- FTSE 100 rises 3 points to 9,760
- Trump and Xi agree 'consensus' on trade deal
- Mixed results from Google, Microsoft and Meta overnight - roundup here
- Shell announces new buyback and profit beat
- WPP plunges after 'unacceptable' results
4.54pm: Another record close
The FTSE 100 edged higher to notch a new closing record on Thursday, up 3 points at 9,760.
“A disappointing morning for the FTSE 100 was rescued later in the session, as sterling took another lurch lower against the dollar to its lowest level since April,” IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp said.
“This combined with renewed strength for gold, which shrugged off the dollar’s revival to push back above $4000. So far this FTSE 100 rally appears impervious to any selling. Whether that survives more tech earnings tonight is another matter.”
4.10pm: FTSE climbs out of the red
The FTSE 100 has fought back to just above flat, as we wind down to the close.
Standard Chartered is top of the late-afternoon risers, up 3.4%, followed by utilities and insurers.
Among the index heavyweights, oil giants Shell and BP, engine maker Rolls-Royce, drugmaker GSK and banks Lloyds and Barclays are all green now.
The London index is the only one of the major Eurpean benchmarks in green.
US stock indices remain mixed, with the Dow up 0.5% but the S&P and Nasdaq down 0.3% and 0.8%.
Market analyst Fawad Razaqzada at StoneX says he thinks US stocks will resume their climb soon, shrugging off Fed chief Jerome Powell’s cautious messaging.
"The Fed’s stance wasn’t exactly unexpected. A bit of hesitation from policymakers isn’t enough to derail what remains a solid uptrend in equities," Razaqzada says.
"Interestingly, markets barely flinched even as Powell struck a somewhat more hawkish note – a clear sign that the AI earnings narrative is what’s really propping up the S&P 500, rather than hopes of easier monetary policy."
While tech earnings have been mixed so far, revenues "remain resilient", he says.
"With Apple and Amazon still to come, we’ll soon find out whether the tech-led rally still has legs – or if investors begin searching for a fresh catalyst."
3.12pm: Lloyds, Santander and Barclays the biggest account losers
Bank switching data showed that Santander UK was the worst affected, losing just over 23,000 accounts in the past quarter, followed by Barclays with 18,330.
Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY) lost 9,400 accounts and subsidiary Halifax saw 14,750 switch away, meaning the UK's largest lender was the biggest loser in the quarter.
This is out of a total of over 265,000 current account switches in the last three months, according to the Current Account Switching Service (CASS).
Lenders with an ethical edge seemed to be winners, with Nationwide Building Society picking up the most customers, welcoming 54,347 new accounts, followed by Co-operative Bank, with 9,175.
At the bottom of the table was Santander, which lost more than accounts.
2.50pm: ECB says little
The ECB press conference provided "thin gruel", says Pantheon Macroeconomics's Claus Vistesen.
Lagarde repeated that the ECB "is in a good place", adding that the governing council will act to ensure it "continues to stay in a good place".
Vistesen says journalists gave Christine Lagarde a bit of a pass today, pressing the president very little on the ECB’s next steps.
As for the tone of Lagarde’s comments, "we think it tilted slightly dovish in light of this week’s data. In short, the ECB sees fading downside risks to growth, primarily due to greater clarity on trade tensions, while policymakers still see downside risks to inflation stemming from potential euro appreciation, financial market volatility, and tariffs.
"These are offset by upside risks tied to trade fragmentation and supply-side bottlenecks caused by tariffs."
Largade's comments support Vistesen's view that "policy risks are asymmetric over the next six months: the Bank will either cut or hold".
He notes the Financial Times picked up on his suggestion and asked the president about the potential consequences of delaying or scrapping ETS2 - the European Union emissions trading system, in light of downside risks to the 2027 inflation forecast, which is already below 2%.
The president replied that the Bank still assumes ETS2 will be implemented, though possibly in a way that smooths the timeline, pushing the inflation impact into 2028.
"We suspect this signals that if ECB forecasters lower their 2027 energy inflation projections in December, they will raise their 2028 forecasts by a similar margin. The big question is what starting point the bank has for 2028; watch this space."
2.18pm: UK rural mobile 'not spots' get first Starlink connections
Virgin Media O2 has teamed up with Elon Musk’s Starlink, the satellite arm of his SpaceX rocket company, to offer mobile broadband in UK rural 'not spot' areas.
This is for mobile phone browsing and messages, not voice calls.
