- Blue chips close 1 points lower at 7,737
- UK Inflation eases
- Rail and Underground strikes announced
16:51pm: FTSE 100 ends day in red
London's blue chip index closed the day one point lower at 7,737.
16:03pm: FTSE 100 to close flat as inflation fails to wow investors
The FTSE 100 is set to close flat on Wednesday, having never really gotten going despite the news inflation had slowed quicker than the market had anticipated.
Ashtead (+4%), St James's Place (+4.5%) and Halma (+3.5%) led the index's top risers.
Halma, the safety equipment company, rose after a short note by UBS said it had moved the stock's 'buy' from 'neutral' and set a price target of 2,700p, up 500p from its previous valuation.
Falling the other way was Prudential, which fell 6% after it reported its full-year results.
Despite a positive performance, investors' concerns over the state of China's real estate industry were too strong.
"Nonetheless, this lag in the share price has seemingly strengthened the resolve of bulls of the stock, who remain highly confident of the group’s longer-term prospects, as evidenced by a market consensus which continues to come in as a strong buy," Richard Hunter at Interactive Investor said.
Other fallers included Burberry and Smith & Nephew, both of which slipped 2.5%.
Investors will now look to Thursday's Bank of England meeting, where, despite interest rates expected to be kept unchanged, there will be some indications of whether a rate cut is likely in June or in the third quarter.
15:40pm: Bitcoin finds some respite after tumbling on Tuesday
Bitcoin (BTC) offered some relief this Wednesday after plummeting more than 8% against the US dollar on Tuesday.
Though not a sweeping reversal, The BTC/USD pair has reclaimed 3.5% of these losses in early trades, bringing the world’s largest cryptocurrency close to $63,930.
Bitcoin’s outstanding 2024 rally began to cool off after hitting its all-time high on 14 March, though it still remains 50% higher year to date.
Outflows from Bitcoin ETFs have hit nearly US$200 million in the last few days, with Grayscale having experienced the withdrawal of more than US$1 billion of its crypto-related funds.
15:17pm: Ryanair boss to meet with Boeing executives
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary is set to sit down with Boeing executives in Dublin today in a discussion over delays of its planes.
O'Leary will also quiz C-suite members over the certification of the Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft as it continues to face criticism following the blowout of a panel during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.
He said: "We are working closely with Boeing... It's still producing great aircraft, but there’s no doubt in our mind that on the shop floor, the systems and the quality control in Seattle need to be improved."
Ryanair is the largest European customer of Boeing, but O'Leary believes the recent surge in criticism, including by regulators, of Boeing will allow it to improve its operations.
14:57pm: On the Beach pokes fun at Tesco and Lidl's court battle
On the Beach has taken a hit at the court battle between Tesco and Lidl over the use of a yellow circle behind a blue background.
The holiday company released a number of adverts mocking the decision, with its own version of the branding.
Zoe Harris, chief customer officer at On the Beach said: "Last time we checked, Lidl don't own yellow circles with deals on.
"One thing is for sure, Lidl can never own that yellow circle in the sky and they certainly can't stop you from enjoying it on your next holiday, all whilst getting our free mobile data perk. Just don't waste it on checking any supermarket deals."
On Wednesday, Tesco lost its appeal against a ruling which said its Clubcard logo had infringed on a trademark owned by rival Lidl.
The UK's largest supermarket used a yellow circle behind a blue background to advertise products which were part of its Clubcard scheme.
14:33pm: FTSE 100 keeping flat
The FTSE 100 is holding flat on Wednesday, up 10 points after it was revealed inflation had slowed more than expected.
Prudential is the leading faller, having dropped 6% after it reported annual results which saw new business profits soar 45% to US$3.1 billion.
Analysts believe the drop was caused by continued concerns surrounding the insurer's exposure to China's embattled real estate sector.
"Unfortunately the economic clouds which have hung over the likes of China more recently have had a detrimental effect on the share price for Prudential, if not for its long-term prospects," said Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.
Also falling was Burberry by around 4% as it suffers the impact of a negative read across from Gucci owner Kering's profit warning.
Sales in the first quarter are expected to fall by 10% year-on-year, with revenues from Gucci, which accounts for two-thirds of operating income, set to drop by 20%.
A steeper sales drop at Gucci was most notabe in the Asia-Pacific region, said Kering.
Top risers on Wednesday included Ashtead and Halma, up 4%, and St James's Place, up 3.5%.
13:37: Wall Street opens mixed as Chipotle announces stock split
Wall Street's main indexes opened mixed on Wednesday, with both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 inching higher by 32 points and 2 points respectively.
The Dow Jones traded around 80 points lower to 39,031.
Restaurant Chipotle Mexican Grill jumped 5% after it announced its shares would be undergoing a 50-to-1 split in June.
