- FTSE 100 climbs 41 points
- ITV jumps on reports of potential bidders circling
- B&Q owner Kingfisher disappoints with Q3 sales drop
4.10pm: FTSE at almost one-month high
London blue-chips and mid-caps are now at their highest levels today, feeding off the bond sell-off on both sides of the Atlantic.
The FTSE 100 is up 0.5% to just over 8,303, while the FTSE 250 index has gained 174 points or 0.85% to 20,756.
For the large-cap index, it is the highest intraday level in almost a month (29 October to be exact).
Top riser remains JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD.) as it got some support from analysts after another profit warning last week.
Ladbrokes owner Entain PLC (LSE:ENT) is next, up 5.3%, followed by airlines easyJet PLC and British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG).
As US bond yields and swap rates shifted, there were gains for housebuilders, including Barratt Redrow PLC, Persimmon PLC (LSE:PSN) and Vistry Group PLC (LSE:VTY), and banks and life insurers Prudential PLC (LSE:PRU), Barclays PLC (LSE:BARC) and Standard Chartered PLC (LSE:STAN).
Rentokil Initial PLC (LSE:RTO) shares were up too, after appointing a new finance chief with transatlantic experience.
Kingfisher PLC (LSE:KGF) was the big faller as its Q3 numbers disappointed and it warned about the impact of the UK and French budgets on its costs next year.
3.36pm: Dollar and bitcoin dive
The pound and the euro are both up strongly against the US dollar today, up 0.5% and 0.95% respectively.
"Treasury yields dropped while stocks futures are content with news that the incoming Trump administration will feature Wall-Street veteran Scott Bessent as US Treasury Secretary," say currency analysts at Monex.
"The move has been interpreted as a wise one that can ease concerns about tariffs and other fiscal items."
It was the biggest decline for the US dollar index in over two weeks, with the buck having climbed for eight straight weeks to gain over 5.0%.
Meanwhile, bitcoin, a staple of headlines since the Trump win, fell from almost $99K to around $95K, having seemingly recovered from a wobble at the weekend.
Investors in most crypto have enjoyed big gains throughout all of November in anticipation of Trump creating favourable new laws for digital currencies.
2.57pm: US stocks charge higher
US stocks have charged higher in early trading, led by many of those that fell in recent weeks.
The Dow Jones leapt to a new record high, shooting up 1.1% to over 44,900 for the first time.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 advanced 0.7% and the Nasdaq 0.8%, behind the 1.6% gain for the small-cap Russell 2000.
On the S&P, the highest riser was Super Micro Computer Inc, which surged 11.3% higher, followed by MRN vaccine maker Moderna Inc,
Back in London, the FTSE 100 looks to be slightly breaking out from from the 0.3-0.5% band it has been in for almost all the session so far, with the FTSE 250 a very similar story.
They are up 0.5% and 0.4% respectively, close to early intraday highs.
2.17pm: Banks among the risers, gold and silver miners slip
The top 15 largest stocks in the FTSE 100 now has more red than green, a swing from the more positive start to the morning.
AstraZeneca, Shell, BP and Unilever are all lower, though banks are all higher, led by more markets-focused Barclays and Standard Chartered both up over 2%.
These banks are not far off the rebounding JD Sports at the top of the index leaderboard, with bookmaker Entain, budget airline easyJet and private equity investment group 3i.
Among the fallers behind Kingfisher are precious metals miners Fresnillo and Endeavour, hotelier Whitbread, toothpaste maker Haleon and kitchen designer Howden Joinery.
Looking across the pond with a few minutes to go before the opening bell, the Dow Jones and Nasdaq are both seen opening 0.8% higher, with S&P futures up 0.7%.
A lot of that positivity is being attributed to Donald Trump's nomination of hedge fund manager Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary.
But, cautions Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics, "it's Trump's world, his cabinet just live in it".
He notes that there remains considerable uncertainty around exactly what policies the president-elect will enact during his second term, which leads to a temptation to read a lot into his Cabinet nominations.