The multi-year partnership, called O2 Satellite, will use some of Starlink's 650-plus satellite technology to initially offer messaging and data services, with further improvements set to follow.
Virgin Media O2 aims to increase its coverage to at least 95% of the UK landmass in the 12 months following launch, with internal trials already underway ahead of a launch in the first half of next year.
It will be the first UK service to deliver satellite connectivity straight to people's mobile phones.
1.55pm: Big-tech sell-off in US
A mixed opening half hour on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones rising 0.5%. but the S&P 500 dropping 0.25% and the Nasdaq losing 0.6%.
Meta has dropped 12%, Microsoft has fallen 1.7%, Nvida is down 2%, while Amazon, Broadcom, Tesla, Palantir and AMD are all down between 1% and 3%.
Alphabet is the main exception in the Mag 7 names, up 3.5%, with Apple also slightly higher.
As has often happened in the past year, the FTSE is picking up some of the money that investors are moving out of US stocks, cutting its loss from 0.7% to 0.35%.
1.32pm: M&S recovery hits a bump
Looking ahead to next week's interims from Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS), Berenberg thinks the recovery has hit a digital bump, though the setback is expected to be temporary.
Ahead of half-year results due next week, analysts at the German bank described M&S as an “extended self-help opportunity” rather than a structural growth play.
After the first half of the year bore the scars of April’s cyberattack, adjusted pre-tax profit is forecast to be around £111 million, which is lower than the consensus prediction of £125 million, both steep falls from the £408 million last year.
Customer loyalty seems intact, the Berenberg team think, thanks to a mix of better fashion ranges and its trusted food offer.
They say investors appear willing to “look through” this year’s weakness, with the price-to-earnings multiple falling from 18 times in 2026 to 12 times in 2027.
1.32pm: ECB makes no change
The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged, as expected.
This is the thrird staright meetgin where Christine Lagarde and co have kept policy unchanged.
12.54pm: UK bank stocks regaining their stride
After a surprisingly upbeat bank earnings season and yesterday's latest Bank of England data, UBS is upbeat about prospects for UK lenders.
Analyst Jason Napier said September’s figures point to accelerating loan growth and a healthier deposit mix, reinforcing the improving trend already visible in third-quarter results.
UK bank shares have outperformed their European peers by around 3% this earnings season, helped by underlying profit beats and steady credit quality.
Napier has lifted his earnings forecasts for the sector by 3% to 5% for 2025 to 2027 and remains overweight on the domestic names, which he says still trade at a steep discount to their continental rivals despite stronger profit growth.
UBS values UK banks at about 8 times next year’s earnings, or 1.3 times tangible book value, for a sector return on tangible equity of roughly 16%.
Barclays is top pick, along with NatWest and Paragon Banking, with Napier describing the UK sector as quietly regaining its stride.
12.14pm: European markets all in red, US futures down too
London's FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 are down 0.6% and 0.7%, with mainland European shares also tending to see more sellers than buyers today.
Germany's DAX is performing best, down 0.2%, while the benchmarks in Milan and Paris are down 0.8% and 0.9% while the worst is the IBEX in Madrid, down 1.4%, with Banco Santander a big drag after its results.
Focusing on London, only 3 of the top 25 largest companies' shares are in green (Rolls, BP and StanChart).
WPP is down 14% now, with other fallers including Burberry and M&G, and most of the industrial metal miners.
Among the midcaps, biggest faller is Rathbones Group PLC (LSE:RAT, OTC:RTBBF), down 4% after Jefferies initiated with an 'underperform' rating, saying traditional wealth managers are a "low-growth sub-sector" and "we would rather own a platform, or Quilter or St James's Place".
Looking across the pond, the major stock index futures remain daubed in red too.
Dow Jones futures are down 0.3%, with both S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures just below flat.
Alphabet is up 7.5% in premarket trading, while Microsoft shares are down 2.5% and those in Meta Platforms have plunged 9.15%.
Nvida's are down 0.75% after Donald Trump's talk with his Chinese counterpart earlier.
After the top-level meeting in South Korea, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that semiconductors had been discussed and China was "going to be talking to Nvidia and others about taking chips", according to Reuters.
But he added: "We're not talking about the Blackwell."
11.11am: Pfizer fizzes with anger at 'reckless' Novo offer
Pfizer has responded to Novo Nordisk's attempt to derail its bid for Metsera, calling it a "reckless and unprecedented proposal" and saying it is "prepared to pursue all legal avenues to enforce its rights" under its own takeover deal with the biotech.
