Last checked at 
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were mostly lower at midday on Wednesday, with the domestically focused FTSE 250 deep in the red following a hotter-than-expected inflation reading for the UK.
The FTSE 100 index was up just 1.39 points at 7,370.83, propped up by strong earnings from Sage and Experian.
The FTSE 250 was down 321.96 points, or 1.7%, at 19,133.92, and the AIM All-Share was down 5.77 points, 0.7%, at 842.69.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 736.47. The Cboe UK 250 was down 1.8% at 16,480.59. The Cboe Small Companies was down 0.1% at 12,929.11.
Annual inflation in the UK reached a never-before-seen high last month, data from the Office for National Statistics showed.
The consumer price index rose 11.1% in October from a year before, and up from 10.1% in September.
This was the highest annual CPI rate in the current National Statistic series, which began in January 1997, and came in higher than the anticipated, FXStreet-cited consensus of 10.7%.
"These numbers will exacerbate concerns over the growth prospects of the British economy, with a perfect storm of rising prices, higher interest rates and fiscal austerity looming on the horizon. Such a scenario will no doubt impact the sentiment of investors, reducing the appeal of pound denominated assets," commented Ricardo Evangelist at ActivTrades.
"With further bad news likely to arrive on Thursday, when the chancellor of the Exchequer is expected to announce a number of fiscally restrictive measures, there may be scope for more sterling weakness," he added.
The UK government is widely expected to announce billion of pounds worth of spending cuts and tax rises on Thursday.
The pound was quoted at USD1.894 on Wednesday afternoon in London, up a touch from USD1.1891 late Tuesday.
In London, Sage was the best performer in the FTSE 100 at midday, up 5.9% after it reported strong annual revenue growth, lifted its total payout, and guided "strong momentum" moving forward.
In the financial year that ended September 30, Sage posted a pretax profit of GBP337 million, down 2.9% from GBP347 million the previous year.
Revenue, however, rose 5.4% to GBP1.95 billion from GBP1.85 billion, underpinned by its Sage Business Cloud arm, which reported 24% revenue growth on an organic recurring basis.
Looking ahead, Sage said it entered its new financial year with "strong momentum" and said it expects organic recurring revenue growth to be ahead of last year thanks to the strength of Sage Business Cloud.
Experian was up 1.9%. The credit checking firm said it delivered good organic revenue growth across its three largest regions, posting revenue totalling GBP3.35 billion in the six months ended September 30.
Pretax profit, however, fell 21% to USD517 million from USD654 million, as operating profit reduced to USD513 million from USD702 million a year earlier.
This is predominately due to a non-cash charge of USD152 million for goodwill impairment, "driven by increased discount rates and macro-economic weakness in our European markets", Experian explained.
In the FTSE 250, CMC Markets plunged 10%. The London-based financial trading platform said half-year profit modestly increased amid an acceleration in its foreign exchange and commodities activity, alongside normal index flow operations.
Chief Executive Peter Cruddas said CMC is on track to deliver on its three-year expansion initiatives, aimed at driving higher revenue.
Kainos rose 6.9%. Berenberg raised the Belfast-based provider of digital services to the public sector to 'buy' from 'hold', with a price target of 1,700 pence.
On AIM, Harland & Wolff leapt 91% after it was awarded preferred bidder status on the GBP1.6 billion Fleet Solid Support contract, as part of a collaboration with BMT and Navantia.
The collaboration, named Team Resolute, will build three new Fleet Solid Support ships for the Royal Navy.
Stocks on the European continent were in the red. The CAC 40 index in Paris was down 0.5%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.9% lower in the early afternoon.
The euro traded at USD1.0417 midday on Wednesday, up from USD1.0385 late Tuesday.
Stocks in New York were called marginally lower on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called flat, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both were called down 0.1%.
Upward pressure on US producer prices eased in October, figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed on Tuesday, with inflation coming in below market expectations.
The producer price index for final demand rose by 0.2% in October from September, the same monthly rise as seen in September. In August, PPI had been flat on the month before.
On Wednesday, the US will publish retail sales data at 1330 GMT.
Chris Turner at ING said the economic indicator is "second tier" but "might prove a weak dollar positive" if retail sales were to emerge on the strong side.
Gold was priced at USD1,782.75 an ounce midday Wednesday, up sharply from USD1,770.82 late Tuesday. Brent oil fetched USD93.97 a barrel, up from USD93.03. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY139.47, up from JPY139.16 on Tuesday.
By Heather Rydings; heatherrydings@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
