Fuller Smith & Turner Share News (FSTA)

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were mixed at midday on Wednesday, as the FTSE 100 lost early momentum after touching fresh record highs in morning trade.

The FTSE 100 index was down 14.77 points, 0.2%, at 9,884.83. The FTSE 250 was up 25.59 points, 0.1%, at 22,175.78, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.10 points, 0.1%, at 760.34.

The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.2% at 986.46, the Cboe UK 250 was marginally down at 19,160.95, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 17,938.61.

"The FTSE 100 continued to tick towards the 10,000 mark as it eked out some modest gains to trade at fresh all-time highs on Wednesday," said AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

However, after hitting an intraday record, the 10,000 milestone slipped from view as the FTSE 100 gave up early gains to stand broadly unchanged on Tuesday's record close of 9,896.14.

The muted performance contrasted with strong trading on the continent.

In European equities, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt were both up 1.1%.

"European markets are following their Asian counterparts higher," said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Rostro. "For the FTSE, banks, defence, and mining stocks have performed particularly well, as the index continues to benefit from the key investment themes that have dominated 2025 so far."

By late morning, however, the FTSE 100 had turned negative as weakness in energy and consumer-facing stocks dragged sentiment.

Oil majors Shell and BP were down 0.4% and 0.9% respectively.

Sterling also fell to a session low against the dollar.

The pound was quoted at USD1.3124 at midday in London, down from USD1.3173 late Tuesday. The euro stood at USD1.1572, lower compared to USD1.1594. Against the yen, the dollar traded at JPY154.85, higher versus JPY154.02.

In New York, stocks were called higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was seen up 0.2%, the S&P 500 up 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.6%.

Chevron shares were little changed, down just 0.2% in premarket trading in New York, after the company outlined a trimmed spending plan and increased cost-saving targets in its new five-year strategy to 2030.

Ahead of its 2025 investor day, the Houston-based oil and gas firm cut annual capital expenditure guidance by USD1 billion to between USD18 billion and USD21 billion through to 2030.

"This capital program supports our forecasted growth in earnings and cash flow and is balanced between short and long-cycle projects across diversified asset classes and geographies," said Chief Financial Officer Eimear Bonner.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.09%, narrowing from 4.12%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.70%, narrowing from 4.71%.

Efforts to end the longest US government shutdown in history were heading toward a final vote Wednesday, as President Donald Trump claimed victory in the political standoff while Democrats faced divisions over the compromise deal.

The House of Representatives was expected to vote on a spending bill to end the six-week impasse after eight Democrats joined Republicans in the Senate on Monday to pass the agreement. The House Rules Committee said early Wednesday it had approved the measure by eight votes to four.

Back in London, Experian was the biggest FTSE 100 faller, down 4.1%, despite raising its guidance for financial 2026 revenue growth and margins.

The credit data firm said "AI-driven automation and personalisation" were transforming its client relationships and internal processes.

Pretax profit for the six months to September 30 rose 36% to USD975 million from USD718 million a year earlier, while revenue climbed 12% to USD4.07 billion from USD3.63 billion.

Benchmark earnings before interest and tax increased 14% to USD1.15 billion, with the margin improving by 50 basis points at constant currency.

Chief Executive Officer Brian Cassin said Experian delivered "strong growth in revenue, earnings and cash flow" and remains on track with its AI-led transformation.

"We have enhanced our product platforms, deepened consumer relationships and transformed customer experiences and internal processes through AI-driven automation and personalisation," he said.

Hiscox lost 1.9% after Jefferies downgraded the insurer to 'underperform' from 'buy', cutting its price target to 1,068p from 1,500p.

"Hiscox Retail is pitched as an attractive earnings diversifier against Specialty insurance – but this is not clear to us when studying the weaker [return on equity] to peers," said Jefferies analyst Derald Goh.

Volex jumped 12% after unveiling a management reshuffle alongside strong interim profit and sales growth.

The power and data cable manufacturer named Dave Webster as non-executive chair, while Executive Chair Nat Rothschild moved into the chief executive role. Jefferies also raised its price target on the stock to 470p from 430p, maintaining a 'buy' rating.

Fuller, Smith & Turner rose 2.1% after reporting a 28% increase in adjusted pretax profit to GBP22.5 million in the six months to September 27, up from GBP17.6 million.

The London-based hospitality firm said revenue climbed 6.9% to GBP207.5 million, driven by robust performance in its managed pubs and hotels division, which it said continues to outperform the UK market.

Brent oil was quoted at USD64.53 a barrel at midday in London, down from USD65.19 late Tuesday. Gold was trading at USD4,127.20 an ounce, compared to USD4,108.75.

By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter

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