- Blue chips down 27 points to 8,083
- Nvidia prepares for Wednesday earnings
- Gold prices recover
3.58pm: Stock to close in the red
Footsie largely trended in the red this Tuesday and end-of-day trades don’t appear to be bucking that trend.
The blue-chip index is currently down 27 points to 8,083 as the session enters the final 30 minutes.
Diploma PLC (LSE:DPLM), Melrose Industries PLC (LSE:MRO, OTC:MLSPF) and British Airways parent IAG were the biggest fallers, while Imperial Brands PLC (LSE:IMB) led the risers with a 3% gain following its full-year results.
3.47pm: Nvidia dominates Wednesday earnings calendar
Chipmaking titan Nvidia Corp is hoping to deliver one of its patented multi-billion-dollar revenue beats when it reports third-quarter earnings tomorrow.
Key to achieving that will be the rollout of its new flagship artificial intelligence processor Blackwell.
Per Nvidia’s own guidance, the artificial intelligence microchip titan is expected to deliver quarterly revenues of $32.5 billion, which is in the ballpark of an 80% year-on-year increase.
The Street, meanwhile, expects Nvidia to slightly exceed this target, given that the group’s internal guidance has historically proven conservative.
Here in the UK, pub group Mitchells & Butlers PLC (LSE:MAB) has its full-year earnings due while FTSE 100-listed water firm Severn Trent PLC (LSE:SVT) will deliver a trading update.
The focus will be on Severn Trent’s progress on incentive negotiations with water regulator Ofwat.
While the industry has “been worried that Ofwat's incentives in general may be skewed to the downside,” proposals are “incrementally positive”, Deutsche said in a note.
3.20pm: Dow Jones, Nasdaq open lower
The Nasdaq 100 opened around 0.2% lower this Tuesday while the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted around 0.75%.
As for the wider market, the S&P 500 opened around 0.4% below Monday’s closing price.
Super Micro’s Nasdaq listing has won a stay of execution after submitting a compliance plan to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT, ETR:WMT) is doing most of the heavy lifting this morning. The retail giant is up around 3.6% after increasing its full-year guidance.
Warner Bros Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:WBD, ETR:J5A) and Intuit Inc (NASDAQ:INTU, ETR:ITU) are among the biggest Nasdaq fallers at 3.7% and 5.4% respectively.
Back in London, the FTSE 100 is currently down 31 points at 8,079, having bounced from an intraday low of 8,057.
2.42pm: FTSE 100 hits intraday low
The footsie fell to an intraday low of 8,053, or more than 50 points lower than yesterday’s close, in mid-afternoon trades.
Diploma PLC (LSE:DPLM) remains the biggest blue-chip faller with 8.5% cut from its share price following a preliminary earnings reports.
British Airways' parent company International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG) is down around 3% in response to an overnight IT failure that caused mass disruption for passengers passing through Heathrow.
2.21pm: Gold prices recover
Gold prices are back in the driving seat following a sell off in recent weeks.
Current spot prices have the precious metal at $2,631 an ounce, marking a 3.4% recovery after plummeting more than 7% from last month’s all-time high.
Gold’s rebound coincides with a recovery in US bond prices. The yield on a US 10-year Treasury has fallen from last week’s high of 4.5% to around 4.37% today.
Goldman Sachs, meanwhile, has maintained its $3,000/oz price target for December 2025.
“Go for gold,” Goldman analysts urged in a research note. They highlighted central bank purchases as the main driver of their forecast, alongside potential inflows to exchange-traded funds as the Federal Reserve adjusts interest rates.
Silver, platinum, and palladium have also seen sharp increases, reflecting renewed interest in precious metals amid weakening dollar trades.
Market attention now turns to the Federal Reserve’s December meeting, where there is currently a 35% chance of a rate hold.
Gold could also benefit from its ‘safe-haven’ status as Donald Trump transitions into power starting next January.
Trump’s high-tariff, low-tax policies could potentially devalue the US dollar via inflation, leading investors to seek out alternatives to preserve their wealth.
1.56pm: Goldman Sachs urges: 'Buy British' for better returns
In its latest outlook for 2025, Goldman Sachs is urging investors to “buy British” as undervalued UK stocks offer an attractive opportunity in Europe’s otherwise tepid equity market.
The bank highlights that UK shares, particularly those with a domestic focus, are trading at a discount compared to other European and US markets.
With a modestly better economic outlook for the UK, Goldman predicts a rebound driven by improving consumer sentiment and steady demand for services and financials.
Read the full report here
1.23pm: Wall Street, Nasdaq to dip but Walmart to rally following strong results
The Nasdaq 100 is tipped to open essentially flat when trading commences this Tuesday, following a buoyant Monday that saw the tech index surge by 145 points.
Futures contracts suggest a sharp downturn for the Dow Jones Industrial Average though. It is expected to open 200 points lower after shedding 55 points yesterday.
The broader S&P 500 index is also expected to open in the red.
Walmart looks set to rally more than 3.5% following the retail giant’s better-than-expected third-quarter results.
Revenue ticked up 5.5% to $169.6 billion over the three months to October, fueled by growth in food and consumables sales, alongside general merchandise goods for the second consecutive quarter, after 11 successive declines previously.
Back in London, the FTSE 100 is currently down 40 points to 8,070.
1.01pm: Alphabet-Anthropic collab cleared by UK watchdog
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has given the green light to the Google parent Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s partnership with artificial intelligence research firm Anthropic.
It will allow Alphabet to acquire non-voting shares, provide convertible debt financing, and sign agreements for compute and AI model distribution with Anthropic.
The CMA was investigating whether Alphabet had obtained material influence over Anthropic thus falling afoul of competition rules.
However, the regulator said it “does not believe that Google has acquired material influence over Anthropic as a result of the partnership”.
Additionally, the CMA noted that Anthropic’s UK turnover does not exceed £70 million, so the partnership fails to meet the criteria of a ‘relevant merger situation’ under UK law.
The CMA made a similar ruling in September regarding Anthropic’s partnership with Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN).
12.33pm: Tobacco giant Imperial Brands hits five-year high
Imperial Brands PLC (LSE:IMB) shares are trading at five-year highs in a clear sign that the tobacco giant’s strategy of delivering substantial cash returns to shareholders while transitioning to next-generation products (NGPs) is paying off.
Imperial Brands announced a 4.5% hike to its dividend in today’s annual results.
Despite top-line revenues declining by 0.2%, it remains hugely cash rich as sales of its NGPs, which include vapes, heated tobacco and oral nicotine pouches, begin to scale.
Imperial Brands has significant price-setting advantages given the addictive qualities of its products. The FTSE 100-listed company has successfully navigated the changing market landscape despite being precluded from investment from ethically focused investors.
“Changing lifestyle habits and tougher regulation perennially overhang this sector, but in the meantime Imperial Brands continues to play the cards it has been dealt with aplomb,” stated Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor.
He added: “Despite the obvious concerns of changing habits and a more immediate drag from some large investors either unwilling or unable to buy tobacco shares, Imperial is maximising its current power, and the market consensus of the shares as a buy continues to reflect this bounty.”
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, stated: “Despite a big push from governments, healthcare representatives and campaigners in society to curb the number of people smoking and vaping, Imperial Brands’ results would suggest the industry isn’t disappearing any time soon.
“The positive response to the results took its share price to a five-year high and extended the year-to-date gains to 35%.”
11.55pm: EU inflation hits the mark
Annual inflation in the euro area matched expectations by increasing to 2% in October.
This marks a rise from 1.7% in September, which was the lowest level since April 2021.
The increase was anticipated due to base effects, as last year’s sharp declines in energy prices are no longer impacting annual rates.
Energy prices declined by 4.6%; prices for food, alcohol, and tobacco rose by 2.9%; and services inflation accelerated to 4%.
Meanwhile, the core inflation rate, which excludes energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco, remained unchanged at 2.7%.
11.20am: BT shares up as Bharti takes over as top shareholder
BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A)’s share price surged by 2% on Tuesday following a high-profile transfer of ownership of a significant portion of BT’s outstanding shares.
Indian multinational Bharti, which owns Indian telecoms giant Bharti Airtel, finalised its purchase of a 24.5% stake in BT from US competitor Altice.
The transfer of shares was disclosed in regulatory statements published by BT on Monday.
One showed that Bharti Televentures UK Limited, a London-based subsidiary of Bharti Global, increased its voting stake from 9.99% to 24.5%, or roughly 2.44 billion BT shares.
Another showed that Altice reduced its stake from 14.78% to 0%.
The purchase, first announced in August, makes Bharti BT’s largest shareholder.
Bharti’s effective ownership of nearly a quarter of BT raises the question of whether it has designs to increase its stake even further.
As India’s fifth-largest corporation with an £85 billion valuation, Bharti Airtel is certainly in a position to consider the prospect, but it’s probably not on the agenda, according to Deutsche Bank’s head of European TMT research Robert Grindle.
“We do not expect an offer for BT and are unmoved with regard to our stock view as one strategic investor is replaced by another,” he said in response to the share transfer.
BT’s £14.5 billion net debt (excluding leases) is likely to temper any potential suitors’ appetites, as would BT’s funding obligations for Britain’s full-fibre rollout.
BT shares are currently swapping for 147.5p each with a market capitalisation of £14.7 billion, giving BT an enterprise value of nearly £30 billion.
