London open: Stocks rise amid trade deal, rate cut hopes
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Friday 27 Jun 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Friday as trade deal and rate cut hopes boosted sentiment
At 0820 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 8,766.25.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The FTSE 100 has caught a tailwind from a strong rally in Asian stocks overnight. Exchanges in the Far East latched onto comments by Donald Trump that a 'very big' trade deal has been signed between the US and China, while hinting that an agreement with India is imminent."
Nathan also said that Thursday's mixed US jobs data provide some support for further Fed rate cuts, with attention turning to PCE price index data due later today.
"Analysts are forecasting a 2.3% annual increase in core prices for May, a slight acceleration from 2.1% seen in April," he said.
"Anything higher could damage the case for a July rate cut with US prices yet to feel any significant impact from tariffs. A softer than expected print however would see odds of a July cut shorten, potentially pushing US stocks towards a new high-water mark and putting further pressure on the dollar with the Greenback already at multi-year lows."
In equity markets, JD Sports surged to the top of the FTSE 100 after Nike posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenues, sending shares in the US sports retailer surging after hours.
Broker Shore Capital said: "While the commentary that Nike performance is 'not where we want it to be' is not surprising with FY25 revenue decline 10%, there is some encouragement from the fact that Q4 revenues were above consensus ($11.1bn versus consensus of $10.7bn) as was EPS (14c versus consensus of 13c).
"While Nike clearly still have work to do, it appears the business is past the worst and so we do see the potential for the removal of what has been a significant headwind for JD."
Unilever edged higher after the Financial Times reported that the consumer goods company is paying $1.5bn to buy men's grooming brand Dr Squatch from private equity firm Summit Partners.
Centrica shares were steady after the FT said the energy firm will take a 15% stake in Britain's Sizewell C nuclear project following years of delays and extensive negotiations.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,766.25 0.35%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,537.50 0.29%
techMARK (TASX) 5,079.81 0.15%
FTSE 100 - Risers
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 85.92p 5.17%
Pearson (PSON) 1,083.00p 2.90%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 20,000.00p 1.94%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,331.00p 1.49%
Barclays (BARC) 336.10p 1.48%
Informa (INF) 809.60p 1.48%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,174.50p 1.45%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,542.00p 1.32%
Glencore (GLEN) 291.50p 1.15%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 6,558.00p 1.11%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,137.00p -1.73%
BT Group (BT.A) 191.25p -0.68%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,487.00p -0.60%
F&C Investment Trust (FCIT) 1,093.00p -0.55%
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 6,680.00p -0.45%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,880.00p -0.40%
LondonMetric Property (LMP) 202.60p -0.39%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,833.00p -0.39%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,271.00p -0.31%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 176.50p -0.28%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Auction Technology Group (ATG) 460.00p 4.31%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,895.00p 2.84%
FirstGroup (FGP) 237.20p 2.60%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 238.60p 2.40%
Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,102.00p 2.13%
Carnival (CCL) 1,746.00p 1.81%
ITV (ITV) 83.20p 1.77%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 310.40p 1.50%
Future (FUTR) 747.00p 1.49%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 533.00p 1.33%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Pagegroup (PAGE) 256.40p -2.36%
Victrex plc (VCT) 776.00p -2.27%
Genuit Group (GEN) 384.00p -2.17%
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 914.50p -1.24%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 154.50p -0.90%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 260.00p -0.84%
Templeton Emerging Markets Inv Trust (TEM) 186.00p -0.53%
Twentyfour Income Fund Limited Ord Red (TFIF) 111.80p -0.53%
Foresight Environmental Infrastructure Limited (FGEN) 79.00p -0.50%
Indivior (INDV) 1,003.00p -0.50%
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN