- FTSE 100 climbs 4 points to 9,483
- Shell upgrades production guidance from interims
- Imperial Brands announces new buyback, backs outlook
- B&M reports swing to negative sales growth, cuts earnings guidance
4.46pm: FTSE 100 little changed
The FTSE 100 added 4 points to close out Tuesday’s session at 9,483.
Across the Atlantic, US stocks pulled back as traders as the US government shutdown enters its seventh day.
Gold, meanwhile, continued to advance towards $4,000, driven by political uncertainty and rate cut expectations.
“The gold price rally is accelerating and is on track for its strongest annual performance since 1979 as investors seek safety amid political turmoil in France, the ongoing US government shut down, and expectations of two more Fed cuts by year-end,” IG senior technical analyst Axel Rudolph said.
“Silver's rally stalled around a dollar below its April 2011 all-time high, made close to the $50 mark, as oil snapped Monday's bounce."
1.52pm: Ineos cuts jobs due to 'dirt cheap' Chinese imports
Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos it planning to axe 60 jobs at its Acetyls factory near Hull, due to "dirt-cheap" imports from China.
Ineos Acetyls makes products containing acetic acid.
"Dirt-cheap carbon-heavy imports from China, produced using coal and emitting up to eight times more CO₂ than INEOS’s UK operations, are now flooding the market. These Chinese products have been blocked from entering the US by effective tariffs but face no trade barriers in the UK or Europe," the company said.
The company said it has "explored every possible alternative" to cutting the jobs, but said higher energy costs in the UK made it difficult to compete with "unfairly low-cost" imports.
Ineos called on the UK and EU governments to introduce urgent anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese and US importers to protect the chemicals sector.
"Unless firm action is taken, more sites will close and thousands more jobs will be lost, not only at Hull but across the UK and European chemical industry."
A government spokesperson said: "We recognise this will be difficult for affected workers and their families, and we continue to engage with Ineos and the wider sector to explore potential solutions that will ensure a viable chemicals industry in the UK."
12.58m: FTSE creeps higher, US futures mixed
The FTSE 100 is catching a bid or two, as US traders wake up, with Wall Street stock futures not showing any great certainty about what sort of session is in store.
London's index has nudged past the 9,500 milestone that was passed for the first time yesterday,
Across the pond, futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones are red, but with just small declines indicated, and likewise, Nasdaq 100 futures are only minutely above flat.
This as the US government shutdown enters its seventh day.
Yesterday, the S&P added 0.4% to record its 32nd all-time high this year, with its current run being seven straight gains, while the Nasdaq climbed 0.7% to post its 31st high.
"Stock market strength continues to be driven by optimism surrounding potential mergers and acquisitions and expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts," says market analyst David Morrison at Trade Nation.
He says the rise in small-cap stocks on the Russell 2000, which also broke above a new high last week and again on Monday, are one of the signs that the rally has "broadened out" recently, despite the US government shutdown.
According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the shutdown could have a negative effect on US economic growth, with large job losses if furloughed workers are laid off permanently, as White House has warned.
Morrison notes that the DXY dollar index has climbed above 98 points, a level that it has "repeatedly fail to hold" over the past six weeks.
"That is perhaps unsurprising given the expectation of lower US interest rates even as other major central banks go on hold.
"In addition, the US government shutdown hasn’t helped sentiment towards the dollar. Despite this, the market has shown large, short positioning in the greenback for most of this year, yet has been unable to push the dollar index below the mid-90s.
"Could this signal that a turnaround is coming?"
Today could be influenced by a clutch of Fed speakers, including Raphael Bostic, Michelle Bowman, Neel Kashkari and Stephen Miran.
11.42am: B&M reset is 'encouraging', Imperial Brands better than Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Apple
The FTSE 100 has flattened off and the FTSE 250 has flattened in a good way.
Helping the latter, B&M's decline has eased to 5% from 14% earlier, maybe attracting dip buyers.
Analyst Andrew Wade at Jefferies says the H1 update was weaker than expected, with a "progressive moderation" through Q2 as FMCG products were the laggards.
"Another miss from B&M finally heralds the first evidence of the much-anticipated price reset in FMCG - the first cut looks limited in scale, but we must be encouraged that proactive actions are now being taken to address the declines," he says.
Elsewhere, Rae Maile at Panmure Liberum has a glowing report on Imperial Brands, whose share price has risen 40% over the last 12 months and "comfortably outperformed Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Apple...while also offering lower price volatility and a higher yield".
Trading for the year just ended was in line with guidance and EPS growth is expected to have been a high-single-digit percentage, aided by a 5% reduction in the share count from the last buyback.
The buyback for the current year will be £1.45 billion, up from £1.25 billion. Maile notes that last year the company spent £1.2 billion on 44.6m shares, "saving itself another £71 million per annum on the run-rate dividend, so the 'increased buyback' is largely self-financing".
"Since the start of the buyback three years ago it has repurchased 152m shares, 16% of the starting equity, and the annual saving is running at over £240m per annum. The shares trade at 9x 9/26E EPS and yield an estimated 5.6% with the company set to repurchase another 6% of its shares this year. This is easy."
