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Equities in London were mostly lower on Wednesday morning, with thinner trading ahead of the Christmas break. The FTSE 100 index opened down 15.37 points, 0.2%, at 9,873.85. The FTSE 250 was up 17.89 points, 0.1%, at 22,367.44, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.62 points, 0.1%, at 758.19. The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.2% at 989.53, the Cboe UK 250 was marginally higher at 19,475.13, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 17,328.15. Trading volumes were lighter on Wednesday, with the London Stock Exchange closing early at 12:30 GMT for Christmas Eve and remaining shut on Thursday and Friday for Christmas and Boxing Day. In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt were both up 0.2%. Sterling hovered near its strongest level since October. The pound was quoted at $1.3519 early on Wednesday in London, up from $1.3481 at the equities close on Tuesday. The euro stood at $1.1798, up from $1.1777. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥155.75, down with JP¥156.95. In London, BP delivered notable corporate news on an otherwise quiet day. Shares in the oil major rose 0.6% after it agreed to sell a 65% stake in its Castrol lubricants business to Stonepeak Partners LP at an enterprise value of $10 billion. BP will receive around $6 billion in net proceeds, which it plans to use to reduce debt. The sale follows BP’s strategic review of Castrol and is aimed at simplifying its portfolio and sharpening its focus on core downstream operations. BP said the transaction ‘significantly strengthens’ its financial position and accelerates delivery of its reset strategy. It will retain a 35% stake in a new joint venture with Stonepeak. The deal brings completed or announced disposals to $11 billion, more than half of BP’s $20 billion divestment target. BP interim Chief Executive Officer Carol Howle described the sale as ‘a very good outcome for all stakeholders’. Last week, Murray Auchincloss stepped down abruptly as BP CEO and will be replaced by Woodside Energy Group Ltd boss Meg O’Neill in April next year. The top performer on the FTSE 100 was Metlen Energy & Metals, up 2.6%, while Games Workshop was the biggest faller, down 1.2%. Pharmaceutical stocks also weighed on the blue-chip index, with AstraZeneca and GSK both down 0.7%. On the FTSE 250, Ceres Power Holdings fell 2.6%, while Patria Private Equity was up 1.8%. Among smaller caps, Litigation Capital slumped 23% after the company said A$16.2 million is payable to Stanwell and a further A$16.2 million to CS Energy, adding that adverse costs in a class action investment have now been quantified. In Asia on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.1%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.5%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.2%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.4% In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.2%, the S&P 500 up 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.6% The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.16%, narrowing from 4.18%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.83%, narrowing from 4.84%. Data published Tuesday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed US economic growth unexpectedly accelerated in the third quarter. US gross domestic product expanded at an annualised quarter-on-quarter pace of 4.3% in the three months to September 30, comfortably beating the FXStreet-cited consensus forecast of 3.3% and speeding up from a 3.8% expansion in the second quarter. ‘The increase in real GDP in the third quarter reflected increases in consumer spending, exports, and government spending that were partly offset by a decrease in investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, decreased,’ the BEA said. On a year-on-year basis, GDP rose 2.3% in the third quarter, the strongest pace so far this year, up from 2.1% in the second quarter and 2.0% in the first. Brent oil traded at $62.52 a barrel early Wednesday, higher than $62.09 late Tuesday. Oil prices continued to climb amid escalating tensions involving Venezuela, which holds some of the world’s largest oil reserves. China and Russia accused the US of ‘bullying’ and ‘cowboy-like conduct’ towards Venezuela during an emergency UN Security Council meeting in New York. US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro was not a legitimate president, but a criminal using oil revenues to fund drug trafficking. Gold extended its rally, quoted at $4,483.60 an ounce early Wednesday, up from $4,462.05 on Tuesday. Still to come on Wednesday’s economic calendar are US weekly jobless claims, US crude oil inventories and Canada’s budget balance figures, due later in the London afternoon. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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