- FTSE 100 down 22points to 8,263
- Raspberry Pi eyes top end of IPO pricing
- Strong US job data hits rate cut hopes
4.02pm: FTSE to close out week lower
London's top stocks are set to close lower on Friday, reversing gains made on Wednesday and Thursday and pushing the FTSE 1000.15% lower week-on-week.
Today's drop was led by falls in Fresnillo, Intermediate Capital Group (LSE:ICP), Antofa*gasta and Prudential, with the miners suffering slight drops due to a sip in copper prices.
Risers were far and few between with Compass Group and Convatec the only two companies to rise above 1%.
The FTSE 100 had initially slipped lower at lunch when US jobs data came in strong, weakening chances of a September rate cut. However, the index was able to rebound back and is only 22points lower than at the start of the day at 8,263
Meanwhile in the US, Mike Lynch, the tech tycoon, wascleared of fraud chargesin the US related to the $11 billion sale of his software firm Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011.
3.43pm: Body Shop administrators search for buyer before July
Administrators of the Body Shop are hoping to agree ona sale for the embattled cosmetic retailer by the end of the month, despite not having had success as of yet.
FRP Advisory, the company'sadministrator, has asked for indicative bids by next Tuesday, reports by Sky News revealed.
Aurelius, the investment company which took control of the chain weeks before it called administrators, is believed to have dropped out of the running.
M&S, another tipped bidder, has also exited the auction battle, while rumours that Next would be interested have also begun to disperse.
Despite the drop in bidders, FRP is believed to be encouraged by the level of interest.
3.22pm:Britain missing 'open goal' in offshore wind farms
Britain will miss its target for power from offshore wind generation by eighteen years due to the slow pace of installation,according to a new report.
Union-backed think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said that a new state-owned installation vessel fleet is needed to ramp up offshore wind production capacity and help ease a “ chronic lack of manufacturing capacity for the sector".
In the next seven years, the UK must triple the amount of spending on offshore wind compared said the IPPR, addingBritain doesn't have any manufacturing facility in wind turbine nacelles or any major player specialising in wind towers.
IPPR argues that in less than five years the UK has to build at least one additional blade factory, two new nacelle and tower factories and two foundation factories.
2.52pm: US stocks open lower
Wall Street has opened lower after the prospects of a September rate cut were reduced by stronger-than-expected jobs data.
The S&P 500 dropped around 0.18%, or 52 points, while the Nasdaq dropped 0.25%, or 42 points.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones shifted 0.07% lower.
XTB research director Kathleen Brooks said the downturn in US stocks could continue ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting next week.
"European stocks have extended losses in the aftermath of the payrolls report, and US stock index futures have turned lower. The surge in US Treasury yields could hurt the outlook for US big tech firms, which tend to rise when Treasuries fall," she said ahead of the market opening.
She added that the chance of a September rate cut had now dropped from 60% to 50%.
In equities, GameStop was one of the largest movers falling back from premarket highs of around 30%, which were led by Roaring Kitty,to be down 5% following an earnings report which highlighted a slump in sales.
2.07pm: Issa brother sells Asda stake to TDR
Zuber Issa has agreed to his exit from Asda with the sale of a 22.5% stake to fellow owner TDR Capital.
It comes weeks after the move was first flagged, with Zuber looking to separate his business interests from his brother Moshin.
Asda will now be owned 67.5% by private equity group TDR, 22.5% byMohsin Issa, and 10% byWalmart, once the deal is completed.
No financial details were released, but Zuber Issa is also standing down from he and his brother’s EG Group after buying its forecourts and food outlets.
Zuber Issa said:“With the divestment of my Asda shares, I will now turn my attention towards leading and managing the remaining EG UK forecourt sites that I have personally acquired.”
1.37pm: Strong US jobs data dents rate cut hopes
US markets are set to open flaton Friday following jobs data coming in stronger than expected, indicating health in the jobs market and damaging hopes of a rate cut.
Non-farm payrolls came in at 272,000, up from last month's 165,000 and surpassing the market's consensus of 185,000.
Unemployment rates lifted by a single percentage point month-on-month to 4%, lifting ahead of estimates.
Signs of strength in the jobs market could hamper the US Federal Reserve's decision tocut rates in September, with the central bank also set to meet to decide borrowing rates next week.
The CME Fedwatch tool currently puts a 0% chance of a rate cut at Wednesday's meeting.
There are several reasons to hold rates steady, including low unemployment, inflation above the 2% target, continued economic growth, and to preserve impartiality ahead of the Presidential election, said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Henk Potts at Barclays Private Bank said that while unemployment rates will remain around 4% over the coming months, it will "still be low when compared to historical standards.”