10.35am: Bitcoin climbing back to all-time highs
Bitcoin is currently less than two percentage points away from reclaiming last week’s all-time high of $93,265.
At the time of writing, the BTC/USD pair was swapping for $91,720 following a 1.4% morning advance.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency has been on a rip ever since president-elect Donald Trump's successful election campaign, when he promised to usher in pro-crypto policies and regulations.
Spot-bitcoin exchange-traded fund flows have, however, started to moderate
The ETF market saw $255 million worth of inflows on Monday, following $77 million of outflows in the prior two days.
Immediately following the election, the ETF market was seeing up to $1 billion worth of inflows daily.
Bitcoin is currently up 117% year to date – Credit: tradingview.com
9.37am: Nestle to spin out fancy waters
Across the Channel, Nestle S.A. (OTC:NSRGF, VTX:NESN) has announced plans to spin out Perrier and San Pellegrino in a $2.8 billion cost drive.
New chief executive Laurent Friexe unveiled the plans at a capital market day as part of a strategy that will double organic sales growth to 4% from 2% currently.
Nestle intends to turn the taps on advertising and marketing spend to achieve this goal.
"Our action plan will also improve the way we operate, making us more efficient, responsive and agile," Freixe said in a statement, adding the focus will be on core brands such as Kit Kat, Nescafe and Maggi.
Nestle S.A. (OTC:NSRGF, VTX:NESN)es fell 1.4% this morning.
9.21am: Diploma leads footsie losers
Diploma PLC (LSE:DPLM)’s share price has taken a hit following the FTSE 100 distributor’s preliminary results.
Total revenues increased 14% year on year to £1.36 billion, which was below to £1.4 billion consensus market estimate.
Nonetheless, Diploma proposed a full-year dividend of 59.3p, marking a 5% annual increase, reflecting a strong cash position.
Diploma is guiding towards organic revenue growth of around 6%, plus an extra 2% from acquisitions.
The wider FTSE 100 index has taken a downward turn. After trending in the green for the first hour, the index is down 10 points to 8,099.
9.04am: The morning so far
The FTSE 100 sprang into life with a 30-point gain to 8,140 this morning, although it has since climbed back to 8,126 at the time of writing.
Tobacco giant Imperial Brands is one of the morning’s biggest risers with a 1.8% gain in its share price.
This follows Imperial’s annual results, which featured a 4.5% dividend hike and 4.6% improvement in adjusted operating profits.
BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) is the morning’s biggest riser with a 2.9% gain, followed by energy and healthcare holding company DCC PLC (LSE:DCC).
British Airways’ parent company International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG) fell 1.6% following news the IT outages caused mass flight delays overnight.
The party is over at aerospace manufacturing firm Melrose Industries PLC (LSE:MRO, OTC:MLSPF). The company’s share price has retreated by 2.4% following a bumper 7% post-results rally on Monday.
Other major fallers include Diploma PLC (LSE:DPLM), which is down 3.8% following its preliminary results; Informa PLC (LSE:INF), which is down 2.1%; and B&M European Value Retail SA (LSE:BME), which is down 0.9%.
Outside of the FTSE 100, British luxury icon Mulberry Group (AIM:MUL) plc flopped another 14.4% to bring year-to-date losses above 38%.
Mulberry delivered a worrying set of half-year results highlighting the challenges the British label is facing in a time of plummeting global luxury spending.
Chief executive Andrea Baldo Baldo hinted at headcount reductions to help stem ongoing losses: "In response to current market conditions, we have taken decisive steps to streamline operations, improve margins, reduce working capital, and strengthen our cash position.”
8.42am: UK retailers rally against Reeves’ Budget
Major UK retailers have warned that rising costs and tax increases from the Budget will lead to job losses, shop closures, and price hikes.
In a letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, 79 signatories, including the British Retail Consortium (BRC), urged the government to reconsider measures they say will add £7 billion in costs next year.
From April next year, businesses face higher National Insurance Contributions (NICs), with rates rising from 13.8% to 15% and thresholds lowered.
This, combined with a minimum wage increase, will cost retailers £5 billion annually, according to the BRC. A packaging levy, starting in 2025, is expected to add another £2 billion.
Retailers, including Tesco, Sainsbury and Next, argue these changes will hurt profit margins and drive inflation.
The letter states: “We appreciate Government’s focus on improving the fiscal situation and investing in public services; we also recognise the role businesses have in supporting this.
“But, the sheer scale of new costs and the speed with which they occur create a cumulative burden that will make job losses inevitable, and higher prices a certainty.”
Despite mounting industry pleas, Labour has taken a hard-line approach to the Budget.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated this weekend: “Make no mistake, I will defend our decisions in the Budget all day long. I will defend facing up to the harsh light of fiscal reality.”
