- FTSE 100 falls 105 points to 10,772.98
- AIM UK 50 gains 0.10%
- Aminex jumps as high as 51% in on Ntorya discussions
- Thruvision surges 29% after Canadian order
- FTSE 250 remains close to unchanged
3.13pm: London slides further
The FTSE 100 fell over 100 points on Thursday, leaving London out of step with a Wall Street session that opened firmly higher.
The proximate cause was mechanical rather than emotional.
Glencore, the commodity trader and miner, LondonMetric Property and the speciality chemicals group Croda International all traded without entitlement to their latest dividends, and each fell around 2%.
Ex-dividend adjustments of that kind subtract points from the index automatically, and accounted for a meaningful slice of the decline.
The rest came from corporate updates and a broader unease about the interest rate outlook.
July personal consumption expenditures data, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, showed prices up 3.7% on a year earlier, above the 3.6% economists had forecast.
That was enough to revive concerns that American rates will stay higher for longer, a worry that weighs on London's rate-sensitive property and consumer names.
The irony is that American investors seemed far less troubled.
The S&P 500 rose about 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite gained around 1% in early New York trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average close to flat.
Nvidia, the chip designer at the centre of the artificial intelligence trade, climbed 6% after reporting second-quarter revenue of $96.2 billion, up 106% on the year, and guiding to $108 billion for the current quarter.
The company also reportedly agreed to buy Hugging Face, a repository for open-source AI models, for $12.9 billion.
Salesforce and CrowdStrike added to the technology mood with their own results, while weekly jobless claims fell to 203,000.
Attention now shifts to the Fed's Jackson Hole symposium, where chairman Kevin Warsh speaks on Friday.
London did get some of the Nvidia halo, just not enough of it.
Technology was the strongest sector, up around 1%, with Computacenter, the IT infrastructure reseller, jumping more than 4%.
Prudential was the largest results-driven faller despite first-half adjusted operating profit rising 9% at constant exchange rates to $1.81 billion.
Haleon, Shell and Melrose Industries also lost ground, while beverages, chemicals and real estate investment trusts fell between 1% and 1.6%.
The FTSE 250 held up considerably better, close to unchanged.
Halfords, the motoring and cycling retailer, led the mid-cap risers, gaining as much as 13.9% to 274.5p after upgrading its profit expectations on strong trading.
1:30 pm: FTSE stays subdued; Nasdaq set to start strongly
London's FTSE 100 remained subdued at lunch, with the index down 40 points at 10,839.
Over on Wall Street, early indicators present a mixed bag with the Dow pointing very slightly lower, down 15 points to 53,506 (practically flat really), whilst the S&P 500 is called about 35 points or 0.4% higher at 7,725.
The tech-centric Nasdaq, meanwhile, marked up 288 points or 1% with the benchmark enjoying the warm-fuzzy feeling of a post-Nvidia earnings rally.
Following last night's bumper results, released afterhours, the AI chipmaker's stock was this morning up $13.74 or 6.55% to $223.18 ahead of Thursday's open.
"Much of this week’s attention has been on Nvidia’s earnings, and the chipmaker delivered the sort of numbers of investors had been hoping for," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at FOREX.com.
"Some investors had begun to question whether the AI trade was running out of steam, but for now at least Nvidia’s results has offered some welcome reassurance."
Nvidia's earnings was the week's biggest talking point, followed second by the get-together of elite types - central bankers, policy makers, economist and various other rainmakers - at Jackson Hole, where among other influencial people set to speak will be Fed chair Kevin Warsh.
11.35 am: Aminex and Thruvision lead AIM gains
The AIM UK 50 remained positive as substantial gains for Aminex and Thruvision contrasted with continued weakness among London’s largest companies.
The index of leading AIM constituents gained 0.10% to 4,305.20, having reached 4,309.79 during the session.
The wider junior market remained slightly lower, with the AIM 100 down 0.09% and the AIM All-Share easing 0.04%. This indicated that the strength was concentrated among selected companies rather than representing a market-wide AIM rally.
Aminex jumped upto 51% intraday from its previous close of 1.125p after confirming discussions aimed at progressing the Ntorya gas development in Tanzania.
The talks involve Tanzania’s Ministry of Energy, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation, Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority and project operator ARA Petroleum Tanzania.
Thruvision surged 28.57% to 1.58p after receiving an order from its first Canadian government customer for an 8108 WalkTHRU security-screening system.
The shares reached 1.60p, representing a 30.1% increase from the previous close of 1.23p. The system will be deployed at a municipal building, marking Thruvision’s first move into Canada’s building-entrance security market.
The FTSE 100 moved in the opposite direction, falling 54.87 points, or 0.50%, to 10,823.25. The index remained above its session low of 10,784.65.
