- FTSE 100 flat at 8,541
- Trainline and Deliveroo fall on disappointing guidance
- DFS and Halma shares bounce as outlook raised
- Hornby plans to delist from AIM
4.07pm: London blue-chips pretty chilled as US stocks sell off
The FTSE 100 is ending the day a bit out of puff but holding steady after the energetic fluctuations earlier in the week and being seen elsewhere today.
London's blue-chip index is down just under 0.1%, while its mid-cap sibling is down 190 points or 0.95% at 19,697.
The FTSE 250 is being hit by a drag from C&C Group, down 19%, Trainline, down 9%, and Deliveroo, down 6%.
But US stocks are tumbling lower again, led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq's 1.7% decline to levels seen in mid-September (and earlier this week).
It is being led by falls for Tesla, Adobe, Paltantir and Airbnb.
Meanwhile, the gold price has hit a fresh record high, topping $2,970 per troy ounce. Other precious metals and gas prices also surged higher, though Brent oil prices have dropped back to just above $70 a barrel, with analysts pointing to demand worries linked to US recession fears.
Axel Rudolph, analyst at IG, says markets are all shook up by President Trump's threat of imposing a 200% tariff on wine and other alcoholic beverages from the EU in retaliation for the bloc’s newly announced countermeasures.
"Given the heightened uncertainty, sentiment remains negative despite US PPI slowing more than expected and unemployment claims unexpectedly falling. Eurozone industrial production rebounding in January couldn't stem the flow either as the French 10 year bond yield hit a 14-year high."
1.58pm: US stocks open lower
US tech stocks have led the decline as trading begins on Wall Street, with the Nasdaq down 1.3%, the S&P 500 falling 0.8% and the Dow Jones slipping 0.5%.
Of the Nasdaq's 10 largest stocks only Broadcom shares are in green, with Tesla down 3.3%, Meta and Amazon down either side of 2%.
Slightly earlier, initial and continuing jobless claims fell slightly more than expected, while factory gate price inflation eased.
Samuel Tombs at Pantheon Macroeconomics noted that WARN layoff announcements were 18% higher in the three months to January than in the previous three months and Indeed’s measures of total and new job postings on March 8 were 9% and 4%, respectively, below their levels on the day of President Trump's inauguration.
All this is "suggesting that a rising proportion of people that are laid off will struggle to find new work quickly".
1.44pm: Trade data delayed
The Office for National Statistics has delayed trade data that was due to be published tomorrow.
It said this was "due to the identification of a further error in UK trade statistics, relating to international trade in services data for 2023".
The UK trade data for January 2025 release will now be published on 28 March, including what the ONS said would be "the full suite of corrected trade in goods and services data", alongside the planned releases on that day for balance of payments and quarterly national accounts releases.
"This delay gives us more time to process and revise the estimates to account for these identified errors. The ONS apologises for any inconvenience caused," it said in an emailed statement.
1.34pm: FTSE's up and down day continues
The FTSE 100 has climbed out of its hole, helped by its biggest three companies, AstraZeneca, Shell and HSBC all being in the green.
US stocks are still wallowing in the red despite good news on factory gate prices today.
All of the measures of the producer prices index (month-over-month, year-over-year and headline and core numbers) were lower than expected.
"Of course, this is only one month – and doesn’t yet include the impact of tariffs – so many people will discount these numbers, however, they do speak to the underlying trend pre-tariffs-taking-effect, and at least we are starting from a better place," says Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer for Northlight Asset Management.
"Clearly this is going to be a much more volatile year and it remains to be seen if all of the revolutionary changes to the economy and trans-Atlantic alliances will lead to a recession or if it will lead to higher growth rates in the future, but in the meantime a more cautious and risk-off posture is warranted."
12.33pm: John Lewis eschews bonus again, after profits swings
John Lewis Partnership earlier reported a big jump in profits for the past year but despite being a staff-owned group, decided not to pay bonuses to its 'partners' for a third year in a row and instead use its spare cash to invest in the business.
