- FTSE 100 up 38 points to 9,216
- UK construction PMI shows slight easing
- Airline shares fall after Jet2 warning
- UK car sales down on last year, but EV share grows
4.49pm: FTSE 100 higher
The FTSE 100 finished Thursday’s session higher, adding 38 points at 9,216.
Gold retreated as sentiment recovered, XTB research director Kathleen Brooks pointed out.
“We expect the gold price to remain supported for the foreseeable future, and we are not the only ones. Earlier today, Goldman Sachs released a report saying that gold could rally to $5,000 per troy ounce if the Federal Reserve’s independence is eroded,” Brooks said.
“Stock markets are mildly higher, although we expect returns to be small as we wait for the key Non Farm Payrolls release on Friday.”
4.04pm: FTSE at highest in a week
The FTSE 100 and 250 are up 0.5% and 0.8%, with the blue-chip index climbing back to where it was a week ago.
Retailers and financials are leading the way in London, with the top risers looking like this:
- Next 2.7%
- Aviva 2.4%
- Rightmove 2.3%
- Lloyds Banking 2.3%
- RELX 2.2%
- Hiscox 2.2%
- Barclays 2.2%
- Auto Trader 2.1%
Fallers are led by easyJet, down 3.7% after a warning from Jet2 about late booking trends creating lower visibility.
Copper miner Antofagasta, bookmaker Entain and gold miner Endeavour are next.
Market analyst Axel Rudolph at IG notes that yields on the 2- and 10-year US Treasury notes dropped to levels last seen in early May, as the weaker ADP labour market data "strengthened expectations for multiple Federal Reserve rate cuts this year".
This followed a Challenger report showing larger-than-expected layoffs and JOLTS data signalling fewer job openings.
"Markets fully priced in a 25bps cut at the Fed’s upcoming meeting, with nearly half of traders anticipating three cuts in total for 2025.
"Still, Treasury yields stayed relatively elevated, steepening the curve as investors weighed persistent inflation risks and the possibility of Fed policy being swayed by political pressure."
Precious metals retreated as the US dollar gained, with gold down 0.4% at $3545/oz.
2.55pm: Wall Street edges higher
US stock indices are all green, after a mixed start.
The Dow Jones began in red, but is up 0.1% now, with the S&P 500 rising almost 0.2% and the Nasdaq up 0.15%.
Top risers on the S&P are T Rowe Price, up 7.7% after Goldman Sachs agreed to take a sizeable stake.
Amazon.com and HP Enterprise are next, up 3.6% and 2.7%.
Salesforce is leading the fallers, down 8.2% on the back of weak revenue guidance even as earnings beat estimates.
2.24pm: Rolls hit by target cut
Rolls-Royce shares are down 1% after UBS warned that the aerospace aftermarket could turn as soon as next year, cutting its share price target.
In a general note on the aerospace sector, the Swiss bank suggested that the aftermarket cycle "could turn as soon as 2026", with risks seen to be building after strong sales were enjoyed by aftermarket operators in the years since COVID, driven in large part by Airbus and Boeing supply side challenges.
Market data signals give analysts confidence that upside remains in the second half of 2025, "but we see risks building", with history showing that demand crises can see sales fall around 20% from peak to trough, "largely driven by volumes rather than price," resulting in engine aftermarket margins falling.
Benefitting Rolls-Royce is a comparatively young fleet of engines, however, and the turnaround under CEO Tufan Erginbilgic.
1.26pm: US private payrolls lower than expected
More weak US job figures, via the ADP report.
US private employment rose 54K in August, below the 68K expected.
The data is based on weekly payroll data of more than 26 million private-sector employees.
"The year started with strong job growth, but that momentum has been whipsawed by uncertainty," said ADP chief economist Dr Nela Richardson.
"A variety of things could explain the hiring slowdown, including labor shortages, skittish consumers, and AI disruptions."
Last month, President Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after a very disappointing US official jobs report, with the next edition of the non-farm payrolls due tomorrow.
54k ADP (68k expected)
Can Trump fire the head of ADP?
— Sam Ro ???? (@SamRo) September 4, 2025
1.05pm: Policy side-effects
The UK's electric car grant has had unintended side-effects, with the phased release of eligible models having "created some confusion", says Matas Buzelis at vehicle history platform carVertical.
"Drivers are unsure which cars will qualify for the grant - especially for the full £3,750 - so they hold off making a buying decision. Dealers re-quote finance, deliveries slip, and momentum stalls."
So, until the government publishes the complete vehicle list, "with a clear start date and stable criteria", Buzelis says many buyers will keep waiting.