The FTSE 250 was almost unchanged at approximately 24,893, down around 0.02%.
Computacenter remained the leading blue-chip riser, gaining 4.60% to 5,455p after reaching a record 5,500p.
Halfords continued to lead the mid-cap index, rising 11.31% to 268.25p after upgrading its underlying pre-tax profit guidance. The shares earlier reached 274.5p, representing a 13.9% gain from the previous close.
The latest figures show a divided London market, with selected AIM companies and individual corporate updates producing sharp gains while the FTSE 100 remains under pressure.
10.30 am: Computacenter bucks weaker London market
Computacenter reached a record high as enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence infrastructure helped the shares defy a broad decline across the London market.
The FTSE 100 company climbed 5.18% to 5,485p after touching 5,500p, its highest level on record. The rally followed Nvidia’s stronger-than-expected quarterly results and upbeat outlook for artificial intelligence-related demand.
Sage edged around 0.4% higher, while technology-focused investment trusts Polar Capital Technology Trust and Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust also gained.
The wider market moved in the opposite direction. The FTSE 100 fell 72.82 points, or 0.67%, to 10,805.30, having traded between 10,784.65 and 10,878.47.
Croda International led the blue-chip fallers with a decline of approximately 3%. LondonMetric Property lost 2.7% and Games Workshop dropped 2.4%, with all 3 trading without entitlement to their latest dividends.
Selling extended beyond ex-dividend shares. Diageo fell around 2.4%, while Prudential and Haleon declined approximately 2.3%. Auto Trader, Glencore, Lloyds Banking Group and Entain were also among the leading fallers.
The FTSE 250 slipped 0.17% to 24,856.17, while the FTSE 350 and FTSE All-Share both lost 0.61%.
Halfords provided the main mid-cap highlight, gaining 10.19% to 265.55p after upgrading its underlying pre-tax profit guidance to between £55 million and £65 million.
The motoring and cycling retailer earlier reached 274.5p, representing a 13.9% increase from its previous close of 241p and a new 52-week high.
AIM shares were comparatively resilient. The AIM UK 50 rose 0.09%, while the AIM 100 fell 0.13% and the AIM All-Share eased 0.05%.
Aminex jumped around 51% after confirming discussions with the Tanzanian government and other parties over the coordinated development of the Ntorya gas project.
Thruvision rose more than 14% after securing its first Canadian government customer and its first deployment in the country’s building-entrance security market.
Gold gained 0.3% to around US$4,606 an ounce, while copper fell 0.5% to approximately US$6.57 per pound. Brent crude declined 0.9% to roughly US$87.06 a barrel and Bitcoin moved back towards US$80,000.
Computacenter’s record performance provided a clear exception to an otherwise weaker London session dominated by ex-dividend adjustments and losses across consumer, financial and commodity-related shares.
9.05 am: FTSE 100 approaches session low
The FTSE 100 extended its opening decline as weakness among miners, property companies and consumer stocks pulled the wider London market lower.
The blue-chip index fell 55.27 points, or 0.51%, to 10,822.85, leaving it only around 7 points above its session low of 10,815.74. It had briefly reached 10,878.47, fractionally above the previous close of 10,878.12.
Glencore became the largest FTSE 100 faller, dropping 2.15% to 585.9p. LondonMetric Property declined 2.11% to 190.6p and Croda International lost 1.99% to 3,396p.
Glencore, LondonMetric and Croda were trading without entitlement to their latest dividends, meaning the mechanical price adjustments accounted for part of the index’s decline.
Prudential was the largest results-driven faller, while Haleon, Shell and Melrose Industries also lost ground.
Computacenter remained the strongest blue-chip performer, gaining 3.93% to 5,420p, although that was below its earlier advance of 4.51%. Polar Capital Technology Trust rose 1.32% and Metlen Energy & Metals added 1.15%.
Weakness extended across the broader market. The FTSE 350 fell 0.46% and the FTSE All-Share declined 0.45%, while the AIM All-Share lost 0.14%.
The FTSE 250 was more resilient, slipping just 0.06% to 24,882.29.
Halfords led the mid-cap risers with an 11% surge to 267.5p after upgrading its underlying pre-tax profit guidance to between £55 million and £65 million, ahead of the previous market consensus of £52.6 million.
Bloomsbury Publishing climbed 4.95% and Raspberry Pi gained 3.56%. At the opposite end, vehicle rental group ZIGUP fell 5.09%, Michael Page declined 3.24% and SDCL Efficiency Income Trust lost 3.18%.
Despite the wider decline, the near-flat FTSE 250 and several strong individual gainers indicated a measured pullback rather than indiscriminate selling.