8.29am: British Airways IT failure leads to travel chaos
A “technical issue” in British Airways’ IT system has led to a chaotic 12 hours for passengers travelling through Heathrow.
Thousands of ticket holders faced delays and disruption throughout Monday evening and this morning, although BA has stated that no flights have been cancelled.
Travel reporter Simon Calder posted rolling updates on Twitter/X.
“British Airways IT system failure is causing delays of 1-2 hours on many BA flights this evening. Trying to contact the airline to find out more,” he Tweeted at around 8pm on Monday.
British Airways responded at around 6am this morning: "Our teams worked hard to resolve an issue we experienced for a short time. We’ve apologised to customers for delays to their flights and ensured they were able to reach their destinations as planned."
British Airways IT failure now resolved.
Airline says: "Our teams worked hard to resolve an issue we experienced for a short time. We’ve apologised to customers for delays to their flights and ensured they were able to reach their destinations as planned."https://t.co/NNpIAUs4AU
— Simon Calder (@SimonCalder) November 19, 2024
8.22am: Stocks well bid
The FTSE 100 opened in the green this Tuesday, with the blue-chip index currently trading 28 points higher at 8,137.
Top morning risers include Imperial Brands PLC (LSE:IMB), which is up 2.9% following its latest results; BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A), which is up 2.2%; and Croda International PLC (LSE:CRDA), which is up 1.9%.
8.05am: Mulberry hints at job losses as revenues plummet at iconic British label
Mulberry plc has delivered a worrying set of half-year results that have highlighted the challenges the British label is facing in a time of plummeting global luxury spending.
Right off the bat from rejecting numerous takeover advances from Frasers Group PLC (LSE:FRAS), Mulberry has reported a year-on-year 19% decline in revenue to £56.1 million on a margin nearly 400 basis points smaller than last year.
The group posted a pre-tax loss of £15.7 million, widening from the £12.8 million loss recorded in the prior year.
Chief executive Andrea Baldo did not gloss over the challenges Mulberry is contending with.
“The first half results illustrate the clear need to reprioritise and rebuild the business,” he told shareholders, adding: "There is no question that our industry is facing a period of significant uncertainty, driven by a challenging and volatile macroeconomic environment that is impacting consumer confidence in several markets, particularly in our home country.”
Baldo hinted at headcount reductions to help stem ongoing losses: "In response to current market conditions, we have taken decisive steps to streamline operations, improve margins, reduce working capital, and strengthen our cash position.
“This has also meant reviewing our internal team structure to ensure we become a leaner, more agile organisation.”
7.36am: Imperial Brands reduces non-cigarette losses
Tobacco giant Imperial Brands PLC (LSE:IMB)’s net revenue across all product lines fell 0.2% to £32.4 billion in 2024, mirroring the 0.2% decline reported in 2023.
Adjusted operating profit grew by 4.5% to £3.5 billion, compared to the 3.8% growth delivered in 2023.
Imperial’s next-generation products (NGPs) segment, which covers vapes, tobacco pouches and other non-cigarette products, continues to be unprofitable, but they are becoming a larger portion of sales.
In 2024, NGPs made up 8% of total sales while delivering a £79 million operating loss- this marks a 43% improvement in losses compared to the previous year.
Income investors will be pleased with the results regardless. Imperial Brands increased the dividend by 4.5% to 154.42p.
£2.8 billion worth of shareholder returns are scheduled for the current year via dividends and buybacks.
7.27am: FTSE 100 to surge
The FTSE 100 is expected to surge by 32 points when markets open today, bringing the blue-chip index up to 8,135.
It follows a positive trading session on Monday, when the FTSE 100 closed 45% higher.
All eyes will be on the reaction to Imperial Brands PLC (LSE:IMB)’s latest earnings.
5am: Morning preview
Tuesday brings updates from the likes of Imperial Brands, Revolution Beauty and Mothercare in London, alongside Walmart from across the Atlantic.
Imperial Brands previously warned against an overarching vape ban, so any thoughts on the government's move will be eyed... Read more
Announcements due:
Interims: Calnex Solutions PLC, CML Microsystems Plc, GB Group PLC, Gear4music Holdings PLC, Manolete Partners PLC, Mothercare PLC, Revolution Beauty Group PLC, Trifast PLC, Vianet Group PLC
Finals: Avon Technologies PLC, Imperial Brands PLC (LSE:IMB), Diploma PLC (LSE:DPLM)
US earnings: Xpeng Inc, Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT, ETR:WMT), Medtronic PLC
AGMs: Abingdon Health PLC, Bradda Head Lithium Ltd, Berkeley Energia Ltd, Fonix Mobile PLC, Mothercare PLC, Mulberry Group (AIM:MUL) PLC, Physiomics PLC
Economic announcements: Consumer Price Index (EU)