Underlying profit tripled £126 million as sales swelled 3% to £12.8 billion in the 12 months to 25 January 2025.
Management plans to spend £600 million on stores and the distribution network as part of an ongoing turnaround plan, where over 30 stores have been closed and head office jobs cut.
Chair Jason Tarry said: “These are solid results, which show that our customers are responding well to our investments in quality products, value and service. We have made good progress with much more still to do.”
Sales for the John Lewis department stores were roughly flat £4.8 billion but operating profit crashed to £45 million from £689 million the previous year after the "never knowingly undersold" price-match was brought back.
The Waitrose supermarket chain increased sales 4.4% and profits more than doubled to £227 million, with the partnership citing "productivity improvements" such as changes to staff working hours.
Another day, another tariff pic.twitter.com/uc1d8MITJD
— Michael Brown (@MrMBrown) March 13, 2025
12.01pm: Diageo hit by new Trump tariff threat
Donald Trump has just warned that the US will slap a 200% tariff on French wine, champagne and other alcohol from European Union countries.
He said in a social media post that the EU "has just put a nasty 50% tariff on whisky".
And the threatened 200% tariff will be imposed shortly "if this tariff is not removed immediately".
Diageo PLC (LSE:DGE) shares have tumbled 1% to 2,063p, while champagne and fashion behemoth Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (EPA:MC) was down 0.3% and Budweiser maker AB Inbev down 0.6%. Molson Coors Beverage shares fell 1.7% premarket in the US.
11.50am: Stocks mixed, FTSE flat
The FTSE's morning gains have been all but wiped out now, with two-thirds of the index constituents in the red.
Top fallers are a mix of aerospace, banks, housebuilders, hoteliers and miners, including Melrose, Rolls-Royce, Persimmon, Barratt, NatWest and Whitbread.
Halma is topping the leaderboard, up 3%, followed by AstraZeneca, Airtel Africa, Imperial Brands and Legal & General, all up over 1%.
European markets are mixed, with Germany's DAX amf down 0.4%, France's CAC flat and Spain's IBEX up 0.4%.
US futures are down, led by the Nasdaq's 0.5% decline.
11.19am: Writing on the wall for AIM?
Following the proposed delisting of Hornby, two arguments have been proposed about what it all means.
"The writing is on the wall for AIM," says Myles Milston, CEO of Globacap, which he would say as his company is a private market investing platform.
He says AIM is "plagued by a lack of liquidity, dwindling funding opportunities, low trading volumes and erratic share price movements" which is deterring companies from listing in favour of private markets.
On the other side of the coin is Russ Mould, a fan of public markets and employed by investment platform provider AJ Bell, who says Hornby’s decision to delist "is not a damning criticism of the UK stock market".
He notes that the model train maker's two main shareholders – Phoenix Asset Management and Frasers – own 91% of the company, so "it doesn’t make sense to be a listed entity".
10.50am: Spotlight on silver
While the price of gold has made plenty of headlines in recent months, silver has enjoyed a "stealth bull market", according to Adrian Ash, director of research at metals marketplace BullionVault, as supply of the metal has lagged demand for seven years running.
Silver's highs have come "under the radar for two reasons," Ash says.
Silver hit a dollar high of $34.5 per troy ounce in November, and after retreating has climbed back up above $33.3 an ounce today.
"First, that silver has set fresh records outside the US dollar, leaving headline writers to miss its new highs in terms of other currencies including the pound.
"Second, and rather than shooting the lights out like gold has over the past 12 months, the price of silver has risen to new annual and month-average records without hitting fresh daily highs."
Analysts also highlighted the impact on miners such as Fresnillo and Hochschild.
10.10am: FTSE the outlier
Investors are "on the edge of their seat as they weigh up the impact of tariffs and whether ceasefire talks will yield an agreement between Russia and Ukraine", says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
The FTSE 100's rise makes it the outlier in Europe this morning, with Mould noting that investors are bidding up shares in the pharmaceutical, utility, banking and telecom sectors.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, comments that the FTSE has been "showing some signs of investor fatigue, although the benefit of international buying interest nonetheless leaves the index ahead by 4.5% in the year to date".
