London midday: FTSE flat ahead of Powell speech
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Friday 22 Aug 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks had pared losses to trade flat by midday on Friday after closing at a fresh record a day earlier for the third session in a row, as investors eyed a speech by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell at Jackson Hole.
The FTSE 100 was steady at 9,311.94.
Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said: "The FTSE 100 saw a subdued start on Friday after achieving a record close above 9,300 yesterday.
"This followed more selling on Wall Street overnight, albeit of moderate persuasion, as investors fret about the message Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell might deliver at the Jackson Hole summit.
"Investors had been expecting a rate cut from the Fed next month so if Powell were to say anything suggesting rates might be kept on hold, it could see stocks come under greater pressure."
On home shores, a survey out earlier showed that improved confidence about personal finances pushed consumer sentiment higher in August, though concerns about rising inflation and unemployment continued to dampen the overall mood.
The GfK consumer confidence index rose by two points to -17 this month, its highest level this year, with four of the five components of the gauge improving from July.
Notably, sentiment gauges around consumers' personal financial situation over the past 12 months and expectations for the coming year both rose by three points to -4 and +5, respectively.
GfK said the brighter outlook was most likely due to the Bank of England cutting interest rates to a two-year low earlier this month.
However, Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director at GfK, said there were still "many clouds on the horizon in the form of inflation - the highest since January 2024 - and rising unemployment. There's no shortage of speculation, too, about what the autumn Budget will bring in terms of tax rises."
Bellamy added: "While August's Overall Index Score of -17 is the best this year, consumer confidence continues to move in a very narrow band, and there's no sense that it is about to break out into fresher, more optimistic territory. The UK's consumers are still in wait-and-see mode, and any surprises could result in sudden and sharp changes in sentiment."
On the corporate front, Standard Chartered jumped to the top of the FTSE 100 after the bank welcomed what it described as a favourable filing from the US Department of Justice in a long-running civil case involving allegations of sanctions breaches.
The bank said the DoJ's latest position in the so-called 'Brutus' case confirmed that the claims, first brought by a former employee and his associates more than a decade ago, were "false" and repeatedly dismissed by US courts.
Morgan Advanced Materials gained after agreeing to sell its Molten Metal Systems business to Vesuvius for £92.7m.
Elsewhere, Blackstone emerged as the winner in the race to buy Warehouse Reit, after rival bidder Tritax Big Box Reit said it would not increase its offer for the commercial landlord.
Warehouse last month changed its endorsement after Blackstone confirmed it would allow shareholders to receive a dividend from Warehouse as part of its £489m bid.
Tritax had offered a cash and stock deal worth around £485.2m, but on Friday said it did not believe that increasing the financial terms would be in the interests of its shareholders.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,311.94 0.03%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,881.59 0.29%
techMARK (TASX) 5,427.24 0.13%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,409.50p 3.64%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 218.80p 2.15%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,260.00p 1.28%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,272.00p 1.05%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,071.00p 1.04%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 389.60p 0.98%
Centrica (CNA) 166.85p 0.82%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,834.00p 0.71%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,771.50p 0.68%
easyJet (EZJ) 506.00p 0.64%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Rightmove (RMV) 764.00p -1.52%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 3,902.00p -1.06%
Prudential (PRU) 997.40p -0.95%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 15,690.00p -0.88%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,648.00p -0.82%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,119.00p -0.80%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,620.00p -0.76%
Tesco (TSCO) 428.30p -0.74%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,313.00p -0.73%
Glencore (GLEN) 290.40p -0.67%
FTSE 250 - Risers
WH Smith (SMWH) 683.00p 6.72%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 215.00p 3.86%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 131.80p 3.62%
Future (FUTR) 770.50p 2.94%
Hays (HAS) 64.25p 2.88%
Ibstock (IBST) 141.80p 2.60%
SSP Group (SSPG) 161.20p 2.41%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 333.00p 2.15%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 77.75p 2.03%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 89.70p 1.99%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 484.00p -1.63%
AO World (AO.) 90.00p -1.53%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 236.50p -1.46%
Harworth Group (HWG) 173.00p -1.42%
Foresight Environmental Infrastructure Limited (FGEN) 78.70p -1.38%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 210.60p -1.31%
Genus (GNS) 2,680.00p -1.29%
Patria Private Equity Trust (PPET) 541.00p -1.28%
Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 733.00p -1.21%
The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (TRIG) 78.00p -1.14%
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