London midday: Stocks flat ahead of US inflation reading
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Wednesday 12 Feb 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still flat by midday on Wednesday ahead of the latest US inflation reading.
The FTSE 100 was steady at 8,780.40.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "US inflation figures are the big event of the day for investors as they could provide insight into what the Federal Reserve does next with interest rates.
"Fed chair Jerome Powell will also continue his testimony before Congress, but don't expect him to react to the latest inflation figures. He'll probably stick to the script and say that the central bank will keep a close eye on events, particularly as the inflationary impact of Trump's policies are still an unknown entity."
The US consumer price index for January is due at 1330 GMT.
In equity markets, housebuilder Barratt Redrow surged to the top of the FTSE 100 after saying full-year earnings were set to be at the upper end of expectations following a jump in interim profits.
The company posted pre-tax profit of £117.2m, up 23% and lifted its dividend by a quarter to 5.5p a share.
Consensus estimates are for 2025 adjusted pre-tax profit of £542m, with a range of £506m to £588m.
Indivior gained even as it said the US Food and Drug Administration has delayed its final review of proposed label changes for Sublocade, which include a rapid initiation protocol and alternative injection sites.
The company said the regulator had accepted the proposed label and identified no outstanding issues, but did not provide a new timeline for approval.
TBC Bank rallied as it reported record revenues and a big jump in profits in the fourth quarter, with the UK-listed Georgian bank confident of hitting its strategic targets for 2025.
Close Brothers reversed earlier losses to trade a touch higher, as the merchant bank group said it has put aside £165m to cover costs associated with the mis-selling of motor finance, following last year's Court of Appeal judgment.
The provision, which includes estimates for operational and legal costs, as well as the potential remediation for affected customers, will reduce the company's CET1 capital ratio to 12.0% from 13.5% on 31 December. Close Brothers said the hit would be recognised in its second-half results.
However, Close Brothers said that recent actions to improve its capital position will mitigate the impact.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,780.40 0.03%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,024.67 0.50%
techMARK (TASX) 4,748.72 0.17%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 459.80p 5.22%
Prudential (PRU) 714.80p 4.72%
Croda International (CRDA) 3,144.00p 3.08%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 596.50p 2.32%
British Land Company (BLND) 372.80p 2.14%
easyJet (EZJ) 519.60p 2.04%
Kingfisher (KGF) 251.40p 1.99%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 87.38p 1.96%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 21,750.00p 1.92%
Entain (ENT) 670.60p 1.61%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,128.00p -1.61%
Glencore (GLEN) 344.90p -1.36%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 14,470.00p -1.30%
Centrica (CNA) 138.25p -1.25%
GSK (GSK) 1,426.00p -1.21%
BP (BP.) 457.15p -1.10%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,784.00p -0.81%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 4,277.00p -0.74%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,099.00p -0.72%
Shell (SHEL) 2,680.00p -0.72%
FTSE 250 - Risers
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 4,125.00p 11.64%
Indivior (INDV) 829.00p 8.37%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 366.00p 6.24%
Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 5,260.00p 5.62%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,594.00p 3.84%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 225.50p 3.68%
Genus (GNS) 1,860.00p 2.88%
Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited (BSIF) 84.20p 2.56%
Vistry Group (VTY) 612.50p 2.42%
Foresight Solar Fund Limited (FSFL) 77.60p 2.37%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 135.00p -2.53%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 320.50p -2.14%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 700.50p -2.10%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,952.00p -1.41%
Henderson Smaller Companies Inv Trust (HSL) 802.00p -1.35%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 694.50p -1.28%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 456.40p -1.13%
Renewi (RWI) 792.00p -1.12%
North Atlantic Smaller Companies Inv Trust (NAS) 3,660.00p -1.08%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 551.50p -1.08%
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