Rae Maile, Rae.Maile@panmureliberum.com, +44 (0)20 7886 2860
11am: Global renewables overtake coal for first time
Renewable energy generated more electricity than coal for the first time in history in the first half of 2025, according to data from energy think tank Ember.
Strong growth in solar and wind met all additional global electricity demand, leading to a slight decline in coal and gas use.
Ember called it a “crucial turning point”, though progress remains uneven, with developing nations leading the way, while China added more solar and wind capacity than the rest of the world combined and India cut back on coal.
In contrast, weaker wind and hydro output in Europe and surging demand in the US increased reliance on fossil fuels.
Solar accounted for 83% of new generation, driven by a 99.9% cost fall since 1975.
The International Energy Agency expects global clean energy capacity to double by 2030, with solar photovoltaic technology providing around 80% of the increase.
10.47am: Equity funds see big outflows
The past quarter marked the worst quarter for equity fund outflows on record by UK investors, according to data from Calastone.
Investors "ran scared" amidst sky-high stock markets, the report suggested, with £1.2 billion withdrawn from funds investing in listed stocks.
Outflows from equity funds in the third quarter totalled £3.64 billion, the worst that Calastone has recorded in its 11-year history.
The money withdrawn in September has now all-but wiped out the year-to-date inflows.
Every major equity sector saw outflows, except Europe, while bond and money market funds also saw inflows as investors sought safety.
Property funds saw renewed pressure, with £85m outflows – the worst since April.
10.17am: Jaguar Land Rover restart
JLR today has confirmed it is beginning a "phased restart" of its operations and has agreed a new finance to support the cashflow of its suppliers, after the cyber incident six weeks ago.
Manufacturing operations will begin at the Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre (EPMC), where engines are built, and its battery assembly centre tomorrow, it said in a statement.
"JLR colleagues will also begin to return on Wednesday to the company's stamping operations in Castle Bromwich, Halewood and Solihull, UK, and other key areas of its Solihull vehicle production plant, such as its body shop, paint shop and its Logistics Operations Centre (LOC), which feeds parts to JLR's global manufacturing sites.
"This activity will be closely followed by vehicle manufacturing in Nitra, Slovakia, and restart of the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport (MLA) production lines in the Solihull facility this week."
A new financing scheme will provide qualifying suppliers with cash up‑front during the production restart phase, it added.
9.59am: Shell 'well-positioned'
On Shell's update, Garry White at broker Charles Stanley says the third-quarter pre-results update highlights "the company’s resilience in a softer commodity environment, with earnings down year-on-year due to weaker oil and gas prices and lower refining margins".
The integrated gas division was the start performer, he says, benefiting from strong global demand for liquefied natural gas, a legacy strength from its 2015 acquisition of BG Group.
"Despite concerns over a potential energy oversupply, Shell is well-positioned to gain from the European Union’s pivot away from Russian LNG toward more politically acceptable suppliers.
"As one of the world’s largest LNG producers, with operations spanning Canada, Germany, India, Nigeria, Qatar, and the Netherlands, Shell’s end-to-end involvement in the LNG value chain – from extraction to delivery – offers a buffer against near-term market volatility."
9.36am: Gold and bitcoin both rising this week in 'debasement' trade
As investors see global political risks rising, this is continuing to drive demand for gold.
A pullback in the gold price in the past couple of hours "is likely to be used as a buying opportunity as investors continue to pile into gold," says Kathleen Brooks, market analyst at XTB.
"The rally in gold is part of the ‘debasement’ trade. This trading theme is driving demand for ‘alternative’ assets such as gold and crypto, as the dollar faces a long term decline and fiscal concerns continue to rise around the world."
At the same time as gold is closing in on the $4000 per ounce level, bitcoin yesterday rose to a fresh record of $126K, though it has come back to $124K.
"The debasement trade is fusing together the world’s biggest safe haven with one of the riskiest assets out there, bitcoin.
"We do not see this coming to an end any time soon. In the last few weeks, the correlation between bitcoin and gold has gone from a mere 6% to 36%, which means that Bitcoin and gold now move together a third of the time."
Under 40% is not a particularly strong correlation, she admits, but says it "would be hard to imagine gold and bitcoin moving together a third of the time a year ago. This is how much the world has changed and it could be a sign that digital assets are becoming a more trusted source of value in the current environment."
9.14am: FTSE has undulating start
Over the first hour and a bit of trading, the FTSE 100 has undulated between small gains and a small loss, but is currently sitting 13 points higher at 9,491.
Cigarette makers, oil producers and retailers make up the majority of the top risers, while defence names like Babcock and BAE are among the fallers.
Gold is now on the retreat from earlier highs, falling from around $3,980 to $3,950/oz.
The FTSE 250 is in negative territory, down 0.2% as B&M weighs.
Mainland European stocks are also in the red, with the Euro Stoxx 600 down 0.17%, and the DAX down 0.2% in Farankfurt and the CAC 40 falling 0.4% in Paris.