"We would caution against that," says Ashworth.
1.23pm: 'Last mile' in controlling inflation is always tough, says BoE rate setter
Bank of England deputy governor Clare Lombardelli, a key monetary policy committee member, suggested that interest rates may remain around current levels for a while yet, as the "last mile" in getting inflation under control was proving tough, as expected.
Despite inflation easing back from the peaks seen in the past two years, pay increases were not slowing as quickly as the MPC hoped.
At the BoE meeting at the start of November, the MPC cut rates by a quarter-point to 4.75%.
"The outlook for wages and services prices is unclear from here," said Lombardelli at the 'Bank of England Watchers' conference, organised by King’s Business School and the Money, Macro and Finance Society.
"We need to see more evidence that wage growth and services inflation will continue their journey down to target-consistent rates.
"But there are some signs that the process of wage disinflation may be slowing... so it’s too early to declare victory on inflation. It’s often been said that the last mile may be the hardest, and that’s where we are now.
"This is why I support a gradual removal of monetary policy restriction and will be monitoring the flow of data over the coming months so we can calibrate our policy path as needed."
12.54pm: Macy's employee hid uo to $154m of expenses
Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M) said its third-quarter earnings release will be delayed after an employee was found to have hidden more than $132mn of delivery expenses since late 2021.
The retailer was due to report its results on Tuesday, but during the preparation of the numbers it "identified an issue related to delivery expenses" and initiated an investigation.
Independent analysis found that an "employee with responsibility for small package delivery expense accounting intentionally made erroneous accounting accrual entries to hide approximately $132 to $154 million of cumulative delivery expenses from the fourth quarter of 2021 through fiscal quarter ended November 2, 2024"...read more
12.15pm: Asda brings back old boss
Asda has brought former chief executive Allan Leighton, who oversaw the £6.7 billion sale to US retail goliath Walmart Inc in 1999, back into the fold.
He will be the chain's new executive chair to replace outgoing formrer Tesco boss Stuart Rose, who has tussled with management.
As well as serving as chief executive of Asda between 1996 and 2001, Leighton was chair of Lastminute.com and Royal Mail in the early 2000s, was CEO of jewellery brand Pandora and then took on the chairmanship of The Co-operative from 2015.
Since Asda changed hands to private equity firm TDR Capital and the Issa brothers in 2021, it has seen a steady decline in its share of the UK grocery market from 14.8% to 12.6% as of September that Rose has admitted was embarrassing.
11.46am: Trump Treasury pick gets warm welcome
US stocks are being tipped to march higher today in a sign that markets approve of president-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary, hedge fund manager Scott Bessent.
His nomination was announced after the US close on Friday.
US government bond yields have softened, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures are up 0.5% and 0.6% respectively.
The dollar surged at the end of last week, with the DXY dollar index spiking to a two-year high above 108 points but is down from there this morning.
Gold has lost some ground after a rebound last week.
Bessent, a hedge fund CEO, is "known to be a fiscal hawk so this should ease some of the more extreme deficit fears as he has advocated a 3% deficit by 2028", says Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid,
"For now the market can be a bit relieved."
Bessent is thought to be less extreme on trade tariffs policy than some of his rivals for the job.
He is perceived as being "a relatively conventional and safe pair of hands candidate", says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
11.24am: Bitcoin on the up
Trading in bitcoin, which had a close-but-no-cigar moment with $100,000 at the weekend, is generally upbeat this morning in Europe.
The king of crypto coins is up 1% over the past 24 hours at just under $98.5K.
This followed a big Friday sell off.
Market analyst Kathleen Brooks at XTB says: "We continue to think that Bitcoin will breach the $100,000 level in the coming days and weeks, although it could be choppy in the lead up to this key level.
"There are many put options around $98,000 - $99,000, which could trip up investors looking for a quick run to $100,000."