"In contrast to many of its global peers, the economy has so far sidestepped the tariff traumas, while the relative lack of exposure to the technology sector has insulated some of the index constituents."
He characterises early trading this morning as showing "investor apathy".
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says: "Volatility is the name of the game after some major US market swings, and it looks like investors will need to strap in for more to come."
He notes that US stock futures suggest a reversal of yesterday’s gains when Wall Street opens later today.
9.24am: Magners maker lacks fizz
Shares in C&C Group PLC (LSE:CCR) have dribbled 16% lower after the maker of Bulmers and Magners cider and Tennent's lager issued a trading update, including a more cautious outlook on near-term trading conditions.
Operating profits for the year to February 2025 are now expected to be around £76-78 million, which analyst Greg Johnson at Shore Capital said was slightly behind his estimate of €80 million but markedly ahead of the €60 million reported in the corresponding period last year.
In C&C's outlook the brewer says it expects to see "continued uncertainty for consumers" and also notes "the impact of the well documented challenges of the hospitality sector".
8.57am: Deliveroo gets 'cold kebab' treatment
The market has treated Deliveroo PLC's (LSE:ROO) first full-year profit and a £100 million buyback, "like the arrival of a late and cold doner kebab," says our correspondent, sending the shares down 10%.
The takeaway delivery group reported a £2.8 million profit for 2024, a sharp turnaround from a £31.8 million loss the year before.
Revenue and orders both rose 2%, helped by Deliveroo’s push beyond takeaway food into grocery, with retailers such as Ann Summers, B&Q, and The Perfume Shop also added to its platform.
But analyst Sean Kealy Panmure Liberum points to guidance for the current year being a potential issue as he noted that consensus EBITDA is currently £191 million - ahead of Deliveroo's forecast range of £170-£190 million.
8.46am: Savills falls despite solid results
Savills PLC (LSE:SVS) shares have slumped 7.4% in spite of the estate agent hiking its dividend by almost a third as full-year results landed in line with expectations - maybe today's RICS update is influencing trading.
The dividend was boosted 32% to 30.2p as the group finished the year with net cash of £176 million.
On the outlook, CEO Mark Ridley says the group expects "re-financing driven activity and the trend towards corporates requiring greater office attendance for staff to continue to be positive for transaction volumes".
Analyst Clyde Lewis at Peel Hunt says: "Given the slightly more positive tone of the statement and the in-line figures for 2024, we suspect we need to modestly increase our forecasts, which are c.5% below consensus for FY25E. The speed of recovery in transaction work remains the key swing factor."
He notes that the shares have drifted back 6% in the year to date, having risen 7% in 2024.
8.32am: European shares in the red
London's blue chips are flattish, while other European major benchmarks are all in the red.
While the Footsie is moving between five points down or five points up, others across the continent are more depressed this morning.
Germany's DAX and Italy's FTSE MIB both down 0.7%, while France's CAC and Spain's IBEX both decline 0.3%.
Carmakers are among the big fallers, including Daimler Truck, Mercedez-Benz, Volvo and VW.
8.15am: Hesitant start for the FTSE
The FTSE 100 stumbled out of the gate but quickly found its feet in initial trading, falling 25 points at first but now up two points at 8,543.
Halma is the top riser, up 1.8% after its modestly bullish update.
Defensive and bond-like stocks are amassed behind it, including Legal & General, AstraZeneca, Vodaone, Imperial Brands, Reckitt Benckiser, BT, BAE and National Grid.
NatWesy Group, Entain and Endeavour Mining are at the bottom, as their shares go ex-dividend today.
8am: Halma nudges up margin guidance
Halma PLC (LSE:HLMA) has issued a short trading update detailing its "good progress" in the second half of its financial year to 31 March, putting the company on track for its 22nd consecutive year of record adjusted profit.
Organic revenue growth was supported by strong order intake, and adjusted EBIT margin is now expected to be "modestly above 21%", up from previous guidance of "around 21%".