Chipotle said it was one of the biggest splits in the history of the New York Stock Exchange.
"This split comes at a time when our stock is experiencing an all-time high driven by record revenues, profits, and growth,” said the company’s chief financial and administrative officer, Jack Hartung.
Investors' focus will likely be switching towards the Federal Reserve as it edges closer to completing its two-day policy meeting later today.
Interest rates are expected to be kept at 5.5%, with economists targeting June for a first cut, however, the market will look for comments today to provide any insight on the Fed's outlook.
“Despite the market still pricing in nearly three cuts for the year, the dot plot may show only two, especially given recent higher-than-expected CPI prints,” said Gargi Chaudhuri, head of iShares investment strategy, Americas at BlackRock.
13:23pm: Aslef announces country-wide rail strikes
Rail workers across the country are scheduled to strike over the coming months as they fight for better pay, following on from plans announced earlier today for London Underground workers to walk out.
Aslef union members working for rail operators across the country will strike between Thursday 4 to Saturday 6 April and then from Monday 8 to Tuesday 9 April.
Other strikes across rail operators such as West Midlands Trains, TransPenine Trains and South Western Railway will take place on separate days between Friday 5 April and Monday 8 April.
Mick Whelan, the union's general secretary, said: "‘We have given the government every opportunity to come to the table but it is now clear they do not want to resolve this dispute. They are happy for it go on and on. Because we are not going to give up.
"Many members have now not had a single penny increase in pay for half a decade, during which time inflation has soared and, with it, the cost of living.
"We didn’t ask for an increase during the pandemic, when we worked through lockdown, as key workers, risking our lives, to move goods around the country and enable NHS and other workers to get to work."
12:53pm: NatWest lowers select mortgage rates
Mortgage rates have started to fall following February's softer-than-expected inflation reading, with lenders highlighting their confidence that base interest rates will fall later this year.
NatWest said it would be cutting the rates on a number of its mortgage offers, with five-year deals on purchases seeing a drop of seven basis points.
Additionally, a limited selection of remortgage offers will drop by 24 basis points.
Yet, two-year tracker deals are set to rise 40 points, which has caught the attention of analysts.
Justin Moy, managing director at EHF Mortgages, said: "It's great to see an immediate response to the improved inflation figures this morning, with NatWest leading the way with improvements to many of their fixed-rate deals.
"This slams the brakes on rate increases for the moment. But the tracker rates increasing by up to 0.40%? Is that NatWest looking to grab more profit in readiness of some base rate cuts on the horizon?"
12:30pm: US stocks to open lower ahead of Fed decision
Wall Street is set to open lower as the US markets brace for the Fed's update on interest rates later today.
The Dow Jones is 51 points lower at 39,496 in premarket trading, while the Nasdaq is positioned to open up 43 points at 18,313.
The S&P 500 is set to begin trading unchanged at 5,178.
David Morrison at Trade Nation said: "US stock index futures have begun the day with a slight negative bias in quiet trade. But what was a touch surprising about yesterday’s session was how equities subsequently turned higher, with all the US majors ending in positive territory.
"This happened despite the caution expected given that the US Federal Reserve concludes its two-day monetary policy meeting early this evening."
Intel was one of the leading risers having jumped 3% after it was revealed that the White House plans to provide the company with a US$8.5 billion grant.
11:56am: HMRC halts plans to cut telephone helplines
HMRC has paused its plans to limit the amount of telephone helplines available after it recieved widespread criticism from Brits.
The plan, which included turning off its self-assessment helpline for half of the year, will be reconsidered while the UK's tax department speaks with stakeholders about other solutions.
Chief executive Jim Harra said: "Making best use of online services allows HMRC to help more taxpayers and get the most out of every pound of taxpayers’ money by boosting productivity.
"However the pace of this change needs to match the public appetite for managing their tax affairs online.
"We’ve listened to the feedback and we’re halting the helpline changes as we recognise more needs to be done to ensure all taxpayers’ needs are met, whilst also encouraging them to transition to online services."
HMRC's plans to transition to online were dubbed "misguided" by the Chartered Institute of Taxation.
❗️ BREAKING: Pleased that HMRC has halted ridiculous planned reduction in its tax helpline, following pressure from us and others.https://t.co/ihQTtvVo7L
— Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) (@fsb_policy) March 20, 2024
11:40am: UK rents surge in January
UK private rents surged by 9% in the 12 months to February 2024, marking the steepest increase since the Office of National Statistics' records began in 2015.
Rent hikes were most pronounced in London, where they rose by 10.6%. Average UK house prices, in contrast, dipped by 0.6% over the same period.
Average UK house prices slipped by 0.6% year-on-year in January, down 1.5% to £299,000 in England, down 0.8% to £213,000 in Wales and down 4.8% to £190,000 in Scotland.
