London open: Stocks edge higher after mixed data, Spire jumps
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Friday 19 Sep 2025
(Sharecast News) - UK stocks tiptoed higher on Friday as a mixed batch of domestic economic data kept a lid on risk appetite, as consumer confidence fell while retail sales rose more than expected.
"UK markets opened a touch higher this morning, but the calm masks a tug-of-war in the data. [...] The disconnect is clear, with consumers happy to spend now, perhaps before the Chancellor comes calling in November, but sentiment on the economic outlook remains firmly in the red," said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
The FTSE 100 was trading up just 0.1% at 9,237 in early deals, rising for the third straight session - albeit only mildly.
In economic news, consumer confidence tracked lower in September, a long-running survey showed on Friday, as concerns about day-to-day costs mounted. The latest consumer confidence index from GfK came in at -19. That was two points down on August, and one point higher than September 2024. Within that, all sub-measures were lower.
Meanwhile, UK retail sales volumes rose 0.5% in August, the Office for National Statistics reported. This was in line with the prior month's gain and ahead of the 0.3% increase expected by analysts. Excluding fuel, retail sales growth picked up to 0.8% from 0.4% the previous month.
Lastly, UK public sector net borrowing surged to £17.96bn in August, up from a revised £2.82bn in July and the highest August borrowing figure for five years.
"This suggests that the UK is borrowing at the same rates as during the Covid era, although, thankfully, the pandemic is behind us," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. "This is going to lead to calls about the sustainability of public finances, and the need for tax rises at the upcoming Budget."
Spire jumps
Spire Healthcare was a high riser across the FTSE 350, surging 9% after responding to recent media speculation and confirming that it is undertaking a strategic review that could potentially lead to a sale. "This process is highly preliminary and no decision has been made regarding whether any such option will be pursued at this stage," the private healthcare provider said in a statement.
Mining stocks were performing well early on, with Fresnillo, Anglo American and Antofagasta as gold, silver and copper prices advanced.
Kainos Group fell after the news it had bought Canadian IT specialist consultancy Davis Pierrynowski for an undisclosed sum. The two companies have partnered since 2022 to drive digital transformation in the Canadian public and healthcare sectors, and the acquisition is "a natural next step in the relationship", Kainos's CEO said.
Banking and wealth management firm Investec also slipped after saying interim results should be broadly in line with the prior period, as a solid performance across its core banking and wealth operations as met with a volatile macro backdrop.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,230.70 0.03%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,690.04 -0.17%
techMARK (TASX) 5,420.67 0.16%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,218.00p 2.50%
Croda International (CRDA) 2,767.00p 2.44%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,561.00p 1.39%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,205.00p 1.33%
Next (NXT) 11,720.00p 1.25%
GSK (GSK) 1,488.50p 1.05%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,307.00p 1.01%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 8,776.00p 0.92%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 387.40p 0.89%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 598.60p 0.84%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,376.00p -3.01%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,268.00p -1.75%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 90.72p -1.35%
Relx plc (REL) 3,495.00p -1.27%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 773.20p -1.25%
WPP (WPP) 375.70p -1.24%
Pearson (PSON) 1,034.50p -1.19%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 520.20p -1.07%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 356.80p -0.86%
The Sage Group (SGE) 1,095.00p -0.86%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 235.50p 8.78%
Man Group (EMG) 174.70p 4.86%
Wickes Group (WIX) 212.00p 4.43%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 2,788.00p 3.57%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 307.00p 2.06%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 83.50p 1.83%
GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd (GCP) 72.50p 1.40%
Pollen Street Group Limited (POLN) 944.00p 1.29%
Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI) 202.50p 1.25%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 195.20p 1.14%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 481.00p -3.22%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 223.70p -3.12%
Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) 481.00p -2.43%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 399.20p -2.30%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 672.00p -2.04%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 1,084.00p -1.99%
Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 7,650.00p -1.92%
Victrex plc (VCT) 720.00p -1.91%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 397.60p -1.83%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 326.50p -1.66%
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