Rival cryptos, including etherium and solana are also holding onto huge gains made since Trump came to power after having declared his determination to make the US the crypto capital of the world.
Susannah Streeter, market analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, noted that the latest increases have come after one of the industry’s fiercest critics, chief financial regulator Gary Gensler, said he would step down from his position in January.
"Trump’s appointee for the position is expected to go lighter on rules being brought in to regulate the industry," says Streeter.
President-elect Donald Trump's proto-administration has proposed the US Treasury and Federal Reserve acquire a million of the digital coins over five years to hold as part of a strategic reserve
Nigel Green of deVere Group says Trump has "catalyzed conversations around Bitcoin’s role as a strategic asset, recognizing its potential to safeguard and enhance a nation’s economic power in an increasingly digitized global economy".
The reserve proposal "positions bitcoin as not just a hedge against inflation but a powerful tool for maintaining dominance in the global financial system," says Green, who reckons the UK should also do something similar as it "could transform the UK’s fiscal strategy, offering a hedge against traditional market volatility and currency devaluation".
Bitcoin’s deflationary nature and its ability to appreciate over time "make it a natural candidate for a sovereign wealth asset" and it is "gaining acceptance as a store of value among institutions and individuals worldwide".
He says by holding bitcoin, the UK government could diversify its reserves, reduce reliance on traditional fiat currencies, and increase fiscal flexibility.
10.54am: Barclays fined over GFC fundraising
Barclays PLC (LSE:BARC) has been fined £40 million by the Financial Conduct Authority for failing to disclose certain agreements with Qatari entities during its capital raising efforts in the depths of the 2008 financial crisis.
The fine follows Barclays' decision to withdraw its referral of the FCA's enforcement action to the Upper Tribunal after two years ago the City watchdog said the bank's conduct in the capital raise was "reckless and lacked integrity" and funded it £50 million.
The FCA’s investigation found that the bank’s conduct in the £4 billion fundraising did not live up to the regulator's standards of market integrity, failing to disclose significant payments tied to agreements with Qatari investors, which the FCA said impacted transparency for shareholders and the broader market during a critical period of financial instability.
In 2020 three former Barclays bankers were cleared of fraud over their role in the investment.
10.45am: German recession signs
More bad economic news from Germany, which always seems to excite nationalistic pride among some business media types over here.
The headline IFO business climate index in Germany fell to a two-month low of 85.7 in November, down from 86.5 in October, below the consensus forecast of 86.1.
Dragging down the headline numbers was a drop in the survey respondees' current assessment of the economy, while the expectations element was broadly stable.
"Perhaps the likelihood of a less fiscally-conservative government post the upcoming election is helping buoy firms’ outlook for the future, despite the probable increase in US trade tariffs next year," says Melanie Debono, senior Europe economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
Across different German industrial sectors, she noted only the retail business climate index rose, climbing to a five-month high, while the manufacturing business climate index sank to its lowest since June 2020 and the services gauge more than reverses the previous month’s increase, with the construction index the lowest.
"Overall, today’s IFO release confirms that near-term recession risks remain," says Debono, noting that a boost from inventories in the second and third quarters is set to reverse in this quarter and the start of 2025, "threatening to overwhelm any lift from rising consumption growth in line with firming real disposable income growth.
"The outlook for private investment, more generally, remains subdued. We see growth around zero in Q4 and Q1."
10.22am: Big movers in Europe
Looking around Europe's top risers and fallers, there's several UK names involved.
Waste metals recycling group TOMRA Systems is up 10.7%, with the Norwegian outfit top of the Euro Stoxx 600 leaderboard after speculation in the press.
"They have realized that they have not reached their collection targets for plastic bottles. Then the law says they have to introduce a deposit system," Nordea analyst Andreas Nibe Nygård told Norwegian E24.
Soitec, the French microelectronics specialist, is next, up as the stock bounces back after disappointing earnings last week.
FTSE 250-listed ITV and FTSE 100 listed JD Sports are next.
