Stock prices in London were higher at midday on Wednesday, ahead of the next interest rate decision from the Bank of England on Thursday.
The FTSE 100 index was up 41.39 points, 0.5%, at 8,355.06, having reached another record at 8364.04 at around 1100 BST. The FTSE 250 was up 33.45 points, 0.2%, at 20,446.53, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.99 points, 0.3%, at 778.41.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.5% at 834.08, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 17,719.92, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.2% at 15,914.92.
In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.9%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.5%.
‘The FTSE 100 continues to forge to new all-time highs with sterling weakness providing the index with a bit of a kicker. A fall in the domestic currency is typically helpful to the FTSE 100 because it boosts the relative value of its dominant overseas earnings,’ said AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould.
‘Currency traders are betting against the pound ahead of the Bank of England’s latest meeting tomorrow, amid a growing expectation it will cut rates earlier than counterparts at the US Federal Reserve. It’s extremely unlikely there will be any action tomorrow but the market will be watching the surrounding commentary for any clues on when the Bank of England might take the plunge on rates.’
Sterling was quoted at $1.2490 before midday on Wednesday, lower than $1.2542 at the London equities close on Tuesday.
The euro traded at $1.0750 before midday on Wednesday, lower than $1.0774 late Tuesday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JP¥155.38 versus JP¥154.49.
In the FTSE 100, IAG led the pack, rising 3.3%.
Informa rose 2.7%, after it increased its share buyback programme for 2024 by 50% to £500 million.
In a market update, the business information publisher and events organiser said all business were delivering ahead of or in line with annual targets.
Informa expects 2024 revenue will be at the the upper end of its £3.45 billion to £3.50 billion guidance range, while adjusted operating profit is expected to be at the upper end of £950 million to £970 million guidance range.
Centrica rose 1.7% to 133.42 pence, after UBS raised its rating for the owner of British Gas to ’buy’ from ’neutral’, setting an increased price target of 170p from 165p.
In the FTSE 250, Wetherspoon rose 3.6%, after the pub chain said like-for-like sales rose 5.2% in the 13 weeks to April 28 from a year earlier, while year-to-date like-for-like sales rose by 8.3%.
Total sales increased by 3.3% in the quarter and by 6.5% in the year-to-date, it added.
Looking ahead, JD Wetherspoon said it expects profits in the current financial year to be ‘towards the top of market expectations’.
Wizz Air rose 3.6% to 2,157.39p, despite JPMorgan cutting its price target for the budget airline to 2,150p per share from 2,250p. It rates the stock at ’neutral’.
OSB rose 3.2%, after the mortgage lender said financial and operational performance in the first quarter of 2024 was stable, with underlying net interest margin on track to meet full year guidance.
It reported first quarter new originations of £1.0 billion, down from £1.2 billion a year earlier, while underlying and statutory net loans and advances on March 31 rose to £26.0 billion from £25.7 billion on December 31.
OSB Chief Executive Officer Andy Golding commented: ‘The group is well positioned to deliver attractive and sustainable returns across the cycle, with a strong and resilient business model, robust capital and liquidity position, secured loan book and proven risk management capabilities. I look to the future with confidence.’
Among London’s small caps, STV rose 3.1%, after the broadcast television channel operator and content studio said BBC Daytime has commissioned new series of antiques programmes ’Antiques Road Trip’, ’Celebrity Antiques Road Trip’ and ’The Travelling Auctioneers’ from production company STV Studios, in an order totalling 56 episodes.
STV said production has already begun on a third 20-episode series of The Travelling Auctioneers.
On AIM in London, Mobile Tornado more than doubled to 2.50p.
The critical communications services provider said it won a deal via its regional partner to supply a range of ‘cutting-edge’ technologies for an unnamed ‘prominent’ mobile network operator in the Middle East and Africa. No financial details were disclosed.
Key features of the solutions being provided by Mobile Tornado include voice and video calls to ‘anywhere in the world at the push of a button’; lone worker support including real-time location tracking, emergency SOS alerts, device inactivity monitoring and ambient listening; alongside ‘significantly lower’ data usage than comparative solutions of around 300 megabytes per month.
Mobile Tornado Executive Chair Jeremy Fenn commented: ‘We identified the Middle East as a crucial region for business development, and this new contract through our local partner provides us with a platform for expansion across multiple territories...This contract, in a key target market, is a testament to the changes we made early last year and the board looks forward to increasing sales momentum as 2024 develops.’
Stocks in New York were called flat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called marginally up, while the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite were both called marginally down.
Brent oil was trading at $82.36 a barrel before midday on Wednesday, lower than $83.51 late Tuesday. Gold was quoted at $2,316.11 an ounce, lower than $2,322.59.
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