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London’s blue chip index closed a touch lower on Wednesday with mining stocks hit after soft economic data in China, ahead of UK gross domestic product data to be released Thursday morning. The FTSE 100 closed down 13.47 points, 0.1%, at 10,515.92. The FTSE 250 ended up 55.56 points, 0.2%, at 23,462.39, while the AIM All-Share rose 0.16 of a point at 765.74. The Cboe UK 100 ended down slightly at 1,043.99, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 20,214.61, and the Cboe Small Companies ended down 0.1% at 18,491.53. In London, mining stocks were prominent fallers after below forecast economic growth data in China. China’s National Bureau of Statistics said gross domestic product expanded 4.3% year-on-year in the second quarter, slowing from 5.0% growth in the first quarter, and missing the FXStreet-cited consensus forecast of 4.5%. Quarter-on-quarter, GDP increased 0.9%, which Jim Reid at Deutsche Bank pointed out marked the slowest pace of expansion in more than two years. Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said the weak data has ‘spooked investors’ in the mining sector, ‘causing a sell-off amid fears that the Asian superpower might scale back commodity purchases.’ ‘The data reading took the market by surprise and might stir speculation that the Chinese government will dig deeper with economic stimulus measures,’ he added. On the FTSE 100, miners Fresnillo, Antofagasta, Anglo American and Endeavour Mining fell 3.0%, 2.6%, 3.4% and 2.5% respectively. In European equity markets on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended up 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt fell 0.6%. The CAC 40 was boosted by gains in luxury goods stocks after strong results from sector peer, Richemont. Shares in the Swiss company, which owns Cartier and Montblanc, jumped 6.7% as it posted total sales of €6.33 billion for the first three months that ended June 30, up 17% from €5.41 billion a year earlier, beating €5.88 billion market consensus. The strong topline performance came on the back of ‘excellent’ growth at Jewellery Maisons, while Specialist Watchmakers improved ‘sequentially’. JPMorgan analyst Chiara Battistini said the figures were ‘remarkably strong’ with a 7% beat against JPMorgan’s sales estimate, with better delivery at all divisions. In Paris, Gucci owner Kering rose 3.6%, while LVMH climbed 2.7% and Hermes 2.4%. In London, Burberry, which provides a quarterly update on Friday, gained 2.4%. More than a third of Burberry shareholders on Wednesday voted against a new pay plan for directors which could see Chief Executive Officer Joshua Schulman earn up to £12.2 million. It marks a significant proportion of shareholders who were resisting the company’s plans to introduce a new bonus scheme this year. Elsewhere, Europe’s most valuable company by market value ASML fell 0.4% after a second quarter beat-and-raise, as analysts said guidance was mixed. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3%, the S&P 500 was 0.2% higher and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.3%. Wall Street took encouragement from further soft inflation data as wholesale pricing eased in June as energy costs fell. The figures come a day after consumer inflation figures surprised to the downside. The producer price index dropped by 0.3% month-on-month, the first such contraction since August 2025, said the Labor Department. Compared with a year ago, PPI was up 5.5% last month also a smaller increase than the 6.0% uptick seen in May, which was revised down from 6.5%. The reading undershot the FXStreet-cited consensus, which had pencilled in a 6.2% increase. Paypal shot up 18% as Reuters reported it is the subject of a $53 billion takeover advance from privately-owned payments processor Stripe and private equity firm Advent International. While Morgan Stanley edged up 0.6% as it reported a jump in earnings in the second quarter, driven by a sharp rise in equities revenue and continued momentum in investment banking and fixed income. The US 10-year Treasury yield traded flat at 4.56% on Wednesday, and the US 30-year Treasury yield widened to 5.08% from 5.07%. The euro traded higher against the greenback, at $1.1437 on Wednesday against $1.1432 on Tuesday. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥162.13, up from JP¥161.96 on Tuesday. The pound traded at $1.3486 on Wednesday afternoon, up from $1.3396 on Tuesday. Against the euro, sterling firmed to €1.1791 from €1.1709 on Tuesday. A report in the i Paper suggests incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham will appoint Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood as the new Chancellor of Exchequer. The appointment would be viewed as more ’market friendly’ than that of more left-leaning Ed Milliband, who had been tipped for the role but who may know become Foreign Secretary. Brent crude for September delivery traded lower at $83.71 a barrel on Wednesday, from $84.00 at the time of the London equity market close on Tuesday. The muted oil price move came despite tensions in the Middle East remaining elevated after the US renewed its naval blockade of Iranian ports and exchanged fresh strikes with Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz. On the FTSE 100, ICG led the risers, up 5.5% as it reported net additions to fee-earning assets amounted to $2.4 billion. ICG made $4.4 billion of gross additions, which analysts Jefferies said beat Visible Alpha consensus of $3.0 billion, offset by realisations of $2.0 billion. Housebuilder Barratt Redrow rose 4.3% as it announced a £386 million share buyback and reported a ‘solid’ end to financial 2026 with home completions at the top end of guidance. The Leicestershire, England-based housebuilder, said it expects future share buybacks will be prioritised as the preferred method of returning capital to shareholders. The move comes shortly after shareholder Phoenix Asset Management Partners urged the firm to pursue an ‘aggressive’ share buyback programme. On the FTSE 250, Vistry rallied 6.6% after recent weakness as Chief Executive Adam Daniels bought 38,372 shares. But B&M European Value Retail declined 5.4% as UK like-for-like sales growth fell short of market expectations. Gold traded at $4,048.39 an ounce on Wednesday, down from $4,085.44 on Tuesday. The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were ICG, up 99.00p at 1,889.00p, St James’s Place, up 49.50p at 1,204.00p, Barratt Redrow, up 11.90p at 290.10p, Persimmon, up 40.50p at 1,093.00p and Entain, up 19.60p at 574.00p. The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Vodafone, down 4.55p at 112.20p, Anglo American, down 123.00p at 3,547.00p, Airtel Africa, down 11.40p at 337.80p, Fresnillo, down 80.00p at 2,515.00p and Antofagasta, down 101.00p at 3,742.00p. Thursday’s global economic calendar has eurozone trade data, UK GDP figures and US retail sales numbers and an initial jobless claims report. Thursday’s local corporate calendar has a trading statement from credit checking agency Experian and half year results from online grocer and warehouse technology provider Ocado and electricity generator SSE. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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