The FTSE 100 dropped around 20 points following the news.
1.14pm: Lynch to campaign against US extradition treaty
Mike Lynch is planning on campaigning against the UK's current extradition rules with the US, six years after his battle with the justice system in the States began.
On Thursday evening,Lynch was on Thursdaycleared of fraud charges in the United States related to the $11 billion sale of his software firm Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011.
The tech entrepreneur said he will now work with the former Cabinet minister David Davis to push for changes to the UK and US treaty, which makes it much easier for Britsto be extradited to the States than Americansto be brought over to Britain.
Following Lynch's acquittal, he told Davis: "David, we’ve got work to do to put this extradition treaty right."
12.53pm: Pound on best run in over a year
Britain's pound is on track to undergo its longest rally in over a year ahead of key macro data in the US, which could provide insight into whether the Fed cuts rates next week.
Sterling lifted marginally on Friday compared to the dollar at around US$1.28 but is en route for a jump of 0.4% for the week, pushing it to its highest level since March.
Barring the pound plummeting this afternoon, it will mean the currency has risen for four consecutive weeks, which is its best run since March 2022.
Against the Euro it has remained slightly more subdued, keeping roughly flat a day after the European Central Bank decided to cut rates for the first time in nine years.
12.31pm: Raspberry Pi aims for top end of IPO pricing
Raspberry Pi, the DIY personal computer maker, is said to be eyeing the top end of its pricing range for its upcoming IPO on the London Stock Exchange, reports from Bloomberg revealed.
Shares are expected to be priced at 280p, suggesting Raspberry Pi will net £179 million from the IPO, the report indicated.
Raspberry Pi’s implied valuation is therefore estimated at £540 million. The IPO is also oversubscribed, suggesting its valuation could move higher when trading commences on 14 June.
The group's listing is being hyped as a shot in the arm for the London Stock Exchange, which has suffered from an exodus of companies moving abroad or being taken private.
2023 was one of the worst years for London IPOs on record, but with Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein reportedlypreparing to filefor its IPO, green shoots have started to emerge.
12.02pm: Ferries to Calais disrupted by strikes
Ferries crossing the Channel between Calais and Dover have been forced to deal with major disruption after workers at the French port took part in industrial action.
P&O Ferries, Irish Ferries, and DFDS have all cancelled, delayed or rerouted journeys due to the strikes, which have occurred due to a national dispute over pension reforms.
This morning, P&O warned customers that its check-in was currently suspended because of the disrupiton.
“Rest assured if you miss your booked departure, we will get you on the next available," a statement said.
Passengers have been told to use the toilet facilities before arriving at Calais' port and said to“plan for a wait on arrival”.
So far, Irish Ferries has had to cancel four of its sailings, while DFDS switched all its journeys to between Dover andDunkirk, the port being 30 miles east of Calais.
Shares in Carnival, the owner of P&O, slipped a little over 2% on Friday.
11.38am: UK faces £28 billion black hole, warns IFS
Britain could slip into a £28 billionblack hole should it experience weak economic growth in the near term, potentially causing havoc to whichever political party is elected, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned.
Both Sunak and Starmer have been urged to outlay plans for the country should it suffer a downturn in the economy, with concerns that public finances are teetering.
Conservatives and Labour remain in agreement that the government must attempt to reduce its debt pile within the next five years.
The IFS said the plans are based on the economy growing by 1.5% a year on average, a figure forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Yet, economists aren't as optimistic about the UK's prospects, withthe Bank of England expecting to see debt rising by a margin£28 billion between 2028 and 2029.
Isabel Stockton at the IFS labelled the target "frankly rather daft."
She added: “While forecasts might improve – we might get lucky – they might also get worse. Given that there must be at least a 50:50 chance of such a deterioration, it really is incumbent on the parties to tell us how they would respond.”
11.07am: Redcentric slips as takeover talks end
Over in the AIM market, IT group Redcentric tumbled close to 4% after it was revealed that Italian cloud computing and cybersecurity group Wiit would not be making a takeover offer.
Back in May, Wiit said it was speaking with Redcentric overall a deal to to acquire the company.
Redcentric has worked with investment bank Lazard to help search for potential buyers for the £220 million company.
Shares in the IT firm are up more than 10% in 2024 despite today's drop.
10.46am: Baby Reindeer's 'Martha' sues Netflix
Netflix shares have remained unfazed following reports that 'Martha' from the hit show Baby Reindeerhas hit the streaming service with a £133 million lawsuit
Fiona Harveyfiled the lawsuit againstNetflix Inc, alleging defamation and other claims related to the portrayal of a character inspired by her in the hit drama series.