"Pressure on French bonds and the widening in the Franco-German spread to highest since January put pressure on the euro but EURUSD failed to break at the September lows at 1.1645, with 1.1650 marking yesterday’s lows as the 50-day simple moving average is holding the support for now," says market analyst Neil Wilson at Saxo.
Victoria Scholar at Interactive Investor says departing French PM Lecornu is in talks with various parties to try and fend off yet another political crisis.
"In Asia, the Nikkei scaled fresh all-time highs for a second day with markets excited by the prospect of a new pro-stimulus PM. Meanwhile the World Bank upgraded its China growth forecast to 4.8% this year, up from 4% despite tariff uncertainty.
"US futures look set to give back some gains after the S&P and the Nasdaq closed at record highs thanks to a mega AI deal between chipmaker AMD and ChatGPT creator OpenAI.
"So far, markets are shrugging off the US government shutdown with AI driving price action instead.
"Bitcoin is trading down nearly 1.5% amid profit taking from investors, after the cryptocurrency hit a fresh all-time high on Monday. It has gained around a third so far this year propelled by an accommodative stance from the White House and US dollar weakness."
8.33am: B&M bumps lower
B&M shares have plunged 14% in early trading, seemingly hitting a new all-time low, after the discounter's pre-announced interim numbers disappointed.
Analyst Jonathan Pritchard at Peel Hunt says the negative LFL sales in the second quarter were "below both our expectations and those of the company" while investment in margins means "profitability will be down significantly".
Pritchard notes that the new CEO outlined a "long list of actions intended to change the current trajectory" and expects a stable LFL performance in the second half.
This is anticipated to lead to an EBITDA outcome of £510-560 million, versus the analyst's prior expectation of £620 million, representing "a material downgrade, and it is unlikely that margins will rebound quickly".
8.15am: FTSE 100 lifted by Shell, Imperial, Rentokil
The FTSE 100 got out of bed on the right side, though with just a small gain of 11 points to 9,489.93 so far.
Shell, up 1.8%, and Imperial Brands, up 1.6%, are two driving forces, with British American Tobacco and BP also on the leaderboard.
Rentokil Initial PLC (LSE:RTO) is top of the tree, up 3.9%, after an upgrade from Bernstein.
There's also Halifax price data out, showing the average UK house price edged down by 0.3% in September, following a modest rise in August.
8am: Shell on track
Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL) says a strong performance from its Integrated Gas and Marketing businesses means that third-quarter trading is likely to remain broadly consistent with the second quarter.
Ahead of full Q3 results at the end of October, today's trading update is focused on expected production levels and charges for each segment.
7.47am: Imperial buyback
Imperial Brands PLC (LSE:IMB) has announced a fresh £1.45 billion share buyback as it says it remains on course to meet its full-year targets, with steady growth across both traditional tobacco and newer nicotine products.
The maker of Davidoff and Lambert & Butler cigarettes said trading this year had been in line with expectations, supported by “strong” pricing for combustible products.
It also pointed to another year of double-digit growth in its next-generation product business, which includes vapes and heated tobacco.
Group adjusted operating profit is forecast to rise at a similar pace to last year, while earnings per share are expected to show high single-digit growth, helped by the ongoing share repurchase scheme.
7.32am: B&M profit warning
B&M European Value Retail SA (LSE:BME) warned that first-half profits are set to fall 28% after sales contracted in the second quarter.
Total revenue for the 26 weeks to 27 September is expected to come in at £2.75 billion, up 4.0% from the prior year, the discount retailer said in a trading update this morning.
UK like-for-like sales rose 0.1% over the half, with a 1.3% increase in the first quarter sinwing to a 1.1% decline in the second, which was a weaker result than even management expected.
Adjusted EBITDA for the first-half is expected to fall to around £198 million from £274 million a year earlier, with full-year EBITDA antiticpated to fall to £510-560 million, from £620 million the year before.
CEO Tjeerd Jegen, who took over in June, has launched a turnaround strategy.
7.16am: FTSE 100 flat while Nikkei hits new highs
The FTSE 100's fate on Tuesday was hard to read, as political upheavals dictated the previous day's largest movements.
Futures for the London benchmark were pointing to a flat start, after the index ended the prior session down 12 points at 9,479.14, having notched up a new intraday record of 9,516.83 on the way.
France and Japan grabbed the headlines after changes of prime minister in both countries, one unexpected and triggering market turmoil and the other welcomed by the country's equity market but not by bond buyers.
In the US, the S&P 500 added 0.4% and the Nasdaq 0.7% to both ascent to new record highs, thanks to a huge surge for AMD on news of a deal with OpenAI. The Dow Jones fell 0.1%, though.
A vote to end the US government shutdown failed overnight, but party leaders mentioned talks about health care funding.
After the US markets had closed, the US government said it was buying a 10% stake in Trilogy Metals, a Canadian mining company with claims in Alaska, sending the stock was 215% higher in afterhours trading.
Asian markets are mixed this morning, with Japan's Nikkei hitting new record highs but flattening off, while there are holidays in China, Hong Kong and South Korea.
In commodities, the gold price is still soaring, hitting a new high of $3,977 an ounce.