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(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 traded lower around midday, as gains in sterling kept a lid on some dollar earners offsetting strong gains in miners.
The FTSE 100 index traded down 17.80 points, 0.2%, at 8,747.10. The FTSE 250 was up 65.80 points, 0.3%, at 20,981.66, and the AIM All-Share climbed 2.18 points, 0.3%, at 725.38.
The Cboe UK 100 was flat at 877.76, the Cboe UK 250 firmed 0.3% to 18,337.27 and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.3% at 16,162.04.
NatWest led the blue-chip fallers, down 3.2%, despite better-than-expected 2024 results as forward guidance wasn't viewed strong enough to warrant upgrades.
Andrew Coombs, banking analyst at Citi said: "Similar to Barclays yesterday, the new 2026 guidance is broadly in-line with guidance, but again seems to be based on conservative assumptions. This suggests limited consensus EPS upgrades today."
The Edinburgh-based lender said total income in 2024 fell 0.3% to GBP14.70 billion in 2024 from GBP14.75 billion. Operating pretax profit, however, rose 0.3% to GBP6.20 billion from GBP6.18 billion. Total income topped consensus of GBP14.59 billion, and pretax profit beat consensus of GBP6.07 billion. Net interest income alone rose 2.0% to GBP11.28 billion in 2024 from GBP11.05 billion in 2023.
Chief Executive Paul Thwaite said the results exceeded upgraded guidance.
He also welcomed an "accelerated reduction in the government's shareholding."
A separate filing showed the UK government's stake in NatWest has fallen below 7% as of Thursday, from just under 8% previously.
Looking to 2025, NatWest expects a return on tangible equity in the range of 15% to 16%, compared to the 15.7% consensus. In 2024, it delivered a RoTE of 17.5%.
Income excluding notable items to be in the range of GBP15.2-15.7 billion is expected, compared to the GBP15.5 billion market consensus.
HSBC fell 0.7% the Financial Times reported the bank will announce cost cuts worth USD1.5 billion alongside 2024 results next Wednesday.
AJ Bell's Russ Mould noted: "Reducing staff numbers typically yields a positive reaction from the market as the business is saving money, yet investors might fear HSBC isn’t going hard enough with trimming its bloated headcount."
In European equities the picture was mixed. The CAC 40 in Paris climbed 0.4%, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 eased 0.2%, consolidating gains after its recent record breaking run.
The eurozone unexpectedly eked out some growth in the fourth quarter of last year, data published by Eurostat showed.
The seasonally adjusted gross domestic product climbed 0.1% on-quarter, slowed from 0.4% in the third quarter, but higher than the preliminary no-change flash estimate Eurostat had published on January 30.
On-year, GDP grew by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, unchanged from the flash estimate and the same pace as in the third quarter.
Investors were also weighing latest tariff moves by Donald Trump. The US president has asked government officials to investigate applying reciprocal tariffs, where a country matches the tariffs imposed by another country. The ministers have until April 1 to submit their reports.
White House officials and Trump warned that trading partners Brazil, India, Japan, Canada and the EU were at risk of being hit by extra tariffs.
Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management said: "The market read it as a classic Trump move: an opening gambit to extract concessions, much like his previous playbook with Mexico and Canada, rather than an outright commitment to a full-scale tariff war."
But analysts at Barclays cautioned: "While global financial markets may be inclined to take some relief from the delay . . . it is not clear to us whether the delay necessarily reflects a lower likelihood that they will eventually be imposed."
Nonetheless the delay put the dollar on the back foot. Against the dollar, the pound rose to USD1.2586 midday Friday, from USD1.2535 at the time of the London equities close on Thursday. The euro rose to USD1.0467 from USD1.0439. Against the yen, the greenback faded to JPY152.64 from JPY152.97.
In the US, markets are seen opening lower. The DJIA is called down 0.3%, the S&P 500 0.1% lower, as is the Nasdaq Composite.
On London's FTSE 100, the rise in sterling saw some exporters and dollar earners fall back. Spirits group Diageo eased 1.7%, Marmite owner Unilever fell 1.0% and drugs maker AstraZeneca declined 1.1%.
But the perceived tariff delay boosted metals prices, supporting mining stocks.
Antofagasta rose 2.9%, Glencore climbed 2.7% as did Fresnillo.
Betting operator Entain, up 6.3%, took top spot.
A barrel of Brent firmed slightly to USD75.18 early Friday afternoon from USD75.10 late Thursday. Gold advanced to USD2,932.16 an ounce from USD2,917.47.
Elsewhere in London, shares in John Wood tanked 33% after it announced plans for further cost cuts, and a possible refinancing, as it battles weaker than expected trading and legacy issues.
Chief Executive Ken Gilmartin said: "This is a difficult announcement amid our transformation. While we have made progress, I am disappointed in our financial performance. Consequently, we are taking decisive actions to ensure we can meet the opportunities we have in growing markets, principally energy."
Last August, Dar Al-Handasah Consultants Shair & Partners Holdings Ltd decided not to bid for John Wood after making multiple approaches. The final tilt, priced around 230p per share, valued John Wood at GBP1.58 million, compared to just GBP302 million Friday.
John Wood is targeting a further around USD85 million of annualised savings from 2026 onwards, with around USD60 million benefit in 2025.
This is in addition to the USD60 million of savings already planned for 2025. These are "on track", the firm said.
John Wood now expects negative free cash flow of USD150 million to USD200 million in 2025.
Enjoying better fortunes, XPS Pensions leapt 10% as it said expects full-year results to be "materially ahead of expectations" after a strong finish to the year.
The Reading, England-based pensions consulting and administration firm said it expects revenue in the 12 months to the end of March 2025 to be in the range of GBP226 million to GBP229 million, representing growth of at least 15% from GBP196.6 million in the previous year.
The company said strong performance had been driven by high demand due to regulatory change, new clients and the inflation-linkage of contracts.
Still to come on Friday, US retail sales figures at 1330 GMT and US industrial production data at 1415 GMT.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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