Stock prices in London, Paris and Frankfurt were mostly lower on Friday morning, as UK GDP growth came in slower than expected, ahead of US retail sales and industrial output data.
UK gross domestic product is estimated to have increased in the latest quarter but edged down for September, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. The trade deficit widened on-month to £3.46 billion.
Industrial production decreased monthly and annually for September, the ONS also said, missing the market consensus estimates. However construction output is estimated to have risen in the third quarter thanks to a rise in new work.
Markets are likely to be receptive to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first speech at Mansion House yesterday, according to analysts.
‘Today, we begin to see the real vision behind Reeve’s plans, commented Wealth Club’s Jonathan Moyes. ’Reforming the nation’s pension schemes represents a substantial opportunity for the country. By taking a leaf out of the Canadian pension book, Reeves’ may just provide the spark the UK economy needs to crowd in investment into key infrastructure projects, the energy transition and scale up enterprises.‘
Moyes added: ’Investors in startups could be the real winners from today’s announcement. It is no secret that the UK venture capital industry punches well above its weight internationally, but there remains a real need for large institutional investors...Super-sized UK pension funds could be just the tonic. In turn, this would be highly attractive for startup investors and draw in additional startup capital. The Reeves’ Reforms, and the Pensions Investment Review in particular, could be transformational for the UK economy.‘
The FTSE 100 index opened down 12.56 points, 0.2%, at 8,058.63. The FTSE 250 was down 40.19 points, 0.2%, at 20,482.62, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.11 points at 729.49.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.2% at 810.34, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 17958.74, and the Cboe Small Companies was up slightly at 15,740.67.
Land Securities led the FTSE 100, up 2.0%.
The real estate investor lifted its first-half dividend to 18.6 pence, and said it swung to a £243 million pretax profit from a £193 million loss. It also increased the full-year outlook for EPRA earnings per share.
Worldwide Healthcare Trust was among the FTSE 250 losers, down 1.9%.
The investor’s NAV total return outperformed its benchmark, but it kept the dividend unchanged at 0.7p. More positively, it said it believes the fundamentals of healthcare remain strong, and that its portfolio manager is positive about the outlook for the sector.
In smaller caps, Volex lost 11%.
The manufacturing company reported strong half-year results, with revenue increasing 30% and pretax profit up 21%, and increased its interim dividend by 7.1% to 1.5p.
However, it also reported that TT Electronics has rejected two takeover approaches. The second valued each TT shares at 135.5p.
TT Electronics, by contrast, surged 35%.
In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.7%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.5%.
The pound was quoted lower at $1.2663 early on Friday in London, compared to $1.2713 at the equities close on Thursday. The euro stood at $1.0568, down against $1.0576. Against the yen, the dollar was trading lower at JP¥155.46 compared to JP¥155.81.
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 1.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was marginally lower. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.7%.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.5%, the S&P 500 down 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.6%.
Brent oil was quoted at $71.60 a barrel early in London on Friday, down from $72.43 late Thursday.
Gold was quoted lower at $2,568.21 an ounce against $2,576.68.
Still to come on Friday’s economic calendar, releases include US export and import prices; retail sales and industrial production; and the New York empire state manufacturing index.
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