- FTSE 100 up 42 points at 9,696
- Index hits another intraday high, 9,727
- Pound falls as UK food inflation eases
- HSBC profits fall less than expected
4.49pm: New record
The FTSE 100 finished Tuesday’s trading session at a record high 9,696 points, up 42.
“The FTSE 100’s directionless start to the day has given way to more record highs, joining the enthusiastic gains seen in Japan and the US in the past 24 hours,” IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp said.
“Bubble fears would be hard to engender here – even after its rampage to new highs the index still trades at 14 times earnings.”
4.22pm: Index heavyweights do heavy lifting for FTSE
The FTSE had a slow start but made some good ground in the afternoon part of the session, jumping to a new intraday high above 9,727, and heading towards another record closing high, despite running out of puff a bit in the past hour.
What's helped is that shares in HSBC, the second largest company on the index, have kept climbing all day, and are now up 4.5%.
Rolls-Royce, Rio Tinto, Barclays, BAE Systems and Glencore, from further down the top 20, are all up over 1% too.
Airtel Africa was the biggest riser of the day, up 15.7% after its interim results. Vodafone, up 4.9%, and various miners are also high up on the leaderboard, including gold miners, as the precious metals found some support after a steep fall over recent days.
3.25pm: S&P Santa rally starts today, if history is any guide
It's not even November, let alone December, but "today marks the point that, on average, kicks off the 'Santa Claus Rally' in the US", says Jim Reid at Deutsche Bank.
Historically, his research tells him, yesterday, October 27, has seen the S&P 500 at its low-point for the second half of the year.
"From this point, in the 97 years from 1928 to 2024, the S&P has risen 71 times and fallen 26 times."
On a median average basis, the gain from today through to year-end is 4.0%.
However, for years such as 2025, where the market has already risen between the start of September and end of October, the gain is a slightly lower 3%.
2.53pm: Amazon to slash jobs as AI spending rises
In the latest sign that the machines are coming for human jobs, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) is planning to axe around 14,000 workers as the company increases its spending on AI instead.
The job reductions could eventually affect as many as 30,000 employees, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
“This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet, and it’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before (in existing market segments and altogether new ones),” Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology at Amazon, wrote in a blog post.
2.26pm: Microsoft becomes $4trn company
Microsoft Corp's (NASDAQ:MSFT) market valuation has surpassed $4 trillion, after OpenAI completed its long-awaited corporate restructuring and agreed a "new chapter" of its partnership with its major shareholder.
The partnership will see a loosening of exclusivity, with new provisions added that enable each company to independently continue advancing innovation and growth.
The stake owned by the newly renamed OpenAI Foundation nonprofit arm is worth an estimated $130 billion, while the for-profit business is rebranded OpenAI Group PBC, a public benefit corporation.
Microsoft's investment in the PBC is valued at approximately $135 billion, representing roughly 27% on an as-converted diluted basis, inclusive of all owners, or 32.5% when excluding the impact of OpenAI’s recent funding rounds.
The new provisions of the Microsoft partnership give the Windows company extended intellectual property rights over OpenAI models and products through 2032, including those developed if artificial general intelligence (AGI) is declared, while Microsoft can also now independently pursue AGI development with other partners, with OpenAI no longer being required to use Azure as its exclusive compute provider.
1.55pm: More new highs for Wall Street
US stocks have started higher, as expected, with the Nasdaq twirling its baton at the front of the procession, up 0.4% to above 23,780 for the first time, followed by the Dow Jones' 0.3% gain, with the S&P 500 up 0.1%, also new highs.
At the top of the Nasdaq's notable risers is PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL), up 8% after signing a deal with OpenAI to have its digital wallet embedded into ChatGPT so users can pay for items found through the leading consumer AI tool.
The agreement was sealed over the weekend, CNBC reported, and starts next year. PayPal also beat the Street expectations for Q3 earnings.
Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:SWKS) was atop the S&P leaderboard, surging 18% after the supplier of radio frequency chips for Apple and other smartphone makers was reported to have held talks to acquire competitor Qorvo.
United Parcel Service Inc (NYSE:UPS) shares were up 10.2% after the delivery company's earnings topped estimates.
Back in London, the FTSE 100 has broken above 9,700 for the first time, hitting an intraday high of 9,715.2.
12.55pm: US futures perk up too
The FTSE and US stocks are both picking up, with the London index boosted by gains for HSBC, miners and defence giants.
Wall Street futures are climbing to yet more records, as Donald Trump continues his Asian dealmaking tour, with representatives from Washington and Beijing making further encouraging comments about a potential trade deal.
Dow Jones futures are 0.5% higher ahead of the opening bell, while futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 are up 0.1% and 0.2% respectively.
Ahead of a meeting this week between Trump and Xi on Thursday, China’s foreign minister said he hoped "both sides will meet each other halfway" on a call with Secreaty of State Marco Rubio.
