- FTSE 100 up 8 points at 8,415.25
- Mobico tumbles on sale news
- Retail sales rise 0.4% in 'summery' March
- Consumer confidence at its lowest in over a year
That's it folks
Another dull day under the duvet (or down the pub) for traders ended with a small gain for the day. Long may it remain calm.
16:15pm: FTSE 100 to finish in positive territory
London’s blue-chip benchmark just about kept hold of the morning’s positivity, and is closing in the green.
Just 6 points higher at 8,413, the index will finish the shorter week around 1.7% higher than it began.
2.41pm: Red triangles out for coach crash
Shares in Mobico Group hit the central reservation, tumbling 42%, after it agreed a deal to sell its North America School Bus business in a deal that ascribes an enterprise value of up to $608 million.
CEO Ignacio Garat called the deal a 'significant milestone'. The analysts were far less effusive. Take Peel Hunt. It reckons investors should vote against the sale to "avoid a significant permanent destruction of shareholder value".
The broker said it thinks the price being paid is way too low, adding: "All of Mobico's businesses could be operated far better than they are, in our view, but we believe this will only be delivered with management change."
Turning to machinations, or lack of them, across the trading desks this afternoon. It looks like most of the Square Mile has knocked off early. The big cap index is 19 points at 8,426.46.
12:51 Miners pause for breath
While the precious metals miners Endeavour and Fresnillo take a pause for breath after making significant gains on the back of the gold price, one of the sector's tiddlers had its moment in the sun.
AltynGold Plc (LSE:ALTN) was up 8% after producing its prelims earlier. In the statement was this nugget: It is aiming to lift annual gold production by 60% over two years to more than 50,000 ounces in 2025, following a record financial performance driven by expanded processing capacity and higher gold prices.
The London-listed miner, which operates the Sekisovskoye deposit in Kazakhstan, said the commissioning of a third production line had increased its processing capacity by 50% to 1 million tonnes per year, enabling a step change in output.
Elsewhere in the sector, the copper price was off 1.4%, dragging with it sector heavyweight Anglo American, which has a JV with AIM-listed Arc Minerals Limited (AIM:ARCM) in Zambia.
11.45am: Dull, dull, dull
There's never a dull day for the UK's engineering stocks. After Thursday's modest sell-off, Melrose and Babcock led the FTSE 100, with confidence over exports and defence budgets re-asserting itself after turbulence caused by the Trump tariff typhoon.
Elsewhere, it was all quiet on the markets front, with the Footsie more or less sitting on the fence, following a similar script to Thursday's torpid session. As of now, the index is off six points, with traders enjoying another quiet, anxiety-free day. Long may the calm continue. But we all know it won't!
10am: Bitcoin rises as gold falls
Looks like risk appetite is back, giving Bitcoin a boost as safe-haven gold retreats from its recent high.
The price of a Bitcoin crossed $93,000 this morning, currently at $93,718.44, taking its gains this week to more than 10%. It fell to $75,000 on 9 April.
Gold, in the meantime, is down 3.9% at $3,303.42 after topping $3,500 on 22 April.
"Friday’s session sends a clear message to financial markets: risk appetite is roaring back, and investors are shifting their positions accordingly," commented Ion Jauregui, analyst at ActivTrades.
"While Bitcoin heads for its best week since March—fueled by geopolitical expectations and signs of a softer US trade policy—the gold market, traditionally a haven in times of uncertainty, is undergoing a mild pullback from its record highs."
The FTSE 100 is now up 17 points, or 0.2% at 8,424.16.
9.30am: UK tech investors get Alphabet boost
Pershing Square Holdings (LSE:PSH), Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC (LSE:SMT) and Polar Capital Technology Trust PLC (LSE:PCT) have been given a Friday morning lift after Google owner Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) reported strong first-quarter earnings.
The three investment companies have a significant portion of their holdings in US technology companies and have benefited from the Nasdaq's 2.7% jump yesterday, with more likely to come after Alphabet reported a decent earnings beat. The Nasdaq is tipped to open 0.4% higher, with Alphabet's shares up close to 6% in pre-market trading.
"Alphabet is facing an existential threat in terms of AI taking market share in ads and search but thus far there is no sign of wobbles yet in terms of search and ad businesses but we should consider caution over ad spending from Chinese names like Temu and Shein," said SAXO's Neil Wilson.
9am: Consumers are a lot less confident
The warm March may have boosted retail sales for the month, but the latest consumer confidence figures suggest the Spring spending spree may grind to a halt.
Consumer confidence has dropped to its lowest level in over a year as households face rising bills and concerns over US President Donald Trump’s trade policies.