"The ripple effect hits used cars too: fewer new registrations today mean tighter nearly-new supply tomorrow, prolonging shortages and keeping prices elevated. Simple, consistent incentives and clearer messaging would restore confidence, broaden choice, and ease costs."
James Hosking, managing director of AA Cars, agrees that the "drip-feeding" of eligible vehicles perhaps has created some consumer uncertainty, affecting overall sales growth.
He also flags that used EVs have seen steep price drops, largely due to ex-fleet cars flooding into the market, which has put models like the Tesla Model 3 and Nissan Leaf within reach of many more buyers.
"That’s helping the used sector stay buoyant, even as new sales falter," Hosking said.
12.19pm: FTSE stable in green, US futures modestly higher
Taking the temperature of the FTSE 100 at just after midday, it seems the patient is stable, improving slightly.
Retailers are dominating in the leaderboard, with Next top of the list, up 2.4%, followed by Primark owner AB Foods, up 2.1%.
Then there's Auto Trader, JD Sports Fashion, B&Q owner Kingfisher, Howden Joinery and Marks & Spencer rounding out most of the top 10.
The rest of the top 20 also includes consumer names, including grocers Tesco and Sainsbury's, housing names Rightmove, Barratt Redrow and mortgage lender Lloyds Banking.
Looking around mainland Europe, stock indices are mostly firmer, the DAX and IBEX are up 0.7%, but early France's CAC is the exception as Monday's big vote looms.
"Investors continue to position themselves ahead of a government confidence vote, called in desperation by Prime Minister Francois Bayrou," says market analyst David Morrison at Trade Nation.
"Otherwise, traders remain focused on the evolving US tariff story, particularly after a federal appeals court declared most of President Trump’s levies illegal last week.
"Last night, Mr Trump asked the Supreme Court to take up the appeal swiftly, with hopes that a ruling could be delivered in early November.
"Ahead of this, all eyes will be on tomorrow’s US Non-Farm Payroll report. This could be a crucial factor in the US Federal Reserve’s upcoming interest rate decision."
US futures are modestly higher, with those for the Nasdaq up 0.3%, the S&P 500 up 0.2% and the Dow Jones up 0.1%.
11.51am: Budget thoughts from Barclays
After the Chancellor sent out her save-the-date cards for her autumn Budget yesterday, Barclays calculates Rachel Reeves will need a consolidation of 1% of GDP, or £26.5 billion, in order to meet her fiscal rule to have the current budget in balance or surplus by the 2029-30 tax year.
By 'consolidation', the bank means the government would have to improve the public finances by either cutting spending, raising taxes, or a mix of both.
"Such a consolidation could lower GDP by 0.25%, although this will be highly dependent on how the consolidation is achieved and the extent to which it is front or backloaded," economist Jack Meaning wrote.
He has a "low conviction" on exactly how Reeves would achieve the consolidation, but says he thinks "the burden will fall on tax increases rather than spending cuts".
Freezing of income tax thresholds is the "most probable lever to raise part of the funds", he added.
11.38am: Small and mid-cap cap movers
Eco Buildings Group rises on Albania luxury apartments project, where it has landed a €2.2 million contract to build an 18-unit luxury apartment block in Tirana.
Mkango Resources jumps 10% on rare earth recycling news, as its Hypromag USA subsidiary commissioned a scoping study to expand its rare earth magnet recycling operations into Nevada and South Carolina.
Defence Holdings rockets up 30% after announcing its first AI product at the DSEI 2025 defence exhibition in London, with the system is already being developed for the UK Ministry of Defence in partnership with Whitespace Global.
Metals One and Thor Energy moved higher after jointly owned subsidiary Standard Minerals inked a deal that will enable abandoned uranium mine waste dumps in Colorado to be evaluated and processed.
And Jet2 we already have heard about, below, is now down 14.3%.
Among mid-caps, Genus trotted almost 11% higher after the livestock genetics group agreed a new China joint venture and announced a 24% increase in annual profits.
Alfa Financial Software is up 4.2% as interims showed revenues in line with its July trading update, while operating profit beat to estimates, ans a special dividend of 5p per share was announced.
10.55am: Bond markets tensions ease further
The UK 30-year gilt has dropped to its lowest in almost two weeks, down five basis points to 5.55%.
This is the lowest since August 22, ie two weeks ago tomorrow, but not, as one confused X account had it, "the lowest since August 2022".
As Deutsche Bank analysts put it, lower moves among government bonds in Europe and the US "fed upon themselves, as markets moved from a vicious circle to a virtuous one where lower yields helped to ease fears about debt sustainability and helped yields fall further".
That was yesterday's narrative from late morning into /the close.
"But even with that rally, there’s still a fair amount of nervousness before [next] Monday’s confidence vote in the French National Assembly, with the Franco-German 10yr spread closing back above 80bps again."