As his tour of Asia passed through Japan, Trump has this morning added to new agreements on trade and/or rare earths with Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia.
12.09pm: FTSE picking up a little, as Reeves speaks
The FTSE 100 has notched up a new intraday high, picking up a little in the past hour after a slow start.
Meanwhile, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been speaking in Saudi Arabia, where a trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council should be agreed before too long.
"I am really confident we can get that deal over the line," she said, adding that a deal may be reached "very soon".
This following meetings at an investment summit in Riyadh with counterparts from Saudi, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.
The Treasury has calculated that a trade deal with the GCC would add 0.6% a year to UK GDP.
Following last year's purchase by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund of a 15% stake in Heathrow Airport, reports from the trip suggest more deals should be announced this week.
Reeves also responded to reports that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is planning to cut its trend productivity growth prediction by 0.3 percentage points, resulting in a £20 billion hit to public finances in next month’s budget.
Speaking at the forum, Reeves said: "Our independent forecaster is likely to downgrade the forecast for productivity in the UK based not on anything this government has done, but on our past productivity numbers, which, to be honest, since the financial crisis and Brexit have been very poor, and that just shows how essential growth is.
"So I’m not going to do anything in the budget that reduces our opportunities to grow the economy. That’s very important."
11.11am: No BoE cut expected next week, most think
Most, but far from all, economists think the Bank of England will hold the base rate steady at 4.00% at next week's monetary policy committee meeting.
According to a Reuters poll, 54 of 63 economists are predicting the MPC will stand pat.
10.43am: Fighter deal boosts BAE
BAE Systems PLC (LSE:BA.) shares flew 2% higher to 1,897.5p after Turkiye signed a £5.4 billion contract for 20 Eurofighter Typhoon jets yesterday evening.
Jets will be assembled in the UK, so benefiting mainly BAE Systems as the lead integrator. Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LSE:RR.), which makes the engines, is up 1%.
Turkiye is paying £270 million per jet, including associated weapons and integration package.
Deutsche Bank described the deal as “a clear positive” for the defence group.
The order, announced by PM Keir Starmer just before the market close, will see the aircraft assembled in the UK, giving BAE the lion’s share of the work as lead integrator.
The contract, valued at about £270 million per jet including weapons and integration, should deliver around £4.6 billion to BAE once its share of the MBDA missile partnership is included.
Citi estimates the new aircraft are worth between 15p and 20p a share to BAE, with a potential further boost of around 10p a share if Turkey follows through on plans to buy 24 refurbished Typhoons from Qatar and Oman.
10.14am: LSEG's new AI link
London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LSE:LSEG) has added a touch more shine to its AI credentials, announcing a partnership with Anthropic, the US start-up behind the Claude chatbot.
The deal will give Claude’s users access to financial data licensed through LSEG’s platforms and investors appear pleased.
Citi, which rates the shares a 'buy' and includes them on its European Focus list, said the tie-up should be “taken well” by the market. It follows last week’s upbeat third-quarter results, where chief executive David Schwimmer hinted that “the list of partners will continue to grow”.
9.50am: Movers and groovers
Some smaller movers.
Genedrive PLC (AIM:GDR) shares climbed 12% to 0.5p after the company announced that its distributor in Saudi Arabia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the country’s Ministry of Health to pilot its genetic testing technology as part of a national hearing health initiative.
Shares in 80 Mile PLC (AIM:80M, OTCQB:BLLYF) rose 10% to 0.75p after the renewable fuels developer unveiled three new strategic partnerships and confirmed it will take full ownership of its Ferrandina biofuels facility in southern Italy.
Panther Metals PLC (LSE:PALM)fell 8% to 61.9p on Tuesday after the exploration group announced a £600,000 placing at a discount to its market price.
9.32am: Markets keeping powder dry
The FTSE 100 is little moved after the first hour and a half of Tuesday trading, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 is down 0.3 to 22,445.
Across on the European mainland, Germany's DAX and France's CAC are both just below flat.
US futures are flat, with investors keeping their powder dry for a big day tomorrow.
"Softness in commodity prices isn’t helping, and the absence of big tech names means it’s missed out on the tailwinds blowing on the other side of the Atlantic," says Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown.
"There are hopes that trade relations between Washington and Beijing can thaw when Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet in South Korea later this week.
"Trade deal progress has been difficult but successful discussions could pave the way for lighter export restrictions on advanced technology to China, as well as preventing proposed Chinese tariffs on rare-earth minerals that are essential for semiconductor fabrication."
He, like many in the market is looking ahead to tomorrow, when the Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates again, while Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet are all set to report after the closing bell.
8.40am: Pound falls on shop price inflation data
The "welcome" easing in food prices has implications for interest rates, says retail sector guru Clive Black at Shore Capital.
