London midday: Stocks maintain gains as Convatec surges; Nvidia results eyed
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Wednesday 26 Feb 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still in the black by midday on Wednesday, with Convatec pacing the gains after results, as investors eyed the latest earnings from US chip maker Nvidia.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 8,718.52.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that Nvidia's results - due after the US close - are set to be a key driver of sentiment.
"Given the AI euphoria, which has swamped markets and led to the chip giant's heady valuation, there is a keen interest in whether the seemingly insatiable demand for its products is going to continue," she said.
"The arrival of low-cost Chinese model DeepSeek rattled investors but, given Nvidia's first mover advantage and the huge infrastructure investment plans from tech giants like Meta, it's an indication that Nvidia's high-end chips will remain in demand. However, investors have come to expect a lot from Nvidia given its previous record beating results so it could still be a volatile ride ahead especially if Nvidia's misses forecasts of 72% revenue growth."
Investors were also mulling reports that Ukraine and the US have struck a minerals deal to enable Kyiv to pay back billions in military aid supplied by Washington to fight the Russian invasion.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was planning to travel to Washington on Friday to see his US counterpart Donald Trump to sign the agreement.
The Financial Times reported that Kyiv was ready to sign the agreement on jointly developing its mineral resources, including oil and gas, after the US dropped demands for a right to $500bn in potential revenue from the deal.
In equity markets, medical products company Convatec was the standout gainer on the top-flight index as it posted a jump in full-year profit and revenue and said it expects FY25 "to be another year of strong strategic progress".
Pets at Home surged after markets blog Betaville suggested the company was at the centre of takeover rumours. Betaville said that people following the situation had heard rumours Pets at Home may have attracted takeover interest, possibly from a private equity firm.
Some people suggested the private equity firm may be based in Europe but have a similar business in the US.
Chemring also rallied as it said in an update ahead of its annual general meeting that its order book was at a record level. It made no mention of speculation earlier in the week that private equity firm Bain Capital has made an approach to buy the defence group.
On the downside, Hikma Pharmaceuticals tumbled despite a jump in annual revenues, after core operating profits and a weaker margin disappointed.
Aston Martin reversed earlier gains to trade sharply lower as it said it was planning to axe around 5% of its global workforce in a bid to cut costs and reported a widening of its annual losses.
The car maker also said that it was delaying the launch of its first electric vehicle for the second time, to "the latter part of this decade". It had previously pushed back the launch to 2027.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,718.52 0.58%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,625.67 0.87%
techMARK (TASX) 4,753.18 0.41%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Convatec Group (CTEC) 263.80p 6.80%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,103.00p 3.47%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 70.98p 3.44%
Beazley (BEZ) 853.00p 3.08%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,813.00p 2.64%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,775.50p 2.63%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,896.50p 2.40%
Aviva (AV.) 520.00p 2.32%
Entain (ENT) 728.40p 2.30%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 8,032.00p 2.11%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,108.00p -8.19%
Unite Group (UTG) 844.50p -1.05%
Schroders (SDR) 376.20p -1.05%
Relx plc (REL) 3,868.00p -0.95%
BP (BP.) 432.85p -0.93%
Pearson (PSON) 1,324.00p -0.64%
SEGRO (SGRO) 706.20p -0.45%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 11,100.00p -0.36%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 970.40p -0.35%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,361.50p -0.33%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 262.60p 13.98%
Chemring Group (CHG) 394.00p 5.49%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,644.00p 5.12%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,073.50p 4.48%
Alpha Group International (ALPH) 2,775.00p 3.93%
Vistry Group (VTY) 638.00p 3.66%
Indivior (INDV) 639.00p 3.57%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 333.40p 2.96%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 76.90p 2.95%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 266.00p 2.90%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 94.75p -14.02%
Hammerson (HMSO) 273.60p -5.46%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 37.70p -1.82%
Mony Group (MONY) 198.10p -1.44%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,599.00p -1.24%
Ruffer Investment Company Ltd Red PTG Pref Shares (RICA) 277.50p -1.07%
RS Group (RS1) 626.50p -0.71%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 140.40p -0.71%
ITV (ITV) 73.85p -0.67%
Tritax Big Box Reit (BBOX) 145.30p -0.62%
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