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London’s blue chip index easily outperformed its peers in Paris and Frankfurt on Wednesday morning as consumer price growth did not change in September, while miner Fresnillo climbed as it reaffirmed annual guidance. The FTSE 100 index opened up 60.97 points, 0.7%, at 9,487.95. The FTSE 250 was up 137.41 points, 0.6%, at 22,045.71, and the AIM All-Share was up 4.09 points, 0.5%, at 769.95. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.6% at 948.44, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.7% at 19,198.36, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.2% at 17,436.39. In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.1%. The Office for National Statistics said the consumer prices index rose 3.8% year-on-year in September, unchanged from August and below the FXStreet-cited consensus of 4.0%. It matched the joint-highest rate since January but came in slightly softer than expected. On a monthly basis, prices were flat after a 0.3% increase in August. Core CPI, which excludes energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco, eased to 3.5% from 3.6%. The broader CPIH measure, which includes housing costs, was unchanged at 4.1%. Core inflation, which excludes energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco, cooled slightly. Core CPI fell to 3.5% from 3.6% in August, while core CPIH slipped to 3.9% from 4.0%. Food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation slowed sharply to 4.5% from 5.1%, while housing and household services inflation edged down to 5.9%. ‘Better UK inflation news brings a December rate cut back into play,’ said James Smith, developed markets economist at ING. He noted that ‘food and services inflation are both undershooting the Bank of England’s forecasts,’ adding that the standout feature of the latest data was ‘the big drop in food inflation.’ The inflation report sent the pound lower as traders bet on an earlier shift in monetary policy. The pound was quoted at $1.3326 early Wednesday, lower than $1.3390 at the London equities close on Tuesday. The euro traded at $1.1605, lower than $1.1612. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted lower at JP¥150.84 versus JP151.74. In Asia on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was marginally down. In China, the Shanghai Composite was also marginally down, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.0%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.7%. On the FTSE 100, precious metals miner Fresnillo led the risers, climbing 5.0% after reporting third-quarter production in line with expectations and reaffirming full-year guidance. Barclays was the second biggest riser, up 4.0% after kicking off the UK banks’ reporting season. The lender’s pretax profit fell 7% year-on-year to £2.08 billion, reflecting a £235 million charge linked to UK motor finance redress, but total income rose 9% to £7.17 billion on broad-based growth. The bank upgraded its 2025 return on tangible equity guidance to above 11% and reaffirmed its 2026 target of over 12%, announcing a £500 million share buyback. Barclays reported a 7% drop in third-quarter pretax profit to £2.08 billion from £2.23 billion a year earlier, after recognising an additional £235 million charge for UK motor finance redress, lifting its total provision to £325 million. Total income rose 9% to £7.17 billion, supported by broad-based growth across divisions. Income in Barclays UK increased 16%, boosted by the Tesco Bank purchase, while the UK Corporate Bank grew 17%. The Investment Bank posted an 8% rise, the Private Bank and Wealth Management division gained 3%, and the US Consumer Bank advanced 19%. International Consolidated Airlines Group, the owner of British Airways, rose 2.5% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to ’buy’ from ’neutral’ and raised its price target to 470 pence from 400p. At the other end of the index, Bunzl was the biggest loser, extending Tuesday’s losses after the company reaffirmed its 2025 guidance despite reporting flat third-quarter revenue and a narrower operating margin in what it described as a ‘challenging market.’ On Wednesday, Bunzl received a price target cut from Barclays to 2,750 pence from 3,100p, with the broker maintaining an ’overweight’ rating. In the FTSE 250, ITV tumbled 8.7% after Liberty Global, the largest investor in the television and film production company, sold half its 10% stake in the broadcaster, offloading 193.4 million shares for £135 million. Among smaller caps, Halfords gained 6.6% after saying it remained very pleased with first-half trading and was comfortable with current full-year guidance. The cycling and motoring retailer reported 4.1% like-for-like sales growth in the first half, with retail up 4.0%. In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.5%, the S&P 500 marginally higher, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.2%. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 3.96%, unchanged from Tuesday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury stood at 4.54%, also unchanged. Brent oil was quoted at $62.33 a barrel early in London on Wednesday from $62.31 late Tuesday. Gold was quoted at $4,139.0 an ounce against $4,131.30. Still to come on Wednesday’s economic calendar are the UK house price index at 0930 BST, Irish wholesale prices, and US EIA crude oil inventory data later in the day. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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