"For equities, lower bond yields provided a decent tailwind as concerns eased about the fiscal position. So that led to a rally on both sides of the Atlantic," they said.
At Matt Britzman at HL says today: "For now, gilt volatility remains the key risk to watch as investors look ahead in search of fresh catalysts."
10.19am: US jobs in focus later
After yesterday saw further cooling in the US jobs market was indicated in the JOLTS report, the US ADP report will be "more important than usual", says ING currency analyst Francesco Pesole.
"We noted yesterday that the slump in long-dated global bonds was unlikely to sustain dollar strength.
"That’s proven true – the dollar has given back some gains, and focus has shifted back to the data."
JOLTS figures confirmed the US labour market is loosening, with job openings fallingmore than expected and an uptick in layoffs to 1.8 million, along with a low quit rate.
"Expect no less interest in ADP payroll figures today, for two reasons," says Pesole. "First, after official employment revisions, it appears that ADP data did have some decent predictive power for payrolls.
"Second, the Fed’s hawkish dissenter (and Chair front-runner) Christopher Waller said the weekly reports received from ADP showed continued deterioration."
Consensus is for a slowdown from 104k to 68k today and if ADP data points downwards and even if Friday's payrolls surprise on the upside, "markets might raise some doubts on the latter", says Pesole.
"The key question is whether the markets are ready to take rate expectations much lower."
10.05am: UK car sales fall, but EVs grab greater share
UK car sales in August reached 82,908 units, which was down 2% on last year.
Electric cars registrations rose almost 15%, of which only a limited impact is attributed to the newly announced Electric Car Grant, though the market share of battery electric vehicles rose to 26.5%, the highest this year.
August "was the best month yet this year for EV market share and, while it is often volatile due to low overall volumes, the overall trend is positive", says Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, the industry body that releases the figures.
"September will be critical," he says, as this is when new number plates come in, which typically drives around one in seven new car registrations for the year.
"There is now a vast choice of electric models across all segments and many consumers will also, for the first time in three years, benefit from a grant to help them switch to electric.
"With more models being added to the Government’s Electric Car grant each week, there is now every reason for drivers to make the switch, helping deliver both economic growth and decarbonisation."
9.36am: Construction PMI improves
The UK construction PMI rose to 45.5 in August from 44.3 in July, above the consensus forecast of 45.0.
It also showed business activity falling for the eighth month in a row, though at slower pace than in July.
Solid reductions were seen in new work and employment, with optimism in the sector dropping to its lowest since December 2022.
"Construction activity has decreased throughout the year-to-date, which is the longest continuous downturn since early-2020," says Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
"August data signalled only a partial easing in the speed of decline after output fell at the fastest pace for over five years in July."
The main reasons for the overall weakness were "sharply reduced" housing and civil engineering activity, with commercial work showing some resilience.
Moore added: "Elevated business uncertainty and worries about broader prospects for the UK economy meant that construction sector optimism weakened in August."
9.21am: Darling, hold my hand
A deterioration in the outlook reported by Jet2 PLC (AIM:JET2) has sent its shares down 14%, and dragged down the wider sector, with easyJet PLC (LSE:EZJ) down 3.9%, British Airways owner IAG (LSE:IAG) down 1.75%.
In the wider travel sector, On the Beach Group (LSE:OTB) has fallen 5.6%, Wizz Air Holdings PLC (AIM:WIZZ) 1.7% and Saga, Safestay and Whitbread all with small falls.
Pan Libs analyst Gerald Khoo says Jet2’s AGM update has "flagged a deterioration in the outlook", with the later booking trend having become "more pronounced".
CEO Steve Heapy described a "difficult market".
8.44am: Currys blows the doors off
Shares in Currys PLC (LSE:CURY) have leapt almost 19% after its trading update earlier.
Analyst Wayne Brown at Panmure Liberum agrees that "the year has started well", with LFLs above expectations and improving gross margins that are offseting cost inflation, leaving guidance and forecasts relating to trading performance unchanged.
"However, the completion of the pension triennial review is not only earlier than expected, but it is on much better terms than we had been expecting," he says, which not only "materially" boosts cash flow from FY27 but provides the flexibility for the share buyback.
Brown says the scale and timing of the buyback are also "both ahead of what we were hoping for", leading to EPS upgrades.
8.26am: Gold price could soar further due to Trump's Fed pressure
While gold prices are easing today, Goldman Sachs reckons spot gold could soar even further, potentially to $5,000 an ounce, if Donald Trump further damages the Federal Reserve’s independence.
The investment bank said it would only take investors shifting a small portion of holdings from US Treasuries into bullion.
