- FTSE 100 ends 15.31 points higher at 10,743.35
- US futures see little movement
- Inflation rises in line with forecasts
- Tranline hits the buffers
That's all, folks
The FTSE 100 ended the session 15.31 points higher at 10,743.35.
2.58pm: Forward momentum
Blue-chip stocks nosed into the green after the open on Wall Street with traders in New York providing a measured response to some fairly volatile trading in Asia overnight.
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 3.2%, South Korea's Kospi tumbled 5.6%, and Shanghai fell 2.3% on growing concerns over the solidity of the AI and tech boom - rumbles that (in circular fashion) emanated from the US.
But all this was put to bed as the S&P and Dow rose in early trading, with the tech-focused Nasdaq only marginally lower.
Stateside, the big news came from Moderna, whose shares doubled in an early frenzy of buying activity prompted by stellar results from a late-stage cancer trial.
Closer to home, the FTSE 100 was up 22 points after spending most of the session playing dead.
12.58pm: Waiting game
London has spent the day going nowhere in particular, and with Wall Street about to open into a bruising week, there is little sign of that changing.
The FTSE 100 has been nibbling around the gain line, off a fraction and thoroughly becalmed. Flat and listless just about covers it.
The backdrop is not helping. UK inflation ticked up to 2.9% in July, driven largely by that painful jump in the energy price cap, which has traders trimming bets on a Bank of England rate rise this year. The banks have felt it all session.
Doing the heavy lifting are the usual commodity names, with BP, Shell, Rio Tinto and Anglo American all higher as oil stays stubbornly above $91 a barrel, propped up by Middle East nerves.
The day's sore thumb is Smith+Nephew, down as much as 3.7% after its finance chief announced he is off to a job in the US. Markets rarely enjoy a surprise CFO exit.
Eyes are now turning west, where US futures are limp after a rough few days. Asia set the tone overnight, Japan's Nikkei sliding 3% and Korea's KOSPI a nasty 5%, while Trump's last-minute pause on Canadian tariffs barely moved the dial.
Later comes the Fed's July minutes, pored over on both sides of the Atlantic.
A waiting game into the New York open, then.
10.43am: Trainline leads fallers
Another quiet day in London with the market down marginally and Smith + Nephew leading the fallers following the imminent departure of the company's chief bean counter.
Among the mid-caps, Trainline suffered a 14% slide into the sidings after by the UK competition authorities as part of a pricing probe that also includes Virgin Atlantic and the RED chain of driving schools.
8.44am: Inflation may not move Bank of England dial
Some thoughts on this morning's UK inflation numbers, which showed July's CPI up 2.9% from a year ago, increasing from 2.6% in June.
Core CPI stayed put at 2.6%, while services CPI slowed to 3.4% from 3.6%.
"What happened in July? Energy prices – as expected – rose on the back of the hefty rise in the Ofgem price cap," says Sanjay Raja, Deutsche Bank’s chief UK economist. "Elsewhere, base effects played their role in pushing inflation a little higher," says Raja.
"There was some good news though. Food price inflation dropped to its lowest rate since late 2021. Services CPI also fell to its lowest rate in three months. Core goods pricing remains constrained, with summer discounting continuing. And promotional activity continues to keep prices competitive."
Looking ahead, Raja says is "looks likely" that inflation will rise a bit more due to energy prices remaining elevated this month.
"We continue to see CPI peaking near 3% y/y later this year," he says, with risks that it could go higher.
For the Bank of England this will provide "food for thought", as the monetary policy committee's core services measures all ticked up, with energy inflation remaining volatile with tensions in the Middle East ongoing.
"Further rises in the Ofgem Price Cap can’t be ruled out. And despite the very good food inflation data, there’s good reason to think that food prices are likely to move one way in 2027: up.
"For now, combined with yesterday’s labour market report, the MPC can remain on the sidelines. But don’t expect any change in sentiment. Uncertainty around the outlook remains. And we expect the MPC to remain cautious for the time being."
David Rees, head of global economics at Schroders, says last month's rise in CPI came as "the first of three waves of global price pressures begins to buffet the UK economy.
"Manufactured goods prices are likely to rise in the months ahead, while drought and a potential Super El Niño could significantly lift food inflation in 2027.
"The good news is that persistent slack in the labour market leaves the UK better placed than most developed economies to avoid these shocks generating second-round inflation effects.
"That should allow the Bank of England to look through the near-term rise in inflation and continue to push back against market pricing for rate hikes."
8.15am: FTSE 100 inches higher at open as miners gain
The FTSE 100 has opened marginally higher, up eight points to just over 10,736 in initial Wednesday trading, thanks mainly to its gang resources giants.
Miners are the key early risers, with Rio Tinto, Glencore and Anglo American all up around 1%.
Rio is leading the way on a Bloomberg report that it is in talks over a potential $600 million investment in McEwen Copper, which is developing Argentina's Los Azules project, where Rio already owns about 17% of the venture. McEwen Copper is also said to be considering an IPO later this year.