8.15 am: Ex-dividend shares weigh on blue chips
The FTSE 100 fell during the opening minutes on Thursday as several companies trading without entitlement to their latest dividends weighed on the index.
London’s blue-chip benchmark opened close to unchanged before falling 38.53 points, or 0.35%, to 10,839.59. The morning high was 10,878.47 and the low 10,839.52, compared with Wednesday’s close of 10,878.12.
The FTSE 250 proved more resilient, slipping just 1.65 points, or 0.01%, to 24,896.19.
Here, Halfords Group PLC (LSE:HFD) shares jumped as much as 13.9% to an intraday high of 274.5p on Thursday after the motoring and cycling retailer upgraded its profit expectations following strong trading.
LondonMetric Property led the blue-chip fallers, declining 2.11% to 190.6p. Glencore dropped 1.97% to 587p and Croda International lost 1.96% to 3,397p, with all 3 trading ex-dividend.
Games Workshop, another ex-dividend company, fell 1.44% to 18,530p.
Prudential was the largest results-driven faller, declining 1.83% to 1,020.5p despite reporting a 9% increase in adjusted operating profit before tax to US$1.81 billion at constant exchange rates.
New business profit rose 8% to US$1.38 billion, while the interim dividend increased 15% to 8.88 US cents per share. Prudential also added around US$300 million to its existing US$1.2 billion share-buyback program.
Haleon dropped 1.31%, Admiral Group lost 1.16%, Unilever declined 1.04% and Rio Tinto eased 0.97%.
Computacenter moved sharply in the opposite direction, surging 4.51% to 5,450p as Nvidia’s better-than-expected results encouraged buying across artificial intelligence infrastructure-related shares.
Sage Group was the second-strongest blue-chip performer, advancing 1.83% to 1,082.5p - after falling in the previous ession. Polar Capital Technology Trust gained 1.32%, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust rose 0.82% and Halma added 0.72%.
The wider FTSE 350 fell 0.32% to 5,912.88 and the FTSE All-Share declined 0.31% to 5,848.38.
AIM was mixed. The AIM UK 50 gained 0.2% to 4,309.44, while the AIM 100 fell 0.12% to 3,805.52 and the AIM All-Share eased 0.07% to 814.34.
Gold rose 0.3% to around US$4,608 an ounce, while copper was little changed near US$6.60 per pound. Brent crude fell 1.2% to approximately US$86.75 a barrel and Bitcoin eased to around US$78,775.
7.15 am: FTSE 100 faces lower start despite Nvidia boost
The FTSE 100 is expected to open around 40 points, or 0.4%, lower at 10,837.72 on Thursday as stronger-than-expected US inflation increased concerns that interest rates could remain elevated.
London’s blue-chip index closed 8.04 points lower at 10,878.12 on Wednesday, bringing its six-session winning run to an end.
US personal consumption expenditure inflation remained at 3.7% in July, slightly above the 3.6% forecast, while the core reading held at 3.3%. The figures pushed the US 2-year Treasury yield towards 4.22% and strengthened expectations of another Federal Reserve rate increase before the end of the year.
Wall Street finished modestly lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 0.2%, the Nasdaq Composite falling 0.1% and the S&P 500 edging down.
Nvidia provided a positive counterweight after reporting quarterly revenue of $96.2 billion, an increase of 106% from a year earlier and ahead of market expectations.
The chipmaker’s shares jumped 4.7% in after-hours trading after management forecast continued strong artificial intelligence demand. The results supported semiconductor shares in Asia, particularly in South Korea and Taiwan.
Among London companies, Prudential will be closely watched after adjusted operating profit before tax increased 9% at constant exchange rates to $1.81 billion during the first half.
New business profit rose 8% to US$1.38 billion, while the insurer increased its interim dividend by 15% to 8.88 US cents per share. Prudential also added around US$300 million to its previously announced US$1.2 billion share buyback.
Asian markets were mixed. The Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng fell approximately 0.1% and 0.6%, respectively, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.6%. South Korea’s Kospi rose around 1.5% as Nvidia’s results lifted major chipmakers, while Australia’s ASX 200 dropped about 1%.
Gold traded around $4,610 an ounce, up approximately 0.3% and remaining close to a three-month high. Copper was little changed near $6.60 per pound, within sight of its August record of $6.83.
Brent crude remained lower at around $87.35 a barrel despite UK Maritime Trade Operations reporting that a tanker had been hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz. The resulting fire was extinguished and all crew members were accounted for.
Bitcoin was trading near US$78,800 after moving between approximately $77,660 and $79,140.
Attention later today will turn to US jobless claims, while Macfarlane Group and PPHE Hotel Group are among the UK companies scheduled to report.