GfK’s long-running index fell four points to -23 in April, with expectations for the wider economy sliding even further—down eight points to -37. The drop comes as families are hit by April’s usual round of price hikes, including council tax, utility bills, and road tax, all while facing warnings that Trump’s new tariffs could trigger a fresh wave of inflation.
The FTSE 100 is back in the black, up 16 points at 8,422.97.
8.40am: Retail sales spring a surprise
UK retailers kicked off 2025 with their strongest start in four years, as sales rose 1.6% in the first quarter. March sales were up 0.4%, defying forecasts of a drop, and giving the economy a small lift.
The ONS said warm weather helped clothing and outdoor stores, though supermarkets lagged behind. While the numbers look good now, many see this as a peak, with spending likely to come under pressure as the year goes on.
“Good weather meant that British consumers defied expectations of a downturn in retail sales in March, but April’s data could begin to tell a different story as tariffs begin to bite," commented IG's Chris Beauchamp.
"All data from before Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ has essentially been discounted by markets, so today’s figures will not leave much of an impression on sterling.”
Oh, and the Footsie has now retraced its early gains and is down 3 points at 8,404.54.
8.15am: Positive start for FTSE
The FTSE 100 started Friday tentatively higher as trade tensions between the US and China continued to de-escalate.
In the first 15 minutes, the blue-chip index gained 13 points, or about 0.15%, to 8,419.94.
China has now announced it's considering easing tariffs on some US imports, following earlier comments from the Trump administration that the previously announced triple-digit tariffs could come down significantly.
Pershing Square Holdings (LSE:PSH), F&C Investment Trust PLC (LSE:FCIT) and Polar Capital Technology Trust PLC (LSE:PCT) are leading the gainers this morning, all adding over 2%.
Safe haven gold has pulled back a little on the positive developments, down 3.6% at $3,312.43 this morning as it retreats a little from its new record earlier this week.
That's put pressure on Endeavour Mining PLC (LSE:EDV, TSX:EDV, OTCQX:EDVMF), which tops the decliners with a 3.2% fall. Still, the stock is up 35% this year.
7.45am: Steady performances from evoke and WPP
No big surprises from evoke PLC (LSE:EVOK) and WPP PLC (LSE:WPP), both out with updates this morning.
evoke has kicked off 2025 with a steady start, reporting first-quarter revenue of £437 million—up 1% on last year and pretty much bang on with what it had guided.
So far this year, revenue is up around 4%, and the company says it's still aiming for full-year growth in the 5-9% range. More importantly for the bottom line, adjusted EBITDA came in significantly higher than a year ago, pushing the twelve-month figure to over £330 million.
WPP PLC (LSE:WPP) reported a slowdown in business for the first quarter of 2025, although results came in line with expectations and full-year guidance was reiterated.
Group revenue fell 5% year-on-year to £3.24 billion, or 0.7% on a like-for-like basis. Revenue less pass-through costs, a key industry measure, dropped 2.7% on the same basis to £2.48 billion.
While the company said it was too early to judge the full impact of President Trump’s new tariffs, it acknowledged that trade disruption was adding to an already cautious backdrop for clients.
7.15am: FTSE 100 called slightly higher
The FTSE 100 has been called slightly higher ahead of Friday's open, building on Thursday's small gains, on a de-escalation of trade tensions and dovish comments from the US Federal Reserve.
London's blue-chip index is up 12 points on the futures market, after closing 4 points firmer at 8,407 yesterday.
Asian markets are mostly higher this morning, with the Hang Seng up 0.6% and the NIkkei gaining 1.7%. But Shanghai's SEE Composite is down 0.2%.
In Europe, the DAX is up 0.5%, while Paris's CAC 40 is 0.3% higher.
US stocks rose for a third day on Thursday as investors jumped back into tech stocks, helped along by fresh optimism around US-China trade talks and the potential for Federal Reserve rate cuts.
The Nasdaq led the charge, climbing 2.7% to 17,166. The Dow Jones closed 1.2% up at 40,093 and the S&P 500 rose 2% to 5,485.
"Yesterday allowed global risk investors to take a deeper breath," commented Swissquote Bank's Ipek Ozkardeskaya.
Dovish comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) members, and de-escalation of trade tensions between the US and China allowed a further recovery in global equities.
"In the US, a few Fed members have started to lower their guard," Ozkardeskaya noted.
"Christopher Waller said he would support rate cuts if jobs are affected, and Beth Hammack indicated that the next Fed cut could arrive as early as June if there’s clear evidence of a US economic downturn."