Oil giants Shell and BP are also slightly higher.
At the other end, Smith & Nephew has dropped over 3% on the news that finance chief John Rogers is stepping down with immediate effect.
8.01am: Iran could target Europe, as Trump halts talks
The latest on the Middle East this morning includes a report from the FT that Iran is prepared to strike US military targets in Europe if Washington escalates the conflict further.
Citing sources close to the Iranian regime, the newspaper reports that potential targets could include US bases in Bulgaria and Cyprus.
Iran could also target submarine fibre-optic cables running through the Strait of Hormuz if the conflict intensifies. Damage to the cables could disrupt communications infrastructure running through one of the world's most important energy transit routes.
Meanwhile, CNN reported that US President Donald Trump has ordered senior administration officials to halt talks with Tehran.
The White House is also said to have shifted its strategy away from striking Iran as soon as possible towards gradually increasing economic pressure.
US officials are reportedly preparing another round of severe sanctions against Tehran, potentially as early as this week.
The reports add to geopolitical uncertainty that has already pushed oil prices and government bond yields higher, weighing on global equity markets this week.
Brent crude is up 0.6% to $91.55 this morning, up from around $80 two weeks ago.
7.52am: New goals for Oxford Nanopore
Oxford Nanopore Technologies' new boss has set out some new goals alongside the DNA-sequencing technology company's interim results.
Francis Van Parys has set a target of more than $700 million in annual revenue by 2030 as he maps out a path to profitability.
He also expects margins on adjusted earnings to exceed 15% by the same date, with plans reaffirmed to break even on that earnings measure in 2027 and to generate positive free cash flow from 2028.
"Since joining the business, I have spent time listening to colleagues across the organisation and engaging with customers, partners and broader stakeholders. Together, we have refined our view of where our differentiated technology can create the greatest value," said Van Parys.
"We are now translating that into a focused operational roadmap across four strategic priorities which will accelerate growth by concentrating our people, investment and innovation on a select group of high-potential applications across BioPharma, Clinical and Research end-markets."
He then said the clear new focus is "to accelerate adoption in our fastest-growing end markets and realise our longer-term ambition to build Oxford Nanopore into a $1 billion-and-growing annual revenue business".
7.39am: Trainline probed over booking fees
Trainline is facing an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority over "drip pricing", one of three companies targeted by the regulator in a fresh crackdown on a practice where mandatory charges are separated from the headline price or added later during a purchase.
Trainline had previously received an advisory letter from the regulator and has been engaging with it for several months.
The company said it was "taking steps to enhance the presentation of certain fees" and would continue working with the CMA.
7.22am: UK inflation ticks up
It's also 'Prices Day' for the Office of National Statistics, which I just learnt (apologies, it's my first day back from holiday).
UK consumer prices rose 0.3% last month, in line with forecasts and up from June's 0.1% monthly increase.
On a year-on-year basis, CPI rose to 2.9% from 2.6%.
But producer input prices rose 4.9%, well below forecasts of 6.6% and slowing from 7.4% previously, suggesting some easing in cost pressures for manufacturers.
Core PPI rose 0.6%, against 0.5% previously, while core RPI accelerated to 0.6% from 0.3%.
The ONS's deputy director for prices, Mike Hardie, says inflation was "driven by a sharp increase in gas prices following this month’s change to the energy price cap. This was the largest rise in gas prices for almost four years."
"Other upward pressures included furniture prices falling by less than usual for this time of year, and also a smaller fall for clothing prices due to reduced discounting.
"The prices of raw materials and goods leaving factories slowed again, driven by a drop in the prices of crude oil and refined petroleum respectively."
FTSE 100 Live: Fall expected as bonds exert pressure
The FTSE 100 is set to open lower on Wednesday as rising bond yields and tensions in the Middle East continue to put pressure on global equity markets.
Futures point to a 25-point fall for London's blue-chip index at the open, a day after it edged 7.74 points higher to close at 10,728.04.
Wall Street ended in the red overnight, led by a sell-off in technology and semiconductor stocks. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.3%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.7% and the Dow Jones slipped 0.2%.
Asian markets have followed Wall Street lower this morning, with Japan's Nikkei 225 down 3.2%, South Korea's Kospi tumbling 5.6% and Shanghai falling 2.3%, although Hong Kong's Hang Seng was broadly flat.
The pressure comes as ongoing geopolitical rumbles in the Middle East push oil prices and government bond yields higher, keeping concerns about inflation at the forefront.
The US 10-year Treasury yield reached its highest level since January 2025 on Tuesday, while Germany's 10-year Bund yield climbed to its highest since 2011.
This all means that "the downside correction in equities will likely deepen," says Ipek Ozkardeskaya, market analyst at Swissquote.
She highlights that technology companies are expected to find higher borrowing costs particularly uncomfortable after heavy spending on AI infrastructure.
Ozkardeskaya said: "Something must give: either yields will come lower – if Middle East tensions ease, for example – or stock valuations will readjust."