Guidance for "good" organic revenue growth for the full year was unchanged.
The company completed seven acquisitions worth £158 million and said it continues to have a "healthy" pipeline for future investments.
7.52am: Hornby changes track - to private
Hornby PLC (LSE:HRN), the model train maker financially backed by Frasers Group PLC, is planning to delist from AIM.
Following structural changes in recent years, including selling its Oxford Diecast hobby brand and jobs cuts and restructuring last year, the board "anticipates that for this process of structural change to continue at pace and to maximum effect, operating outside a publicly quoted environment would improve its decision-making ability and regulatory hurdles during a period demanding agility and focused execution".
It cites the "regulatory burden" and cost of maintaining its public quotation, and says the board (which counts Frasers founder Mike Ashley as a consultant) has concluded that it "is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders to seek shareholder approval for the cancellation".
A general meeting is being convened for 1 April to make the decision, Hornby said, adding in its fairly detailed RNS statement that investors can choose to keep hold of their shares if they wish.
7.43am: Trainline on track, just about
Trainline PLC (LSE:TRN) has reported ticket sales at the bottom end of its guidance but announced a share buyback of up to £75 million, as it tried to assuage investor worries about the impending arrival of Great British Rail (GBR).
The ticketing app generated £5.9 million in total ticket sales in the year to the end of February 2025, up 12% on a reported and constant currency basis.
But this was down from the 14% growth in net sales it revealed in October and at the bottom end of the guidance range given at the time.
7.21am: UK housing market weakens
House buyer demand last month fell to the weakest level since November 2023, according to a survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) of its members, with a balance of +14% reporting a fall in demand.
The price expectations balance also dropped from +1.9 to -13.1, its lowest level since December 2023.
New buyer enquiries were lower too, falling from -1 in January to a 15-month low of -14 in February.
Higher stamp duty costs for some purchases from 1 April in England and Northern Ireland, concerns over interest rates, inflation and global events such as tariff trade wars also appeared to be dampening buyer confidence, Rics said.
7.15am: FTSE 100 set for slow start
The FTSE 100 may have a hesitant start on Thursday after an up-and-down week, coming after a mixed season on Wall Street overnight and with Asian markets mostly in the red this morning.
Futures markets were indecisive, with London's blue-chip index indicated to fall by a single point, having climbed almost 45 points to close just below 8,541, ending a six-day losing streak, but still down nearly 150 points for the week.
Last night in the US, the S&P 500 ended 0.5% higher along with a 1.2% gain for the tech-powered Nasdaq, while the Dow Jones finished 0.2% lower.
Chinese stocks are leading the falls in Asia, with those in Tokyo and Mumbai just below flat.
5am: What to watch on Thursday
Trainline has faced pressure on the back of government plans to reform the rail industry, including ticketing... Read preview
Elsewhere, safety products group Halma is providing its first update since November, when it reported record results.
The RICS survey will shine a light on the housing market's performance last month, price and sales expectations dropped at the start of 2025, with economists expecting the headline price balance to fall to +20 in February, from +22 the month before.
Announcements due on 13 March:
Trading updates: C&C Group PLC, Halma PLC, Trainline PLC
Interims: DFS Furniture PLC, Essensys PLC, Volution Group PLC, Seraphim Space Investment Trust PLC
Finals: Alfa Financial Software Holdings PLC, Bridgepoint Group PLC, Empiric Student Property PLC, Gem Diamonds Ltd, Glenveagh Properties PLC, Helios Towers PLC, Oakley Capital Investments Ltd, OSB Group PLC, Pensionbee Group PLC, Restore PLC, Savills PLC
US earnings: DocuSign
AGMs: Alliance Pharma PLC, Good Energy Group PLC, Petro Matad Ltd, Sunrise Resources PLC, ZCCM Investments Holdings
Economic announcements: RICS House Price Balance (UK), Producer Price Index (US), Initial Jobless Claims (US)
Ex-dividends to reduce FTSE 100 by: 3.99 (Endeavour Mining, NatWest Group, Anglo American, Entain)