London midday: Stocks push higher as Next, GSK rally; Fed eyed
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Wednesday 29 Oct 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks had extended gains by midday on Wednesday, with Next and GSK rallying on the back of results as investors awaited the latest policy announcement from the US Federal Reserve.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.7% at 9,760.81, building on the previous session's record close.
Steve Clayton, head of equity funds at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "All eyes are on the Fed today, ahead of the US central bank's upcoming interest rate-setting meeting where the market is widely expecting the Fed to cut rates by a quarter point.
"Hopes of a rate cut and further optimism about the potential for AI to drive profits in the tech sector helped to push Wall Street higher last night, with the Nasdaq Composite index gaining 0.8%."
Meanwhile, the trade spat between the US and China remained in focus ahead of a meeting between US President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea.
"The agenda is packed, given recent escalations including China's export controls on rare earths and Trump's tariff threats," Danske Bank said. "We expect the two leaders to strike a deal to ease tensions, however, failure to reach an agreement could trigger a negative reaction in risk markets."
Speaking on Air Force One on Wednesday, a day before his meeting with Xi Jinping, Trump said he would cut the 20% fentanyl levy in exchange for Beijing curbing the export of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl.
On home shores, figures from the Bank of England showed that mortgage approvals unexpectedly ticked higher in September and borrowing hit a six-month high.
According to the latest monthly Money and Credit Report, net mortgage approvals rose by 1,000 to 65,900 in September. Analysts were expecting a decline.
Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals rose by £1.2bn to £5.5 bn - the highest since March 2025.
The effective interest rate - the actual interest paid - on newly-drawn mortgages fell by seven basis points to 4.19% in September, which was the lowest since January 2023, continuing the downward trend seen since March 2025.
The report also showed that net borrowing of consumer credit was £1.5bn last month, down from £1.7bn in August.
Within that, net borrowing through credit cards was little changed at £0.7bn, while net borrowing through other forms of consumer credit fell to £0.8bn from £1bn over the same period.
Households' deposits with banks and building societies increased by £7.9bn in September, driven by households depositing an additional £5.8bn into interest-bearing sight deposit accounts, £2.4bn into ISAs, and £0.7bn into non-interest-bearing accounts.
In equity markets, clothing and homeware retailer Next surged as it lifted its guidance for full-year pre-tax profit by £30m to £1.14bn and said full-price sales in the fourth quarter were set to grow 7%, up from previous guidance of 4.5%.
Julie Palmer, partner at Begbies Traynor, said: "Next has once again proven why it's the gold standard in UK retail. With guidance lifted and healthy sales growth both at home and abroad, the retail giant's winning formula of tight cost control, effective stock management and a well-balanced online and store offer is clearly paying off.
"At a time when many retailers are feeling the squeeze from rising costs, weak consumer confidence and uncertainty around the next Budget, Next appears largely immune to such pressures. Instead, with a growing international presence and consistently strong UK performance, the FTSE 100 retailer remains firmly on a winning streak. For now, it's hard to see what could knock it off course."
Glencore advanced after a third-quarter production update, while GSK rallied after the pharma giant lifted its 2025 sales and earnings expectations following better-than-expected third-quarter results.
Luxury car maker Aston Martin Lagonda reversed earlier losses to trade up despite posting a third-quarter loss of £112m on the back of lower-than-expected wholesale volumes as a result of US tariffs. The loss before tax for the three months to 30 September compared with a loss of £12.2m a year ago.
On the downside, Elementis reversed earlier gains to trade lower even as the specialty chemicals firm backed its full-year guidance after a "resilient" third quarter.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,760.81 0.66%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,529.66 0.20%
techMARK (TASX) 5,598.09 0.17%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Next (NXT) 14,335.00p 6.94%
Glencore (GLEN) 372.60p 6.02%
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,272.00p 5.77%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 274.80p 2.38%
Beazley (BEZ) 926.50p 2.32%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,816.00p 2.25%
GSK (GSK) 1,678.50p 2.10%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,521.00p 2.09%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,620.00p 1.72%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,819.00p 1.70%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,100.00p -4.91%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,217.00p -2.01%
Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 387.20p -1.68%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,934.00p -1.61%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,222.00p -1.45%
IMI (IMI) 2,356.00p -1.26%
Croda International (CRDA) 2,909.00p -1.22%
Compass Group (CPG) 2,571.00p -1.04%
Relx plc (REL) 3,462.00p -1.03%
The Sage Group (SGE) 1,162.50p -1.02%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 340.20p 3.85%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 674.00p 3.22%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,146.00p 2.68%
Quilter (QLT) 189.70p 2.60%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 66.70p 2.46%
Templeton Emerging Markets Inv Trust (TEM) 239.50p 2.35%
Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 478.00p 2.14%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 541.00p 2.08%
Energean (ENOG) 962.00p 2.01%
Anglo-Eastern Plantations (AEP) 1,330.00p 1.92%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Rotork (ROR) 342.00p -2.40%
WH Smith (SMWH) 695.00p -2.11%
Elementis (ELM) 167.60p -1.87%
Computacenter (CCC) 2,752.00p -1.78%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 106.65p -1.66%
Pinewood Technologies Group (PINE) 368.50p -1.60%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 186.60p -1.43%
Trainline (TRN) 255.20p -1.39%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,065.00p -1.39%
Volution Group (FAN) 675.00p -1.32%
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