The US drug giant called it "an attempt by a company with a dominant market position to suppress competition in violation of law by taking over an emerging American challenger".
"It is also structured in a way to circumvent antitrust laws and carries substantial regulatory and executional risk.
"The proposal is illusory and cannot qualify as a superior proposal under Pfizer’s agreement with Metsera", it added.
Pfizer pointed to Metsera's proxy filings that the board rejected Novo Nordisk’s proposal due to "a variety of risks" in its deal structure, chosing Pfizer as it believed no others could complete an acquisition "with the same level of certainty or on the same expected timeline as Pfizer".
10.31am: Novo gatecrashes Pfizer bid
Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) is gatecrashing Pfizer Inc's (NYSE:PFE, ETR:PFE) deal to buy NASDAQ-listed obesity drug developer Metsera, with an unsolicited offer of $6.5 billion, rising to a potential $9 billion.
Pfizer agreed an offer for the US biotech earlier this month, paying $4.9 billion cash upfront, rising to a potential $7.3 billion.
Novo’s proposal values Metsera at $6.5 billion in cash (or an enterprise value of about $6 billion), plus up to $2.5 billion in contingent value rights tied to future clinical and regulatory milestones.
Metsera shares areup 19% in premarket trading.
10.02am: Markets are somewhat underwhelming
"A somewhat underwhelming start to the day for European markets", says market analyst Joshua Mahony at Scope Markets, "with equities struggling for direction in the wake of a plethora of big ticket drivers that have occurred over the past 24-hours."
From a wider perspective, the Fed rate cut and wide-reaching but vague US-China trade agreement "should provide grounds for optimism" but Fed chief Powell's warning that a December rate cut is far from a guaranteed, and disappointment over Microsoft and Meta earnings "there is a degree of caution" ahead of a day that sees yet more Mag7 earnings and central bank decisions.
From a European perspective, today has plenty to delve into, he says, with the ECB rate decision looking like "an opportune moment" for Lagarde to draw a line under the easing process and give the central bank some powder dry in anticipation of future crises.
This morning has provided a fresh deluge of data that saw elevated inflation rates across Spain (0.7% MoM) and German regions, while growth figures made for dour reading in Germany and Italy.
"Thus, with inflation on the rise, non-existent growth, and a potential hawkish ECB tone, it is no wonder why we are seeing European stocks struggle for traction today."
9.13am: Haleon US 'relief'
Haleon shares are up 1.9% as results were in line with expectations, say analysts at Barclays, as oral health growth missed consensus but marginal US growth "a relief".
Organic sales growth of 3.4% was in line with the City consensus, thanks to better volumes.
The Barclays view: "Haleon has rallied from lows on the basis that the US would be a bit better this quarter and this is out it has played out."
Organic growth of 0.4% across the pond "will be a relief", with the market expecting negative sales volumes of -1.0% to -1.5%.
However, the US sell-out was boosted by net restocking, including destocking in US pharma, which the company confirmed should be done by year end.
"The other point to highlight is the US pricing miss and here Haleon are seeing a very competitive market, particularly in VMS."
The cough and cold season has also started slowly in both the US and Europe.
"Overall we don't think Haleon is out of the woods and we need to see how the US Q4 exits, so for us question marks still remain."
8.57am: StanChart climbs to 12-year high
Standard Chartered PLC (LSE:STAN) has been topping the FTSE 100 leaderboard, with its shares at their highest in over a decade after the lender lifted its full-year outlook after third-quarter results beat City forecasts.
Operating income of $5.1 billion was up 5% compared to last year, as a 1% fall in net interest income was offset by 27% growth in wealth and 23% in global banking.
Profit before tax came in at just below $2 billion, up 10% year-on-year and beating the average analyst forecast of $1.7 billion.
8.36am: China deal 'thin on details'
News of the emerging thaw in trade relations between the US and China "wasn’t enough" to power the FTSE 100 towards new record highs this morning, says analyst Derren Nathan at Hargreaves Lansdown.
The London index has retreated from its highest ever close of 9,756.14 the day before.
Following the conclusion of in-person talks between Trump and XI, while a consensus was said to have been reached on major trade issues, details are "thin on the ground", says Nathan.
He says Shell’s profit beat mostly came from the upstream division, which is benefitting from increased production in Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico/America, as well as from gas trading and optimisation, a part of the business that "typically does well in volatile times and can counter price weakness".
"Investors should also take heart from the dent made to net debt, which should leave the path open for quarterly buybacks similar to the $3.5 billion repurchase announced today."
