London close: FTSE falls as defence firms slump; all eyes on Nvidia
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Wednesday 19 Nov 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks ended a mostly flat session in the red on Wednesday as defence names took a tumble, with all eyes on key quarterly results from US chipmaker and AI bellwether Nvidia, while the latest UK inflation data added weight to expectations the Bank of England may cut rates next month.
The FTSE 100 ended down 0.5% at 9,507.41.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "It's Nvidia's world really, we all just live in it. US stocks dominate the fate of global markets, and as the largest single listed entity in the world, Nvidia's earnings are an event marked on the calendar of every investor. Tonight's earnings are unlikely to settle the question of whether we are in an AI bubble, but they might provide fuel for a continuation of the tentative bounce seen in stock markets today."
On home shores, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the rate of inflation slowed slightly last month.
The consumer prices index rose by 3.6%, down from 3.8% in September.
Core inflation, which strips out more volatile energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices, rose by 3.4%, down from 3.5% and in line with expectations.
The BoE has cut rates just three times this year, to 4%, despite sluggish economic growth, as it battles persistently sticky inflation.
CPI remains well above the BoE's long-term target of 2%. However, the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee had expected it to reach 4% before falling back.
It also signalled at November's meeting that more cuts would be on the cards if inflationary pressures continued to ease.
Services inflation fell to 4.5% from 4.7% in October.
However, food and non-alcoholic drink prices picked back up. They rose 4.9% in October, up from 4.5% a month previously.
Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the ONS, said: "Inflation eased in October, driven mainly by gas and electricity prices, which increased less than this time last year following changes in the Ofgem price cap.
"The costs of hotels was also a downward driver.
"These were only partially offset by rising food prices, following the dip seen in September.
"The annual cost of raw materials for businesses continue to increase while factory gate prices also rose."
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "Today's report could give the Bank of England more ammunition to cut interest rates next month, although we still think that the decision will be on a knife edge, and we do not expect interest rate futures prices to change too dramatically on the back of this report.
"There is already an 80% chance of a cut priced into markets, and with notable hawks seemingly not willing to change their stance at this stage, even with the recent declines in prices, we think that an 80% chance of a cut is probably the peak for the interest rate futures market. Added to this, there is another labour market report and inflation print due before the December BOE meeting, which may shift the dial for rates."
In equity markets, defence firms BAE Systems and Babcock were the worst performers on the index after Politico reported that the White House was set to unveil a major new peace agreement with Russia that will bring war with Ukraine to an end.
Severn Trent fell as it announced that chief executive Liv Garfield was stepping down at the end of the year, and will be replaced by James Jesic, its capital and commercial services director and the managing director of its Welsh division. The news came as the company delivered a 57% increase in pre-tax profits in the first half, as revenues rose 18%.
Workspace was in the red after saying it swung to a loss in the first half.
Lloyds Banking Group lost ground after saying it bought London-based digital wallet provider Curve for an undisclosed sum. The losses for Lloyds came as IDC Ventures - one of Curve's shareholders - said it objected to the deal, citing a dispute over Curve's governance and ownership.
Sage Group rallied as the business software company unveiled a £300m share buyback and posted a jump in annual profits, pinning its hopes on the evolution of artificial intelligence.
Precious metals miner Fresnillo and gold miner Hochschild both shone as the price of the yellow metal rose.
JD Sports was also in the black ahead of a trading update on Thursday.
Genus surged after the animal genetics firm said FY26 adjusted pre-tax profit was set to be "modestly ahead" of the £80.5m midpoint of current market expectations following a strong start to the year.
WH Smith rose as it said chief Carl Cowling had resigned after an independent probe found faults with the accounting treatment of its US business. The retailer also cut headline trading profit guidance for North America to a range of £5m to £15m, down from the revised expectation of around £25m announced in August and previous market expectations of £55m.
Engineering firm Rotork gained as it unveiled a new £50m buyback and reaffirmed full-year guidance.
Hill & Smith advanced as it hailed "continued positive trading" in the four months to the end of October as strength in the US offset a weaker UK performance, and announced the appointment of a new chair.
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