"A scenario where Fed independence is damaged would likely lead to higher inflation, lower stock and long-dated bond prices, and an erosion of the dollar’s reserve-currency status,” Goldman said.
"In contrast, gold is a store of value that doesn’t rely on institutional trust."
8.15am: FTSE starts in red, bond rout 'appears over'
The FTSE 100 dropped lower in Thursday's early trades but is now flat, with airlines easyJet and IAG among those driving the losses.
It's not, presumably, anything to do with Ryanair's bigger carry-on bags mentioned below? Scanning the news, there are Italian strikes planned this month by ground staff and flight attendants.
Ex-dividends are hitting Admiral, Antofagasta and Prudential, down 2.7%, 0.9% and 0.5% respectively.
Gold miners are lower too, with all commodities pointing lower this morning, including a 0.5% drop for spot gold to $3,538 after surging to arond $3,580 late yesterday.
The biggest gains are seen at WPP, up 1.9%, Pershing Square and Rio Tinto.
"There is a sense of calm in European and US markets," says Kathleen Brooks, market analyst at XTB.
"The recovery in global bond yields on Wednesday has helped sentiment," she said, noting the fall in the gold price and US futures also pointing to a mildly higher open.
"There are signs that the bond market rout could be over. Global government bond sales have been strong this week and have not been impacted by bond market volatility.
"Added to this, some governments including the UK’s are talking once more about public sector spending cuts, which may boost demand for gilts in the short term."
8am: Anglo American raises £1.85bn from final Valterra share sale
Anglo American PLC (LSE:AAL) said it made £1.85 billion selling its last 19.9% stake in Valterra Platinum Ltd (LSE:VALT, JSE:VAL) via an accelerated bookbuild placing.
The miner announced yesterday that it was going to offload the 52.2 million shares of former subsidiary, previously known as Amplats, at a price of 845 rand per share.
This morning it confirmed all went to plan and it raised cash proceeds of ZAR44.1 billion (US$2.5 billion).
7.53am: Ryanair allows slightly fatter carry-on bags
Big news from Ryanair Holdings PLC (LSE:RYA), or at least bigger news - as the budget airline is allowing passengers to take slightly larger bags as carry-on luggage.
The Dublin-based outfit said it has "completed the rollout" of bigger carry-on bag sizers at all 235 airports where it operates across Europe.
This means no charge for bags measuring 40cm tall by 30cm wide and 20cm deep.
Ryanair says this is "33% bigger" than the EU standard free carry-on bag, where the height and width dimensions are exactly the same 40x30cm, but the depth is 15cm.
Does this mean that the airline has raised the height of its seats?
7.41am: Currys spiced things up
Looks like a pretty good update from Currys PLC (LSE:CURY), which spiced things up with a new £50 million share buyback programme alongside an improvement in like-for-like sales and profitability.
Group LFL sales grew 3% in the 17 weeks to 30 August, accelerating from the 2% seen in the past full year.
UK and Irish LFL sales rose 3%, supported by strong demand in gaming, AI computing, large appliances, coffee machines and cooling products, partly offset by declines in TVs, tablets and air fryers.
A sharp improvement in the pension position was also reported, with the actuarial deficit reduced to £134 million from £403 million in 2022, meaning future contributions will fall to £13 million per year from 2026/27, compared with £78 million previously...read more here
7.28am: Lloyds performance review
More on that Lloyds story from the FT, where the lender will reportedly warn roughly 3,000 employees, around 5% of its workforce, that they are at risk of dismissal as part of a performance management overhaul.
The FTSE 100-listed bank, which employs 63,000 people, intends to flag its lowest performers and ask them to improve or face exit, according to the report.
The approach was said to have been discussed at a recent executive committee meeting and comes as chief executive Charlie Nunn pushes through the final phase of a cost-cutting and diversification strategy.
7.15am: FTSE 100 to continue recovery
The FTSE 100 is predicted to continue its recovery on Thursday, with the pulse of the bond market also still under diagnosis.
On the futures market, the London index has been called 15 points higher, after it added just over 61 to close at just under 9,178.
News overnight from index organiser FTSE Russel confirmed that Burberry Group PLC (LSE:BRBY) will return to the blue-chip ranks one year after its demotion to the mid-caps.
US stocks were mixed overnight, with the Dow Jones closing just below flat, but the S&P 500 rising 0.5% and the Nasdaq up 1% thanks to a 9% jump for Google parent Alphabet and near-4% rise for Apple.
Asian markets are mixed this morning, with most benchmarks in green, but Chinese stocks lower, including a 1% decline in Hong Kong and 1.5% in Shanghai.
In company news, Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY) is reported by the FT to be putting close to 3,000 lower-performing staff at risk of dismissal.