London midday: Stocks turn higher amid US rate cut expectations; Trustpilot tanks
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Thursday 04 Dec 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks had edged into the black by midday on Thursday as investors mulled results from the likes of SSP and AJ Bell, amid rising expectations of a US rate cut next week.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 9,708.09, reversing earlier small losses.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said investors are leaning into the idea that easier policy is coming.
"Still, with inflation data and Fed decisions ahead, the path is far from set in stone," he said. "Expectations have swung wildly over the past month, so assuming any cuts are a done deal could be a costly mistake, and volatility can just as quickly return if the rate cutting narrative shifts. One thing's clear, if markets want a Santa rally, they need the Fed to stay in line."
On home shores, a survey showed the construction sector suffered its worst downturn in November for five and a half years in the run-up to the Budget.
The S&P Global construction purchasing managers' index slid to 39.4 from 44.1 in October. This marked the lowest level since May 2020 and was again below the 50.0 level that separates contraction from expansion.
New orders fell to the greatest extent since May 2020. Many construction firms commented on weak client confidence, alongside delayed spending decisions ahead of the Budget.
Housing activity, commercial construction and civil engineering all experienced the fastest downturns in activity for five and a half years. Respondents pointed to fragile market confidence, delays with the release of new projects and a general lack of incoming new work.
Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "November data revealed a sharp retrenchment across the UK construction sector as weak client confidence and a shortfall of new project starts again weighed on activity.
"Total industry activity decreased to the greatest extent for five-and-a-half years, led by steep falls in infrastructure and residential building work. Commercial construction also faced severe headwinds during November as business uncertainty in the run up to the Budget pushed clients to defer investment decisions.
"Lower workloads, alongside pressure on margins from rising wages and purchasing costs, continued to dampen staff hiring in November. The latest round of job cuts was the most marked since August 2020."
Moore said the degree of optimism dropped to its lowest since December 2022 amid reports of cutbacks to client budgets and pervasive worries about long-term UK economic growth prospects.
In equity markets, Upper Crust owner SSP surged after saying it was confident it could deliver towards the upper end of earnings per share expectations. The company also said it was initiating a wide-ranging review of its Continental European Rail business.
Media group Future shot up as it reported a drop in full-year revenue and profit but announced a five-fold increase to the dividend to 17p a share and a new £30m share buyback programme.
Bodycote was boosted by an upgrade to 'overweight' from 'equalweight' at Barclays, which lifted the price target to 765p from 635p.
Watches of Switzerland ticked higher as it reiterated its full-year guidance after a strong first half, with revenue and profit higher thanks to "robust" growth in the US.
On the downside, Trustpilot tanked after short seller Grizzly Research disclosed a short position in the shares and said it had uncovered "mafia-style" extortion campaigns against non-paying businesses.
Baltic Classifieds tumbled after saying in its half-year results that with lower revenue growth and continued investment into its product, some EBITDA margin compression was inevitable. JPMorgan said that statement was likely to "drive continued negative sentiment in the classifieds sub-sector".
AJ Bell fell even as the investment platform announced a share buyback of up to £50m as it hailed a record full-year performance, with "excellent" growth in customer numbers.
Retailer Frasers Group dipped as it held annual guidance despite a fall in half-year profit amid weak consumer confidence and excess inventory which continued to weigh on the sector, leading to heavy discounting.
SSE was weaker as it traded without entitlement to the dividend.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,708.09 0.17%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,053.01 0.23%
techMARK (TASX) 5,589.20 0.65%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,225.50p 4.08%
Spirax Group (SPX) 6,920.00p 2.98%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,820.00p 2.88%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,418.00p 2.03%
Halma (HLMA) 3,632.00p 1.91%
Mondi (MNDI) 869.20p 1.78%
WPP (WPP) 291.10p 1.68%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,378.00p 1.66%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 10,320.00p 1.57%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 620.00p 1.56%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Airtel Africa (AAF) 310.80p -2.45%
SSE (SSE) 2,180.00p -2.11%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 610.20p -1.93%
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,678.00p -1.54%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,734.00p -1.51%
Entain (ENT) 774.60p -1.43%
Diageo (DGE) 1,735.50p -0.83%
Glencore (GLEN) 380.25p -0.74%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 388.20p -0.69%
BP (BP.) 460.95p -0.66%
FTSE 250 - Risers
SSP Group (SSPG) 171.50p 15.80%
Future (FUTR) 641.00p 6.92%
Bodycote (BOY) 672.50p 4.67%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,120.00p 3.92%
Softcat (SCT) 1,487.00p 3.26%
RS Group (RS1) 619.50p 3.08%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 455.60p 3.03%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 177.15p 2.81%
Johnson Service Group (JSG) 139.40p 2.65%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 627.00p 2.62%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 145.10p -23.51%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 179.60p -18.18%
AJ Bell (AJB) 490.00p -6.58%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 278.00p -4.47%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 335.80p -4.33%
Energean (ENOG) 888.50p -4.26%
International Workplace Group (IWG) 221.00p -4.25%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 91.40p -3.79%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,402.00p -3.44%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 325.80p -3.38%
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