Sarah Coles at Hargreaves Lansdown said: "Since the start of the year, buyer enthusiasm has been tested by small mortgage rate rises. There are early signs that it has stood up to the test, with more buyers coming back in February too.
"There’s also the hope that with inflation coming in lower than expected today, and the Bank of England expecting to hold rates where they are, we could see mortgage rates hold steady, and eventually start to drop again towards the summer."
11:09am: London Underground workers to strike
London Underground workers are set to strike for two days as they continue to push for better contract terms and working conditions.
Trade union Aslef said its workers will stage two 24 hour walkouts on April 8 and May 4, the latter being the Saturday as the Mayday bank holiday weekend.
Finn Brennan, the union's organiser for the London Tube, said employers had failed to provide assurances about changes to conditions and terms.
He added: "Despite a previous commitment to withdraw plans for massive changes to drivers’ working conditions, London Underground management has established a full-time team of managers preparing to impose their plans.
"They want drivers to work longer shifts, spending up to 25pc more time in the cab, and to remove all current working agreements in the name of flexibility and efficiency.
"Everyone knows what these management buzz words really mean. It’s about getting people to work harder and longer for less."
Tube workers went on strike over the same issue a year ago.
10:47am: Greggs technical glitch resolved
A Greggs technical issue which left chains unable to take payments has been fixed.
A spokesperson for the bakery chain said: "We have now resolved the technical issue that affected tills in some of our shops earlier this morning. The majority of shops affected are now able to take card and cash payments again and we expect the issue to be fully resolved shortly.
"We apologise for the inconvenience this may have caused to our customers.”
Brits took to social media this morning revealing that stores had either closed or were asking customers to pay through the Greggs app before collecting.
10:31am: Indivior moves a step closer to US listing
Indivior, the pharma firm developing medicines to treat addiction and mental illnesses, has edged closer to a move to the US after a top-ten shareholder said it would back the move.
Last month, the group said it would be considering switching its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange for the Nasdaq, but would consult shareholders beforehand.
The top-ten shareholder, which hasn't been named in reports, is said to vote in favour of the move as it is aware that most of Invidior's business takes place in the States.
Around 83% of total revenues are generated from the US, roughly half of its share capital is owned by American investors and management works out of North Chesterfield, Virginia.
10:02am: Greggs suffers technical issue preventing payments
Greggs chains across Britain have been forced to close after its IT systems were hit with a technical glitch leaving employees unable to take payments.
Some stores were forced to close because of the issue, putting makeshift "closed" notices on their doors.
Other sites told customers to wait outside and pay through Greggs's mobile app before they could receive food or drinks.
A Greggs spokesperson said: "We are currently experiencing issues accepting payments in our shops. We are working to resolve this as soon as possible."
Last week, McDonald's was hit by a technical outage across multiple countries, which prevented employees from taking orders, with some reverting to pen and paper instead.
Both Tesco and Sainsbury's also suffered IT issues, disrupting its deliveries over the weekend.
9:42am: Sterling unmoved following inflation suprise
The pound has remained unmoved following UK inflation data coming in lower than expected in February.
It experienced a slight uplift in early trading, however it quickly slipped back to US$1.27, which would be the lowest closing in two weeks.
Both the pound and UK gilt yields had edged lower in the build-up to the report.
Kathleen Brooks at XTB said: "The details within the inflation report were mostly positive for the UK’s inflation outlook: the rate of annual food price inflation has halved since October 2023, there were also large declines for transport and education costs compared with February 2023.
"However, the price for housing has trended higher in the last 5 months, as mortgage rates rise on the back of volatility in the bond market."
9:16am: FTSE 100 edges lower
The FTSE 100 is trading 14 points lower at 7,724 on Wednesday despite inflation figures for February coming in better than expected.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “The plan is working. Inflation has not just fallen decisively but is forecast to hit the 2 per cent target within months.
“This sets the scene for better economic conditions which could allow further progress on our ambition to boost growth and make work pay by bringing down national insurance.”
8.50am: The morning so far
Consumers got a pleasant surprise this morning when February’s inflation print came in softer than expected at 3.4%; a better outcome than the 3.5% previously forecasted.
“Food prices were the main driver of the fall, with prices almost unchanged this year compared with a large rise last year, while restaurant and café price rises also slowed,” said Office of National Statistics chief economist Grant Fitzner.
“These falls were only partially offset by price rises at the pump and a further increase in rental costs.”
Henk Potts, market strategist at Barclays Private Bank said it could “pave the way for the start of the interest rate cutting cycle in June”.
Stocks didn’t have much of a reaction to the news though, with the FTSE 100 opening just a few points lower. The blue-chip index has since dipped 12 points to 7,726.
