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London equities found modest gains on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to earnings from Nvidia and digested UK inflation data which could pave the way for a December Bank of England rate cut.
The FTSE 100 index edged up 11.92 points, 0.1%, to 9,564.22. The FTSE 250 was up 28.59 points, 0.1%, at 21,453.40, and the AIM All-Share was 6.64 points higher, 0.9%, at 741.11.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 955.40, the Cboe UK 250 was also 0.3% higher at 18,549.22, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.4% at 17,497.14.
The CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.1% and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt added 0.2%.
‘Sentiment remained fragile amid renewed concerns over tech valuations and Fed monetary policy uncertainty, with investors positioning cautiously ahead of several key catalysts,’ Naga analyst Frank Walbaum commented.
‘The focus could remain on Nvidia’s earnings report, due after the US close, which is expected to act as a barometer for the broader AI outlook. Strong results could help stabilise markets after a wave of selling, while a miss may exacerbate recent losses and deepen investor concerns around growth expectations. Adding to the cautious tone, markets are eyeing Wednesday’s FOMC minutes and Thursday’s non-farm payrolls report for clues on the Fed’s next steps. Jobless claims have recently ticked higher, and a weaker-than-expected NFP could reinforce rate-cut expectations for early 2026. Conversely, a strong print may add pressure on equities in the near term.’
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury was steady at 4.12% early Wednesday afternoon, where it stood at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. The 30-year yield widened to 4.75% from 4.74%.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is called up 0.2%, the S&P 500 up 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite 0.5% higher.
Nvidia shares were 0.7% higher in pre-market dealings. Nvidia shares are up 23% over the past 12 months, a stretch which has seen it top both the $4 trillion and $5 trillion market capitalisation thresholds, the first firm to achieve these accolades. Shares have fallen 10% so far in November, however, pushing its market value back below $5 trillion to $4.41 trillion currently.
The euro climbed to $1.1581 midday Wednesday from $1.1576 at the London equities close on Tuesday, while against the yen, the buck rose to JP¥156.18 from JP¥155.44. The dollar traded around its best level since January against the yen.
Sterling fell to $1.3116 midday Wednesday, from $1.3141 late Tuesday. It traded as low as $1.3100 on Wednesday.
Ebury analyst Matthew Ryan commented: ‘This morning’s October inflation report suggested that price pressures did indeed peak in September, as the Bank of England had predicted. The main inflation rate fell (as expected) to 3.6% last month, from 3.8%, while the core number also dropped to 3.4%. This should support bets in favour of a December rate cut, which remains around 80% priced in by swap markets. October retail sales and the November PMIs (both on Friday) are expected to come in consistent with the growth slowdown narrative.
‘A December cut could be practically baked in even before Chancellor [Rachel] Reeves arrives at the dispatch box,’ Ryan added, referring to next week’s UK government budget.
A barrel of Brent rose to $63.98 early Wednesday, from $64.10 late Tuesday afternoon in London. Gold rose to $4,113.12 an ounce from $4,060.07.
Fresnillo was the best large-cap performer, rising 6.8%. The gold miner was boosted by the higher bullion price.
Sage rose 3.9%. It raised its dividend after ‘significant’ margin expansion helped drive a marked improvement in profit, with North America a strong performer.
The Newcastle upon Tyne, England-based accountancy software provider said pretax profit rose 14% to £484 million in the financial year that ended September 30 from £426 million the year prior.
Revenue increased 7.8% to £2.51 billion from £2.33 billion, or by 9% on an organic basis.
Sage declared a final dividend of 14.4p, increasing the full-year payout by 6.8% to 21.85p from 20.45p a year ago, in line with ‘our progressive policy.’
In addition, Sage announced a £300 million share buyback, saying this reflects its strong cash generation, robust financial position, and the board’s confidence in Sage’s future prospects.
WH Smith added 4.9%, recovering from an earlier share price fall. It said Chief Executive Carl Cowling has resigned after a probe found ‘shortcomings’ in accounting treatments in the firm’s North American division.
On Wednesday, WH Smith said a Deloitte review found the accounting treatment for supplier income adopted by the North America division was not consistent with the group’s accounting policy and not consistent with the requirements of the relevant accounting standards.
Deloitte blamed a ‘target-driven performance culture’ and ‘decentralised divisional structure combined with a limited level of group oversight of the finance processes in North America’ for the issues.
AJ Bell analyst Dan Coatsworth commented: ‘Finding a new CEO won’t be easy, given they’ll need to rebuild credibility with the market the moment they walk through the door, rather than simply focusing on corporate strategy.’
Beauty Tech shares jumped 9.9% as the stock market newbie’s trading statement impressed.
It is trading ‘ahead of expectations’ and the at-home beauty products firm now expects revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for 2025 ahead of current market expectations of £117.0 million and £29.7 million.
Beauty Tech predicts revenue of at least £128.0 million and an adjusted Ebitda of no less than £32.0 million.
Berenberg analysts commented: ‘Upgrading within a short period post-IPO sets a very positive tone, in our view, especially considering the subdued wider retail sector sales.’
Jet2 shares rose 2.8% as it reported slightly higher profit in the first half of its financial year, operator improved its dividend and started a new share buyback worth £100 million.
Pretax profit was £800.3 million in the six months that ended September 30, up 1.1% from £791.4 million a year before, as revenue rose by 4.9% to £5.34 billion from £5.09 billion. Operating profit was up 2.0% to £715.2 million from £701.5 million.
It represented ‘another record performance in terms of passenger numbers, revenue and profitability’.
‘We experienced robust demand for our flight-only product with flown passengers rising by 16% to 4.77 million,’ Jet2 said.
It was also a period which saw ‘brand awareness’ enhanced, the AIM listing said.
‘Our popular and instantly recognisable Jet2holidays advertisement generated significant social media prominence over the summer following a viral internet trend. Our tagline - Nothing beats a Jet2holiday - reached over 80 billion global views across 11.8 million social media posts with ’Hold my Hand’ named the global song of the summer 2025 by TikTok. This unprecedented activity has resulted in increased marketing reach and widened our brand awareness amongst younger demographics,’ Jet2 hailed.
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