Yesterday’s rally in oil prices has proved to be short-lived, with Brent crude prices down 0.85% to around $64.37 a barrel.
"The absence of a mention of a trade agreement on energy products after the summit between China and the US is playing on traders’ minds. Meanwhile, a tightening of sanctions by the US on Russian oil exports hasn’t alleviated concerns of a supply glut," says Nathan.
US stock futures are trading slightly in the red after the mixed performance on Wall Street overnight.
8.15am: FTSE opens lower as WPP and miners weigh
The FTSE 100 has dropped 36 points to 9,720 as its winning run appears to be coming to an end after eight days of gains.
WPP PLC (LSE:WPP) is leading the fallers, down 12.5% after announcing quarterly results that new CEO Cindy Rose said were "unacceptable".
Miners are also among the leading fallers, with copper prices flattening off. Rio Tinto and Glencore are down around 1.3% apiece.
JD Sports Fashion and Whitbread are both down over 1% as their shares go ex-dividend today.
8am: US-China agreements
US and Chinese Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping shook hands literally and on a number of key economic and geopolitical issues at their meeting in South Korea this morning.
Following the meeting, Xi said a “consensus” had been reached on trade issues, while Trump said the dispute over the supply of rare earths had been settled, and tariffs on China would be reduced, with China agreeing to resume buying US soybeans.
Trump said that the war in Ukraine was talked "for a long time, and we’re both going to work together to see if we can get something".
China’s commerce ministry said the consensus included the US removing the 10% fentanyl tariff on Chinese goods, suspending the 24% additional tariff for another year, and suspending its investigations into harmful trade practices, with China adjusting its countermeasures "accordingly".
The ministry said the two sides also agreed to work together on fentanyl control, expanding agricultural trade and resolving issues related to TikTok.
7.46am: Shell beats forecasts
Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL)) has kept its rich seam of buybacks flowing, with another $3.5 billion announced today alongside as stronger profits than expected for the third quarter.
The FTSE 100-listed oil major said the buyback, which followed $5.7 billion of shareholder distributions in the quarter after it repurchased $3.6 billion of shares and paid out $2.1 billion in dividends, is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter results announcement.
Adjusted earnings came to $5.4 billion for the third quarter, down from $6 billion last year but up from the $4.26 billion in this year’s second quarter and beating the City consensus forecast of just below $5.1 billion.
7.31am: US big tech earnings mixed
The big three US tech earnings last night were mixed, with sizeable falls in afterhours trading for both Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Instagram and Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META).
Microsoft fell 4% as Azure cloud growth disappointed.
Meta dropped 7.4% after a big miss on earnings per share.
But Google parent Alphabet rose 6.7% after quarterly revenue beat estimates by rising 16% to above $100 billion for the first time, led by stronger-than-expected Google Cloud growth.
7.18am: FTSE winning run to end? Sterling drops after US Fed dampener
The FTSE 100 is predicted to end its winning run on Thursday, after market sentiment took a dent after the US Federal Reserve dampened expectations of further interest rate cuts in the coming months.
London's blue-chip benchmark has been called 10 points lower on the futures market, after it finished up 59.4 points at 9,756.1, having climbed over 400 points or 4.3% since the end of last month.
This morning, Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping held a face-to-face meeting in South Korea, where Xi said "a basic consensus" had been agreed and the US President characterised the discussion as "fantastic".
As widely expected, last night, the US Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points and announced it will end quantitative tightening (QT) from 1 December by reinvesting maturing Treasuries fully rather than letting them roll off.
But Fed president Jerome Powell said "a further reduction of the policy rate at the December meeting is not a foregone conclusion", surprising markets that had priced in a 90% probability of another cut.
The US 2-year yield jumped 13bps to above 3.60%, while stocks wobbled after what had been a confident run, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 closing in the red, though down only 0.16% and 0.004% respectively. The more tech-tilted Nasdaq wrapped at another record high, ending up 0.55% higher at just shy of 24,000.
Powell's words "hurt sentiment", says market analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya at Swissquote, but powered up the US dollar on the "hawkish readjustment in Fed expectations, and the rest of the G7 complex could feel pressure in the coming weeks — especially sterling on budget concerns".
The USDJPY extended gains to almost 153 in Tokyo this morning as the Bank of Japan kept its policy rate unchanged and remained committed to further normalisation, ie more hikes.
In Asian stock markets, the Nikkei is the only one in green, though it is only just above flat, with the Shanghai Composite one of the worst performers, down 0.7%.
Today, the European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to keep rates unchanged.