On the company news front, Prudential plc shares initially shifted higher after the British insurance multinational delivered a strong set of annual results.
New business profit increased 45% to $3.1 billion, guided by strong performances in Asia and Africa. Shares bounced 8% higher after the results, though they have since been driven lower.
Computacenter PLC (LSE:CCC) shares were off 6% following the FTSE 250 technology services provider’s annual results.
Despite shares being tossed lower, the group reported a record year for revenues, while statutory profit before tax increased 9.3% to £272 million.
8.36am: Bitcoin nudges higher
Bitcoin (BTC) offered some relief this morning after plummeting more than 8% against the US dollar on Tuesday.
Though not a sweeping reversal, The BTC/USD pair reclaimed 2% of these losses in early trades, bringing the world’s largest cryptocurrency close to $63,200 at the time of writing.
Bitcoin’s outstanding 2024 rally began to cool off after hitting its all-time high on 14 March, though it still remains 49% higher year to date.
Back to London stocks, the FTSE 100 remains relatively unphased by this morning's soft inflation print, with the blue-chip index dipping seven points to 7,730.
8.21am: Computacenter shares plunge
Computacenter PLC (LSE:CCC) shares are off 8% following the FTSE 250 technology services provider’s annual results.
Despite shares being tossed lower, the group reported a record year for revenues, while statutory profit before tax increased 9.3% to £272 million.
Chief executive Mike Norris commented: "We delivered our nineteenth consecutive year of growth in adjusted earnings per share, outperforming our markets in 2023, as our large customers continued to invest heavily in new technology.
“We managed an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop and inflationary pressures effectively, reduced our inventory significantly, resulting in a record net cash position. As planned, we stepped up our investment in strategic initiatives to underpin our competitiveness and future growth.
"Overall we expect 2024 to be another year of progress with growth weighted to the second half, while continuing to invest for future growth. Looking further ahead, the combination of the strength of our integrated Technology Sourcing and Services model and our geographic diversity, gives us continued confidence in our long-term growth prospects."
Shares were last seen at 2,700p.
8.03am: Prudential profits surge higher
Prudential plc shares shifted higher this morning after the British insurance multinational delivered a strong set of annual results.
New business profit increased 45% to $3.1 billion, guided by strong performances in Asia and Africa.
Adjusted operating profit rose by 8% to $2.9 billion, while EEV shareholders' equity lifted 7% to reach $45.3 billion, equivalent to 1,643 cents per share.
"We delivered an excellent financial and operational performance in 2023 and deployed increased levels of capital in new business, enhancing core capabilities and expanding distribution,” said chief executive Anil Wadhwani.
“Sales growth has continued in the first two months of 2024. Given the relentless execution focus in implementing our strategy, we are increasingly confident in achieving our 2027 financial and strategic objectives and in accelerating value creation for our shareholders."
Prudential announced a second interim dividend of 14.21 cents per share, bringing the full-year dividend to 20.47 cents per share, a 9% increase over the previous year.
Shares in the FTSE 100-listed group opened 3.5% higher at 807.4p.
The wider blue-chip index, meanwhile, opened flat at 7,731.
7.42am: Rate cuts in June?
Commenting on today’s inflation data, Henk Potts, market strategist at Barclays Private Bank said: "We believe today’s inflation print will provide further relief for consumers and policymakers.
"UK February CPI inflation is expected to ease to 3.5% from the 4% that we saw in January, driven by moderating service, core goods and food inflation, all aided by base effects.
"Furthermore, we expect headline CPI will fall back below the Bank of England’s 2% target as the year progresses; this could pave the way for the start of the interest rate cutting cycle in June."
7.34am: UK inflation reaches 30-month low
The UK inflation print for February beat expectations, with the year-on-year rate coming to 3.4% while analysts were expecting 3.5%.
It marks the lowest rate of inflation seen in the UK for 30 months.
“Food prices were the main driver of the fall, with prices almost unchanged this year compared with a large rise last year, while restaurant and café price rises also slowed,” said Office of National Statistics chief economist Grant Fitzner.
“These falls were only partially offset by price rises at the pump and a further increase in rental costs.”
Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, was 4.5% in February, also besting expectations of 4.6%.
7.15am: Stocks to open flat
The FTSE 100 is set to open flat at 7,740 after closing 15 points higher on Tuesday after the February inflation imprint came in slightly softer than expected.
Year-on-year inflation came to 3.4% in January, beating the 3.5% forecast and down from 4% in the previous two months.
It marks the lowest rate since September 2021. Core inflation fell from 5.1% to 4.5%.
With an interest rate decision coming up on Thursday, this result could influence the Bank of England's interest rate decision tomorrow.
On the company news front, Investec will provide a trading update this morning, while Computacenter and Prudential have their finals out shortly.
In the US, the Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates at 5.5% when it convenes this evening.