And Kingfisher is bottom of the fallers.
Elsewhere, Italian lender UniCredit is down 4% after making a €10 billion all-share bid for domestic rival Banco BPM.
Earlier this year, UniCredit revealed it had built pup a stake in Germany’s second-biggest lender, Commerzbank, where shares are down 5.5% this morning.
9.58am: We're into Weir says Deutsche
As mentioned earlier, shares in Weir Group PLC (LSE:WEIR) are up following Deutsche Bank’s upgrade to 'buy'.
Analysts highlighted Weir’s strong position in the mining sector and its focus on delivering a 20% profit margin as key factors supporting the upgrade.
They also emphasised the pump maker's focus on growing demand for mining equipment and services, especially in hard-rock mining, along with rising commodity prices and internal cost-saving initiatives.
9.46am: Business group criticises tax increases on businesses
The Confederation of British Industry is warning that tax rises announced in the Budget are undermining investment among UK companies.
In a speech today, CBI chief executive Rain Newton-Smith will warn that the measures chancellor Rachel Reeves announced last month have made it harder for businesses to “take a chance” on hiring new people.
Reeves, according to leaks to newspapers, is expected to tell the group there was "no alternative" to tax rises as the government needed to invest in the NHS and other areas...read more
9.15am: Stock market summary
The FTSE 100 and the more domestically focused FTSE 250 are both cantering neck-and-neck to lead European stock markets higher in early trading at the start of the last week of November
London's blue-chip benchmark has gained 37 points or 0.44% at almost 8,298 and the mid-cap index has its nose in front, up 0.47% at 20,678.
All but four of the FTSE 100's largest 20 stocks are in the green, with oilers in positive territory as crude prices remain elevated.
JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD.) is top of the blue-chip risers, up 5% thanks to an upgrade from Deutsche Bank (though hardly the most glowing).
Rentokil Initial PLC (LSE:RTO) is next, up 2.5% on the back of the appointment of a new finance chief, who has experience in dealing with US acquisitions, something the pest controller has been struggling with.
Weir Group PLC (LSE:WEIR) is up 2.1%, also the beneficiary of more Deutsche Bank largesse, with an upgrade to 'buy' as the engineer is "positioned for growth".
Glencore PLC (LSE:GLEN) is up 2%, possibly on the back of the Anglo American steelmaking coal sale, which could support the valuation of its own coal assets.
Bottom of the list is B&A and Screwfix owner Kinggisher PLC after it delivered disappointing third-quarter numbers.
Barclays says LFL sales down 1.1% was below a consensus forecast of -0.2%, driven by a weak October. "KGF has negative comments on the future impact of higher social taxes in UK and France next year (and higher interest charges)."
Across the Channel, France's CAC 40 index is also up 0.4%, with Germany's DAX rising 0.2% and Spain's IBEX gaining 0.3%.
8.55am: JD boosted by cautious upgrade
JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD.) shares, top of the FTSE risers, are benefitting from an upgrade from Deutsche Bank, which has removed its 'sell' rating.
There was a strong reaction to the third-quarter trading update, with the stock falling 15% on top of a 20% decline since the interim results.
Guidance for profits at the low end of the previous outlook range was below consensus, "however the update shook what was already somewhat fragile confidence", says analyst Alison Lygo, with US like-for-like sales turning negative having a "particular impact".
8.32am: Rentoki impresses with new CFO hire
Rentokil Initial PLC (LSE:RTO) shares have climbed 2% after the pest controller, which has disappointed the market in the past year over its struggles to integrate a big US acquisition, appointed a new chief financial officer.
Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, who brings 25 years' experience in finance and international businesses, most recently having been CFO at Anglo-US betting giant Flutter Entertainmen, will join the board on 1 January 2025.
He succeeds Stuart Ingall-Tombs, who is retiring and will step down from the board at the end of next month after 17 years with the company, of which the past four were a CFO.