The lawsuit, filed in California, accuses Netflix of intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and violations of her right of publicity.
'Baby Reindeer',created by and starring Richard Gadd, depicts Gadd's alleged experiences with a stalker.
Harvey, who publicly identified herself as the series' inspiration, denies stalking Gadd or sending him numerous emails and messages.
10.13am: World food prices edge higher; remain down against 2023
World food prices rosefor the third consecutive month in May as the cost of cerealand dairy products surged, wiping out any benefits from drops in sugar and vegetable oil prices.
Overall, food commodity prices lifted by 0.9% month-on-month in May, the FAO Food Price Index revealed.
Nevertheless, prices remain 3.4% down year-on-year and close to 25% behind peaks suffered in March 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Cereal prices were pushed higher by "concerns about unfavourable crop conditions for the 2024 harvests" and "damage to the Black Sea shipping infrastructure".
Diary saw its prices increase following a surge in demand in the retail and food service sector ahead of the summer holiday.
Meanwhile, sugar prices eased due to good weather and a positive start to harvest season, while vegetable oils were helped by an increase in production in Southeast Asia.
9.52am: Does Spoons buy nearly out-of-date beer?
Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin has quashed rumours that the budget pub chain buys nearly out-of-date beers to keep prices low.
"I've never hung outside the brewery gate waiting for it to go out of date. It would be impossible," he told the Sun reporters.
Instead, he said buying in bulk helped the company keep prices low.
"There's no real secret, we sell a lot of beer."
Deciding today would be a good day to clear up some myths surrounding the company, he revealed the true reason behind the name, dispelling rumours it was named after a teacher at school who told him he'd never make it.
Martin said: "This is a story that got twisted and a bit out of hand. I named it after Mr Wetherspoon, who was a very nice man, but couldn't control his class because at the time I couldn't control my punters."
9.34am: Bulmers maker's shares tumble as boss departs
Shares in the maker of cider brands Magners and Bulmers have plummeted over 8% after it confirmed chief executive Patrick McMahon would be stepping down.
It comes after a string of accounting errors by theFTSE 250 firm came to light, leading to it sufferingcharges of €17 million reflecting €5 million for the accounting errors and €12million for other onerous contracts.
saidMcMahon acknowledged the shortcomings had occurred at a time when he had overall responsibility for the group’s finance function and the board accepted his resignationwith immediate effect.
Chairman Ralph Findlay will take over as Interimchief executive for 12-18 months until a long-term replacement is appointed.
Separately, C&C said revenues in the year to end February 2024 dropped slightly to €1.65 billion while it posted a loss of €111 million after a €150 million goodwill impairment.
9.11am: Labour backs 95% mortgages
Labour will continue a Conservative scheme allowing first-time buyers to access low-deposit mortgages if it wins the election.
Back in 2021, when Rishi Sunak was Chancellor, he and his party introduced the mortgage guarantee scheme, a programme which allows lenders to front 95% of the initial cost of the house.
Jeremy Hunt, the current Chancellor, extended the scheme until July next year, aiming to help new buyers with the chance of getting onto the property ladder despite being in a high-interest rate environment.
Kier Starmer, the Labour leader, said he hoped to "turn the dream of owning a home into a reality".
As part of the scheme, the government acts as the guarantor for part of the mortgage, making it more desirable for lenders to offer low-deposit deals
Labour said it hopes to have some 80,000 new homeowners within the next five years.
8.52am: The morning so far
Despite futures contracts espousing pre-market confidence, the FTSE 100 took a bearish turn in the opening hour of Friday’s trading session.
The blue-chip index is currently down 17points to 8,267.
There are few company stories to move the dial, barring a fairlyoptimistic trading update from FTSE 250-listed housebuilder Bellway PLC (LSE:BWY).
Matching prior guidance, Bellway said it is on track to deliver around 7,500 homes this year with an average selling price of around £305,000, up from the previous guidance of £295,000.
Bellway shares were up 1.7%, making it a stronger mover than any of the FTSE 100 set.
Top FTSE 100 movers for the morning include ConvaTec Group PLC (LSE:CTEC), Entail plc, Whitbread PLC (LSE:WTB) and National Grid PLC (LSE:NG.).
On the housing note, the Halifax House Price Index rose 1.5% year over year in May, up from 1.1% in April and exceeding the 1.2% gain expected by analysts.
It marks the sixth consecutive rise in the index for six months. The average UK house price now stands at £288,688.
Month-on-month statistics were less bullish though, having decreased 0.1%, effectively stripping away the 0.1% gain in April.
Elsewhere in the news cycle, British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch was cleared of fraud charges in the US related to the $11 billion sale of his software firm Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011.