Indeed, the pound is down 0.2% against the US dollar and 0.35% versus the euro this morning, as falling inflation "may assist" with an interest rate cut from the Bank of England "sooner rather than later", Black says.
A fall of 1.0% in October reflected the "ongoing polarity between relatively fulsome food price inflation and flattish non-food pricing".
With UK wage growth remaining at over 4%, he says, "the real affordability of food remains sound, noting that if the British want better security for their scran, they should expect to pay more."
8.29am: Takeover action
A long-time resident of AIM looks to be leaving soon.
Idox PLC (AIM:IDOX), which used to be called I-DOCUMENTSYSTEMS when I was a junior reporter back in the early 00s, has agreed to a £339.5 million cash offer from Long Path Partners.
Shareholders are being offered 71.5p per share in cash, representing a 26.8% premium to the closing price on Monday and the highest the shares have been since 2023.
The US investment group has been a longstanding shareholder of the information management firm, with a 12% stake currently, with irrevocable undertakings and non-binding letters of intent that takes support for the bid to over 35% of the shares.
8.15am: FTSE 100 opens higher
The FTSE 100 has come out of the gates with a whisper of a gain, up six points to 9,660.
Top of the early risers is Airtel Africa PLC (LSE:AAF), up 7.1% off the back of its half-year numbers, where the interim dividend was increased 9.2%.
HSBC is up 2.4% after its Q3 profits beat expectations.
Precious metals miners Endeavour and Fresnillo are down 3.7% and 3.6% as gold and silver prices continue to sell off.
8.01am: BT responding to mobile competition
Interesting report from the FT suggests BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) is looking to enter the low-cost mobile market to head off competition from a number of fintechs that are adding phone contracts as part of their 'super apps'.
The UK’s largest broadband provider two main options are to launch a new brand or snap up an existing MVNO (mobile virtual network operator).
Management have been triggered by the potential for new competitors entering the market such as fintechs Monzo and Revolut.
Lendable, another fintech, earlier this month launched a £20-a-month mobile plan, while in August, Monzo revealed it was "in the early stages" of looking to launch its own mobile phone service.
7.55am: Anglo on track
Anglo American PLC (LSE:AAL) says it is still on track to meet its 2025 production targets after a steady third quarter.
In the update, CEO Duncan Wanblad highlights strong performances in copper and iron ore and an upgraded outlook for its Minas-Rio mine in Brazil.
Copper output rose 1% to 184,000 tonnes, driven by higher grades and better plant performance at Quellaveco in Peru and Los Bronces in Chile.
This helped offset lower production at Collahuasi, which is expected to recover by late 2026.
7.44am: HSBC profits fall less than feared
HSBC Holdings PLC (LSE:HSBA) results show that profits fell less than expected for the third quarter.
The fall was related to large legal one-off expenses, particularly the Bernie Madoff litigation provision announced yesterday, partly offset by improved net interest income and a strong performance in its wealth management business.
Europe's largest bank made a profit before tax of $7.3 billion, down roughly 14% compared to the same period last year but ahead of analyst expectations that averaged just under $6 billion.
Profits were hit by $1.4 billion of legal provisions, including $1.1 billion related to the Madoff fraud.
7.32am: Food prices ease
More on that BRC inflation data.
Food inflation slowed to 3.7% from 4.2% in the previous two months, while non-food prices declined by 0.4%, following falls of 0.1% and 0.8% in the past two updates.
Fresh food inflation ticked up slightly to 4.3% from 4.1%, but ambient food prices fell to 2.9% from 4.2%.
Helen Dickinson, BRC chief executive, said falling prices reflected "fierce competition amongst retailers and widespread discounting" ahead of Black Friday month.
She said food prices were affected by easing global sugar prices, which helped bring down prices of chocolate and confectionery.
NIQ’s Mike Watkins noted subdued consumer sentiment and rising inflation versus a year ago but pointed to “targeted price cuts” by grocers seeking market share.
7.17am: FTSE 100 predicted to extend gains as retail inflation eases
The FTSE 100 is set to extend its gains on Tuesday, with good news on inflation from the retail industry as shop price inflation decreased in recent weeks.
London's blue-chip index tiptoed eight points higher to a new record close of 9,653.82 the day before, and today futures are predicting a gain of around 14 points, early doors.
Data from the British Retail Consortium shows shop prices were up 1.0% in October, down from the 1.4% inflation in September.
Last night, Wall Street stocks also finished at record highs, driven by renewed hopes for a US-China trade deal, with the tech-powered Nasdaq adding 1.9% to close at 23,637 points, the S&P 500 1.2% to 6,875 points, and the Dow Jones up 0.7% to 47,544 points.
Asian markets are mostly in the red this morning, with the Nikkei and Hang Seng both down 0.6%.