Stock prices in London were mixed at midday Wednesday, amid cautious optimism from the UK housebuilding sector, as eyes are set on upcoming US consumer price inflation data.
‘US inflation figures will be closely watched this afternoon, with expectations for the cost of living to have edged higher,’ commented AJ Bell’s Russ Mould. ‘The consensus is for the annual rate of inflation to move from 2.4% to 2.6%. Any higher could trouble the market, particularly given the incoming Trump administration raising the prospect of higher inflation through various policies.’
Meanwhile in the UK, new home registrations jumped by 40% to 28,724 in the third quarter of this year compared with 20,449 the same period a year earlier, according to the National House Building Council.
NHBC CEO Steve Wood said there are ‘some signs of increased activity on site and an emerging mood of cautious optimism amongst house builders’.
The FTSE 100 index was down 8.33 points, 0.1%, at 8,017.44. The FTSE 250 was down 46.40 points, 0.2%, at 20,381.40, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.83 points, 0.1%, at 731.69.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 806.29, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.3% at 17,817.92, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.8% at 15,955.12.
Experian was one of the FTSE 100’s bigger losers, down 4.6%.
The Dublin-based consumer credit checker said pretax profit in the six months that ended September 30 was $718 million, falling 5.9% annually.
However, revenue increased 6.1% to $3.63 billion, and Experian declared an interim dividend of 19.25 US cents per share, up 6.9% year-on-year from 18.00 US cents.
Dowlais continued to lead the FTSE 250, up 10%. Babcock International remained in second place with a 5.4% increase.
The London-based defence company reported pretax profit of £172.0 million in the six months that ended September 30, up 26% annually.
The company declared an interim dividend of 2.0 pence per share, up 18% from 1.7p a year before, and revenue grew by 11% to £2.41 billion driven by a strong performance in its Marine, Nuclear, and Land divisions.
Elsewhere on the London Stock Exchange, Just Eat Takeaway.com was 15% higher.
The food delivery application announced earlier today that it is selling Grubhub Inc to New York-based food delivery startup Wonder Group Inc for $650 million.
Investors are ‘clearly pleased’, Mould said. However: ‘It is worth taking a step back and considering the destruction of value which has taken place. When Just Eat bought Grubhub less than four years ago it paid more than $7 billion – now it is being sold for just $650 million. This reflects its diminished status since 2021...but investors seem prepared to focus on the future and the promised boost to cash generation and growth for the remainder of the group.’
Flutter Entertainment was up 4.7%.
The New York-based owner of Sky Bet and PaddyPower announced the launch of the first tranche of its up to $5 billion share buyback programme, set to start Thursday and run until maximum March 31. The first tranche is for up to $350 million on the New York Stock Exchange.
Further, Flutter said its revenue grew 27% on-year to $3.25 billion in the three months that ended September 30, with growth in the UK and Ireland driven by a broader product range across sports and iGaming.
The company said its performance in the quarter well exceeded market expectations, and it upgraded its revenue and adjusted Ebitda (excluding the US) guidance for the full year in response.
In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was marginally higher, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.1%.
The pound was quoted flat at $1.2739 at midday on Wednesday in London, compared to $1.2739 at the equities close on Tuesday. The euro stood higher at $1.0613, against $1.0600. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JP¥154.94 compared to JP¥154.69.
Stocks in New York were called lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite were called down 0.2%.
On Donald Trump’s decision to make Tesla boss Elon Musk his government ‘efficiency advisor’, Mould warned: ‘Musk’s advice is likely to amount to widespread job cuts, greater use of automation and greatly reducing the number of government agencies. While he is currently admired as a successful entrepreneur and the world’s richest man, admiration could soon turn to hatred if Musk is the driving force for putting thousands of people out of a job.’
Brent oil was quoted flat at $72.03 a barrel at midday in London on Wednesday from $72.02 late Tuesday.
Gold was quoted at $2,608.28 an ounce, higher against $2,600.40.
Still to come on Wednesday economic calendar is the US CPI reading and monthly budget statement.
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