He faced over 20 years in prison if convicted.
8.40am: Bitcoin recovers
Bitcoin (BTC) is up around half a percentage point today, thus fully recouping yesterday’s losses.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency is currently swapping for $71,163 (£55,622), as the bulls continue reaching for the $73,800 all-time high achieved in March.
On a week-on-week basis, the BTC/USD pair is up more than 4%, buoyed by solid inflows into the exchange-traded fund market.
Back to stocks, the FTSE 100 blue-chip index has taken a 17-point dive to 8,267.
8.24am: FTSE 100 sheds a few
The blue-chip index dipped seven points in opening exchanges, despite pre-market expectations of an incremental gain.
Few blue chips are managing to move the needle, with Entain, British Airways owner IAG, Barratt and DS Smith among the top movers, all adding less than 2%.
8.19am: Germany’s industrial production disappoints
On the continent, German industrial production disappointed again in April by dropping another 0.1% month on month after falling 0.4% in March.
Industrial production was down by 3.9% on a yearly basis, driven by intermediate goods (which are used in the production of final goods) and a weak construction sector.
Meanwhile, output rose for capital goods and consumer goods by 0.8% each, while the automotive industry grew by 4.2%.
“Germany’s well-known structural weaknesses will not disappear overnight and will limit the pace of any rebound,” said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING.
“Looking ahead, the German economy should still gain more momentum,” Brzeski added.
“Strong wage growth should fuel a cautious recovery in private consumption, and even the inventory cycle should gradually start to turn positive.
“However, this turning of the inventory cycle has not yet happened. In fact, yesterday’s drop in new orders as well as still high inventories show that any rebound in industrial activity will remain muted.”
8.07am: Lynch cleared of fraud
British tech tycoon Mike Lynch was on Thursday cleared of fraud charges in the United States related to the $11 billion sale of his software firm Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011.
A San Francisco jury found Lynch not guilty on all counts, delivering a significant victory for the businessman, who had denied inflating Autonomy's value.
Lynch faced over 20 years in prison if convicted.
He testified that he focused on technology rather than accounting and distanced himself from other executives, including the former chief financial officer, who was convicted of fraud in 2018.
Lynch co-founded Autonomy in 1996, which became a leading UK tech company, known for software that extracted data from unstructured sources.
Despite the initial success, HP wrote down Autonomy's value by $8.8 billion a year after the acquisition, leading to prolonged legal battles.
7.51am: Bellway predicts temporary trading impact as election approaches
Bellway PLC (LSE:BWY) reported stronger trading through the spring selling season, with improved affordability leading to higher reservation rates compared to the first half of the financial year.
Matching prior guidance, Bellway is on track to deliver around 7,500 homes this year with an average selling price of around £305,000, up from the previous guidance of £295,000.
“Bellway remains in a strong position to return to growth in financial year 2025,” said chief executive Jason Honeyman.
“The group's robust balance sheet and operational strength will enable Bellway to successfully capitalise on future growth opportunities."
However, the company said it is anticipating a “temporary impact to trading” in the run-up to the 4 July election.
“Notwithstanding this, the outlook is improving and there is cross-party political support for increasing the supply of housing across the country,” said Bellway.
“The long-term housing market fundamentals remain positive, and we are hopeful these will be bolstered by greater clarity over planning and housing policy beyond the upcoming general election.
A full-year trading update is due on 9 August.
7.30am: House prices increase
The Halifax House Price Index rose 1.5% year over year in May, up from 1.1% in April and exceeding the 1.2% gain expected by analysts.
It marks the sixth consecutive rise in the index for six months. The average UK house price now stands at £288,688.
Month-on-month statistics were less bullish though, having decreased 0.1%, effectively stripping away the 0.1% gain in April.
Credit: Halifax
Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said: "A period of relative stability in both house prices and interest rates should give a degree of confidence to both buyers and sellers.
"While homebuyers and those remortgaging will continue to respond to changes in borrowing costs, set against a backdrop of a limited supply of available properties, the market is unlikely to see huge fluctuations in the near term."
7.16am: Stocks to open higher
The FTSE 100 will open 12 points higher at 8,301 this Friday, according to futures contracts for the blue-chip index.
On the earnings front, attention turns to housebuilder Bellway PLC (LSE:BWY), which is scheduled to release a trading update.
In its most recent comments, the group said it still expected to deliver previous guidance for around 7,500 homes, down from 10,945 last year, at an average selling price of £295,000.
Sticking with the housing sector, the Halifax House Price Index increased 1.5% year on year in May, today’s print shows.
This is up from 1.1% in April and better than the 1.2% forecast.