Edgecliffe-Johnson, who was also group head of strategy at InterContinental Hotels and an associate director for corporate finance at HSBC, is joining the company next Monday as as CFO designate as part of the transition process.
8.19am: Kingfisher dives lower
B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher PLC (LSE:KGF) is down 11.7% after it reported a 1.1% decline in like-for-like sales in the third quarter.
A sharp 6.4% decline from its French chains, Brico Dépôt and Castorama, offsetting low-single-digit gains in the UK and Ireland.
Full-year profit guidance was tightened, but both markets are facing uncertainty due to their governments’ respective budgets, said chief executive Thierry Garnier...read more
8.12am: FTSE stocks start higher
The FTSE 100 has opened the week on the front foot, rising 30 points or 0.4% to 8,292 in initial trades.
Top of the leaderboard is JD Sport, bouncing back 3.3% from the losses on the back of last week's trading update.
Anglo American PLC (LSE:AAL) shares are up 2.5% on the back of the sale of more Australian coal assets.
Among the mid-caps, ITV PLC (LSE:ITV) has jumped 9% after the weekend stories about it being circled by various potential bidders.
The FTSE 250 index is up over 100 points so far, or 0.5%.
7.57am: Good weekend for 'Glicked' box office takings
It's been a strong weekend for the cinema box office, with big opening ticket sales for Wizard of Oz sequel/prequel Wicked, which have reportedly topped $270 million around the world.
Also, Ridley Scott's Gladiator follow-up drummed up $106 million in ticket sales.
The combined domestic US takings of the pair, dubbed 'Glicked', totalled $201.9 million over their opening weekend, which fell short of the record 'Barbenheimer' weekend, when Barbie and Oppenheimer bagged $245 million in summer last year.
7.41am: ITV bid interest reported
ITV PLC (LSE:ITV) is apparently in the takeover crosshairs of several potential suitors, according to a story from Sky News at the weekend.
CVC Capital Partners, RedBird Capital-owned All3Media, Mediawan and a major French broadcaster, thought to be Groupe TF1, are among firms said to be weighing up potential bids.
Sources said firms had held early discussions over a potential bid, but that the broadcaster had not recently been approached formally.
7.32am: Anglo American agrees another sale
Anglo American PLC (LSE:AAL) has struck a deal to offload its steelmaking coal business to Peabody Energy Corporation for up to US$3.8 billion cash, making almost $5 billion from two deal in the coal sector in the month.
The Australian mines are being sold to US coal specialist for an up-front US$2.05 billion on completion of the deal, with up to another US$550 million in quarterly 'earn-out' payments based on the price of coal, and another US$450 million to be paid once the Grosvenor mine is reopened and begins selling coal.
If competition and regulatory clearances are received, completion is expected by the third quarter of next year.
7.16am: FTSE 100 to start week on front foot
The FTSE 100 is expected to continue on the front foot on Monday, adding to the strong gains made at the end of last week.
Futures markets have indicated the London index should gain around 14 points at the start of the week, having added 198 points or 2.5% over the past five days to finish at just over 8,262 at the end of the last session.
Asian markets are mixed this morning, with Japan's Nikkei and India's Sensex 1.3% and 1.4% higher but the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite down 0.3% and 0.1%.
Oil prices begin the week in the red, which is likely to drag on the FTSE, with Brent crude down 0.65% to $74.68 a barrel.
Bitcoin, which topped $99.4K late on Friday, dropped back to below $96K yesterday but is back up over $98K this morning.
5am: Financial day ahead
Kingfisher kicks off the week's proceedings on Monday with a third-quarter update.
Caution around Kingfisher's outlook is to be expected in its update... Read more
Announcements due:
Trading updates: Kingfisher PLC (LSE:KGF)
Interim results: DSW Capital
US earnings: Zoom Video Communications Inc
AGMs: Artemis Resources, Schroder BSC Social Impact Trust
Economic announcements: IFO surveys (EU)