|
Stock prices in London were higher at midday Thursday while the International Energy Agency expects global oil demand to rise more quickly over the next two years while supply growth slows. ‘Another day, another rate cut,’ AJ Bell’s Russ Mould commented. ‘What’s normally a driver for equity markets has become old news, and investors have shrugged off the Fed’s latest reduction in US borrowing costs as it is becoming harder to guess where rates might go next. ‘The fanfare around rate cuts was short-lived. European markets were nonplussed at the news, and Wall Street is set for a red day judging by futures prices.’ The FTSE 100 index was up 17.66 points, 0.2%, at 9,673.19. The FTSE 250 was up 14.34 points, 0.1%, at 21,845.31, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.45 points, 0.2%, at 748.07. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 969.77, and the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 18,990.13, but the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.1% at 17,495.97. Entain was the FTSE 100’s worst performer, down 3.9%, after announcing that Rob Wood, its chief financial officer & deputy chief executive officer, will step down in 2026. The Ladbrokes owner is hiring Michael Snape, currently CFO of Royal Mail parent company International Distribution Services, to succeed Wood with effect from March 6. Drax was up 1.6% on the FTSE 250, after reporting that trading remains strong. The Selby, North Yorkshire-based electricity generator said it expects full-year adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be at the top end of the consensus forecast range of £892 million to £909 million. Free cash flow generation will support more than £1 billion returns to shareholders, inclusive of the company’s ongoing £450 million three-year share buyback programme, and up to £2 billion for options to invest in growth, Drax said. In addition, the company is looking at opportunities to maximise value from the Drax Power Station site, which covers 1,000 acres in North Yorkshire. Drax said it is preparing a planning application for a first-phase data centre of 100 megawatts using existing infrastructure and transformers. On AIM, Empyrean led the laggers with an 18% fall. The oil and gas developer’s pretax loss for the six months ended September 30 narrowed to $1.5 million from $1.6 million the previous year, and the firm remained non-revenue generating. It noted the death earlier this year of then-chief executive Tom Kelly, its dispute with Conrad Asia Energy, and that ‘the Wilson River opportunity was ultimately unsuccessful’. ‘It continues to be a frustrating and challenging period for Empyrean...I would like to stress to Empyrean’s shareholders that, despite the challenges of these past months, we continue to press on and hope that more positive news can be delivered in the coming weeks,’ said Non-Executive Chair John Laycock. Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd late on Thursday morning announced that WPP Chair Philip Jansen will succeed Paul Deighton as chair, when the latter steps down on December 31. WPP shares were up 0.5%. Also, Heathrow reported a rise in passenger traffic last month, making it the west London airport’s busiest November on record despite continued weakness in trans-Atlantic travel to the US and Canada. Heathrow reported 6.6 million terminal passengers for November, up 2.1% from a year before. In the first 11 months of 2025, the airport handled 77.3 million passengers, up 0.6% from the same period a year before. In other news, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will hold talks on Ukraine with allies in the coalition of the willing as peace efforts surrounding a US-led plan to end the war continue. The UK prime minister is expected to co-chair a call with the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and leaders and officials from around 30 other nations on Thursday. It comes after US President Donald Trump said he and European leaders had discussed proposals to end the war in ‘pretty strong terms’ after speaking with the British, French and German leaders by phone on Wednesday. In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.5%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.1%. The ifo institute on Thursday reduced its economic growth forecast for Germany, citing ‘bureaucratic hurdles and an outdated infrastructure’ in the Europe’s largest economy. The Munich-based institute estimates that Germany’s gross domestic product increased by just 0.1% this year, down from 0.2% in the autumn forecast that ifo had published in September. For 2026, ifo cut its forecast to 0.8% growth from 1.3%, and for 2027 to 1.1% from 1.6%. Further, the institute expects unemployment in Germany to rise to a rate of 6.3% in 2025, and remain at that level in 2026. The pound was quoted higher at $1.3381 at midday on Thursday in London, compared to $1.3332 at the equities close on Wednesday. The euro stood higher at $1.1717, against $1.1647. Against the yen, the dollar was trading lower at JP¥155.76 compared to JP¥156.36. Stocks in New York were called lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called down 0.2%, the S&P 500 index down 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.8%. ‘The Federal Reserve’s committee members do not see eye to eye,’ AJ Bell’s Mould said. ‘While the central bank proceeded with an interest rate cut, two voters weren’t in favour and Trump’s wing man Stephen Miran continues to push for deep cuts. It’s not out of the ordinary to see different views but it does create a challenge for whoever takes over from Jerome Powell as Fed chair next year. ‘The US has avoided recession, the jobs market is softer but not crumbling, and inflation is proving to be sticky so one might take the view that further rate cuts could be minimal. However, we have a president who is keen for rates to come down a lot to help drive the economy, and who is doing their very best to have greater sway over the central bank.’ 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 lower at $61.37 a barrel at midday in London on Thursday from $61.42 late Wednesday. Global oil demand is set to rise more quickly over the next two years while supply growth slows and inventories swell to multi-year highs, the International Energy Agency said as it warned of ‘parallel markets’ emerging between crude and refined products. In its December oil market report, the IEA said it expects global oil demand to increase by 830,000 barrels per day in 2025, supported by an improving macroeconomic and trade outlook. It upgraded its 2026 forecast by 90,000 bpd, now projecting 860,000 bpd of growth next year, driven largely by petrochemical feedstocks. Gold was quoted higher at $4,215.09 an ounce against $4,200.39. Still to come on Thursday’s economic calendar, the US Department of Labor will publish initial jobless claims. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
|
