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Stock prices in London were mostly lower on Thursday morning after the US Federal Reserve announced an interest rate cut; meanwhile gold and Brent oil both nudged up a bit. ‘The FOMC delivered a hawkish 25bp cut yesterday, with Chair Powell setting a marginally higher bar for further cuts in the near-term,’ commented Pepperstone’s Michael Brown. The FTSE 100 index opened down 12.54 points, 0.1%, at 9,642.99, and the FTSE 250 was down 20.64 points, 0.1%, at 21,810.33, but the AIM All-Share was up 2.14 points, 0.3%, at 748.76. The Cboe UK 100 was marginally down at 967.82, the Cboe UK 250 was marginally down at 1,8961.18, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.6% at 17,415.85. On the FTSE 250, FirstGroup was up 1.9% after announcing the acquisition of the UK sightseeing operations of RATP Developpement for about £17 million. Chief Executive Officer Graham Sutherland says: ‘The acquisition of the bus operations in London and Bath...will allow us to further diversify and expand our footprint in two of our key markets. ‘The integration of the businesses will also create material operational and cost synergies and the opportunity to grow our London route portfolio over time.’ Clean energy technology developer Ceres Power lost 4.3% after a highly critical report from Grizzly Research. Grizzly, which previously accused Trustpilot of ‘mafia-style extortion campaigns against non-paying businesses’, said Ceres ‘fuels investors’ illusions with misleading promises’. ‘We believe [Ceres] is hiding a flawed business model with abysmally small revenue potential behind a facade of big-name announcements and lofty projections,’ the short-seller said. On AIM, Tristel rose 0.7% after reporting a strong start to its new financial year. The maker of infection prevention products said it is trading in line with expectations, and remains firmly on target to deliver at least 10% annual revenue growth. Meanwhile in the UK, the housing market continued to weaken in November as agreed sales and buyer enquiries declined, data published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed Thursday. New buyer enquiries across the UK in November had a net balance of minus 32%, falling further from minus 24% in October and marking the weakest reading since late 2023. For agreed sales, November’s net balance of minus 23% is up a notch from minus 24% in October, still showing a continued downward pattern in sales activity. In London, the net balance fell to minus 44%, now more negative than any other part of the UK, with RICS citing the introduction of the high valuation council tax surcharge. It was announced in the UK government budget, is set to take effect in April 2028 and affects owners of residential property in England worth £2 million or more in 2026. Depending on the value of property, it is an extra recurring annual charge of between £2,500 and £7,500. In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.4%. Meanwhile in Switzerland, the Swiss National Bank kept the interest rate at 0.00%, in line with FXStreet-cited market expectations. The bank added that it expects annual inflation in Switzerland to have averaged 0.2% for 2025, with slight acceleration to 0.3% expected in 2026 and a further uptick to 0.6% for 2027. The pound was quoted higher at $1.3369 early on Thursday in London, compared to $1.3332 at the equities close on Wednesday. The euro stood higher at $1.1697, against $1.1647. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥155.96, higher compared to JP¥156.36. In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.9%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.7%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.2%. In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.1%, the S&P 500 up 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.3%. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.14%, narrowing from 4.18%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted unchanged at 4.78%. Brent oil was quoted higher at $61.56 a barrel early in London on Thursday from $61.42 late Wednesday. Gold was quoted higher at $4,215.60 an ounce against $4,200.39. Still to come on Thursday’s economic calendar, as well as jobless claims the US has EIA natural gas stocks. UK Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey speaks at 0950 UK time. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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