The FTSE 100 opened in the red on Wednesday morning, but other London stocks were mostly in the green, as investors awaited home sale and building permit data from the US.
‘An incredibly quiet economic calendar awaits today,’ observed Pepperstone’s Michael Brown, ‘with only August’s new home sales figures of note, though today’s five-year auction will attract some attention after solid demand for yesterday’s two-year supply.’
The People’s Bank of China announced a further cut to medium-term lending rates to 2.0%, in its latest bold move to support its flagging post-pandemic economy.
The FTSE 100 index opened down 2.85 points, almost flat, at 8,279.91. The FTSE 250 was up 43.26 points, 0.2%, at 20,813.38, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.89 points, 0.1%, at 743.69.
The Cboe UK 100 was flat at 828.25, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 18.336.086, and the Cboe Small Companies was marginally lower at 25,051.940.
On the FTSE 100, Rightmove was 0.1% higher.
The property portal firm said it received a third takeover proposal from rival REA. The increased proposal was 341 pence in cash and 0.0422 new REA shares for each Rightmove ordinary share.
The property portal provider said its board ‘unanimously rejected’ the proposal, saying it ‘continues to be unattractive and materially undervalues the company and its future prospects’.
REA closed 0.7% lower in Sydney.
REA responded to Rightmove by emphasising its frustration and urging Rightmove’s shareholders to encourage the board to engage with REA.
On the FTSE 250, NB Private Equity rose 0.1%.
The private equity investor’s net asset value per share decreased to $27.87 on June 30, from $28.07 one year prior.
However NB kept its first-half dividend unchanged at 47 US cents, and said there is cause for optimism as central banks are starting to cut rates.
In smaller companies, DFS rose 2.4%.
The furniture retailer swung to a £1.7 million annual pretax loss from the prior year’s £29.7 million. Revenue rose 9.3% to £987.1 million.
DFS declared no final dividend, saying that the 1.1p interim payout assumed better results.
However, DFS said it is on track for £50 million in cost savings by financial 2026 and expects financial 2025’s profit to grow in line with market consensus.
In European equities the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.5%.
The pound was quoted at $1.3390 compared to $1.3378 at the equities close on Tuesday. The euro stood at $1.1192, against $1.1147. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥143.92 compared to JP¥143.67.
Keir Starmer has said Benjamin Netanyahu’s criticism of the UK government’s decision to suspend some arms export licences to Israel, amid concerns they could be used in violation of international humanitarian law, is wrong.
The prime minister rejected his Israeli counterpart’s accusation that the move had been ‘misguided’, in comments that are likely to anger Tel Aviv.
Also in UK politics, unions will press the Government on Wednesday to reverse its controversial cut to the winter fuel allowance.
A motion from Unite and the Communication Workers Union will be debated on the final day of Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool which is expected to receive strong support from unions.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 1.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.9%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.2%.
Annual services sector producer price inflation in Japan remain unchanged in August from July, data from the Bank of Japan showed.
The services producer price index rose 2.7% in August from a year before, the same pace of annual increase as seen in July, though slower than the 3.1% increase in June. The pace of inflation in July was revised down from the preliminary estimate of 2.8%.
Australia’s annual consumer price inflation rate, meanwhile, eased significantly to 2.7% in August from 3.5% in July.
This was a sharper deceleration than the FXStreet-cited market consensus, which had pencilled in 2.8%.
In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.2%%, the S&P 500 up 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.6%.
Brent oil was quoted at $74.75 a barrel from $74.85 late Tuesday.
Gold was quoted at $2,657.89 an ounce against $2,646.07.
Still to come on Wednesday’s economic calendar, the schedule includes unemployment data from France, and building permits and new home sales from the US.
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