at 929.22, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.4% at 19,024.12, but the Cboe Small Companies was 0.1% lower at 17,188.98. In Paris, the CAC 40 was 0.8% higher. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 was 0.3% higher. The pound rose to $1.3592 on Monday morning, from $1.3551 at the time of the London equities close on Friday. The euro climbed to $1.1742 from $1.1719. Versus the yen, the dollar faded to JP¥147.39 from JP¥147.83. ‘This week’s Fed meeting is little more than stagecraft. A 25bp trim is in the bag, with two more this year and another pair next year, pointing toward 33.25%. The dot plot will flash across the terminals, but in FX we don’t trade the light show we trade the tape. And the tape is payroll. If the labour market cracks harder, a 50bp cut remains the joker in [Jerome] Powell’s deck,’ SPI Asset Management analyst Stephen Innes commented. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury ebbed to 4.07% from 4.08%. The yield on the 30-year remained at 4.70%. In New York on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6%, the S&P 500 ended slightly lower and the Nasdaq Composite a touch higher. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended down 0.3%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was 0.2% higher. Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.1%. Financial markets in Tokyo were closed. China’s industrial production and retail sales growth eased in August, while unemployment edged up, the National Bureau of Statistics of China reported Monday. Industrial production rose 5.2% year-on-year in August, easing from a 5.7% increase in July and below the 5.8% consensus forecast cited by FXStreet. The NBS data also showed that retail sales climbed 3.4% year-on-year in August, slowing from a 3.7% increase in July and missing the 3.8% forecast. The urban surveyed unemployment rate in China edged up to 5.3% in August from 5.2% in the preceding month, which NBS attributed to seasonality. A barrel of Brent fell to $67.27 on Monday morning from $67.52 at the time of the London equities close on Friday. Gold faded slightly to $3,641.02 an ounce from $3,644.61. In London, Sainsbury’s shares rose 5.0%. It has ended its talks to sell Argos to Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com. It said talks had collapsed as JD.com’s terms and commitments are ‘not in the best interests of Sainsbury’s shareholders, colleagues and broader stakeholders’. It comes just 24 hours after announcing it was seeking a deal that could ‘accelerate Argos’ transformation’. In a statement on Sunday, Sainsbury’s said: ‘Following the media speculation on 13 September regarding discussions between J Sainsbury PLC (Sainsbury’s) and JD.com Inc (JD.com) about a potential sale of Home Retail Group Limited (Argos), JD.com has communicated that it would now only be prepared to engage on a materially revised set of terms and commitments which are not in the best interests of Sainsbury’s shareholders, colleagues and broader stakeholders.’ It said it still expects to achieve around £1 billion in retail underlying operating profit and more than £500 million in retail free cash flow in the 2025/26 financial year. AO World advanced 7.9%. It expects annual profit at the top half of its guidance range, as it ‘continues to perform strongly’. The electricals retail reported that group revenue in the first half to September 30 is expected to rise 13% on-year. B2C Retail revenue is expected to increase by 11%, it added. AO World still expects annual double-digit B2C growth but now expects adjusted pretax profit between £45 million and £50 million, the bottom end of its range lifted from £40 million. In addition, it announced its first-ever buyback, ‘given the group’s strong cash generation and the board’s ongoing confidence in its future performance’. AO World will buy back up to £10 million in shares. It reports half-year results on November 25. S4 Capital fell 10% as the advertising firm announced another cut to its annual forecast amid ‘continued wider market uncertainty’. The firm, however, reported that it will consider ‘an enhanced final dividend for 2025’ if trading improves in the second half. S4 Capital’s pretax loss in the first half of 2025 widened to £25.1 million from £17.2 million, with revenue declining 15% to £360.4 million from £422.5 million. Net revenue was 13% lower on-year at £328.2 million from £376.1 million and was down 10% on a like-for-like basis. Operational earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were down 31% to £20.8 million from £30.1 million. ‘Market conditions in the first half of 2025 reflect the continuing impact of, to say the least, volatile global macroeconomic conditions along with the unsettling effect of tariff negotiations. As a result, clients remain generally cautious given the uncertainty, with technology clients, which account for almost half our revenue, in particular, continuing to prioritise capital expenditure on expanding AI capacity. Our Technology Services Practice faced longer sales cycles and continued to be affected by a reduction in one of our larger relationships, although this will cycle out in the second half of the year,’ Executive Chair Martin Sorrell said. ‘We expect an improved net revenue performance in the second half of the year, aided by the phasing of revenue from new business, particularly from General Motors, Amazon, T-mobile and a leading US-based FMCG and seasonality.’ Looking ahead, it now expects a like-for-like net revenue decline of mid-single digits for 2025, its outlook cut from a low single digits fall. It still expects an operational Ebitda ‘broadly similar to 2024’. Its target range for net debt at the year-end remains at £100 million to £140 million. S4 Capital added: ‘The board will consider approving an enhanced final dividend for 2025, if the improved second half performance and liquidity targets are delivered.’ Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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