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Stock prices in London opened higher on Wednesday with all eyes on the UK government budget due in the early afternoon, with gold miners performing the best in the morning on the FTSE 100. The FTSE 100 index opened up 10.09 points, 0.1%, at 9,619.62. The FTSE 250 was up 31.33 points, 0.1%, at 21,648.74, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.48 points, 0.1%, at 742.57. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 963.02, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.2% at 18,830.42, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 17,162.03. In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was 0.3% higher, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.2%. Rachel Reeves acknowledged people are ‘angry at unfairness’ in the British economy ahead of unveiling her second budget on Wednesday. The chancellor will deliver the budget statement to Parliament around 1230 GMT on Wednesday, after Prime Minister’s Questions. These start at 1200 GMT and usually last around 30 minutes. She described the budget as being for ‘the British people’ and said the government would work with them to ‘build a fairer, stronger and more secure Britain’. The chancellor insisted she will use her budget to introduce measures to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, as the beleaguered government hopes to keep backbench Labour MPs on side amid an expected series of tax rises. Reeves has also vowed to reduce the costs of government debt and is expected to take steps to increase the leeway above her borrowing plans, as she attempts to maintain fiscal credibility. Earlier this month, she dropped plans to hike the headline rate of income tax, something which would have broken a Labour manifesto pledge, amid improved economic forecasting. However, the chancellor still intends to pursue a strategy of increasing her fiscal headroom, a buffer on her self-imposed borrowing rules. Sterling was at $1.3170 on Wednesday morning, down from $1.3183 at the London equities close on Tuesday. The euro was slightly lower at $1.1567 from $1.1569. Against the yen, the dollar was higher at JP¥156.47 versus JP¥156.13. In Asia on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was up 1.9%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was 0.2% lower, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong advanced 0.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney gained 0.8%. In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.4%, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.7%. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury was unchanged from Tuesday’s close at 4.01%. The yield on the 30-year was at 4.66%, widened slightly from 4.65%. The Kremlin confirmed that US envoy Steve Witkoff will visit Moscow next week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Washington presses negotiations on a plan to end the Ukraine conflict. ‘A preliminary agreement has been reached on [Witkoff’s] visit to Moscow next week,’ Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said on Russian TV. Several other officials from President Donald Trump’s administration will accompany Witkoff, Ushakov said. Trump first announced the trip Tuesday, saying Witkoff would meet with Putin in Moscow and may be joined by Jared Kushner, the US president’s son-in-law. The confirmation comes after Bloomberg reported that Witkoff had coached Ushakov on how Putin should talk to Trump about a potential plan to end the conflict in Ukraine. ‘I speak fairly often with Witkoff, but the content of those conversations is confidential,’ Ushakov said in his comments to Russian TV. In London, Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo climbed as the price of gold increased. The gold miners rose 3.9% and 3.3% and were the best performers on the FTSE 100 index. Gold was up at $4,161.50 an ounce early on Wednesday from $4,132.40 late Tuesday. On the FTSE 250 index, Pets at Home gained 4.4% as it maintained its interim dividend but reported lower earnings for the first half of the financial year amid ongoing softness in the UK pet retail market. The Cheshire, England-based pet product retailer said pretax profit fell 29% to £36.2 million in the 28 weeks to October 9, down from £51.1 million a year ago. Revenue declined 1.3% to £778.3 million from £789.0 million. Pets At Home maintained an interim dividend of 4.7 pence per share. The firm confirmed its full year guidance for underlying pretax profit of between £90 million and £100 million. It noted that the guidance for underlying pretax profit had been reduced in September. The company said that the pet insurance business is on track to launch in 2026. It now expects a financial 2026 loss from the pet insurance business of around £5 million, up from £3 million. Pets At Home added that its search for a new chief executive officer continues to progress. ‘I’ve spent time visiting over 100 pet care centres and engaging with colleagues at all levels of the business to establish where the challenges are isolated, resulting in the implementation of a retail turnaround plan with four clear priorities of product, price, execution and cost. We are returning to our retailing roots to stabilise and rebuild momentum in our Retail business, and to lay the foundations for a new CEO in due course,’ said Interim Executive Chair Ian Burke. Shares in Genus were up 2.4% as Berenberg initiated coverage of the stock with a ’buy’ rating and a price target of 3,050 pence. Among small caps, Mobico shares were down 5.3%. The Birmingham, England-based public transport operator and National Express owner said revenue in the first nine months of the year was up 5.4%. The firm said it is on track to deliver adjusted operating profit guidance for 2025 ‘towards the lower end’ of the £180 million to £195 million range. For 2024, it had reported an adjusted operating profit of £187.7 million. It said a large scale cost reduction programme was underway. ‘We continue to focus on simplifying and strengthening the Group, taking decisive actions to improve operational and financial performance. These actions include a comprehensive cost savings programme, further leveraging ALSA’s best practice across the business and exploring options to monetise the assets of the UK Bus business ahead of franchising,’ said Executive Chair Phil White. ‘The key priorities for our new leadership team remain strengthening the group’s balance sheet and improving profitability through our strategic initiatives.’ Shares in Victoria were up 8.7% as it said its Ceramics division has completed commissioning of its V4 production line at its Keraben subsidiary in Spain. The Worcester, England-based designer, manufacturer, and distributor of flooring products said the new line is expected to ‘deliver a step-change in earnings’ due to its scale and efficiency. Victoria said it expects the line to have a positive impact of around €15 million per year on earnings once at full capacity. Brent oil was trading higher at $61.77 a barrel from $61.71. Still to come on Wednesday’s economic calendar, apart from the UK budget, is initial jobless claims data from the US. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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