- FTSE 100 up 4 at 8,141
- US markets fall heavily led by techs
- Centrica (LON:CNA) the best of Footsie risers
15.48: Footsie oblivious to US sell-off
UK investors seem determined to ignore the blitz of selling hitting US stocks this afternoon.
Dow Jones currently is down 327 points or 0.76%. The S&P is down 83 points or 1.38% but Nasdaq is really copping it with a 2.15% or 431 points fall
Chip maker star Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is .2.8% lower, Microsoft 2% while those waiting for Apple to hit US$4 trillion, will have to be patient a bit longer as it is down 1.5%.
In London, there is little such drama with Footsie barely shifting from a five-point range either side of where it started the day.
It has been the FTSE 250 that has seen the bulk of what activity there has been, with PC maker Raspberry Pi (LON:RPI) holding on to its gain of around 10% with Oxford Nanopore the worst of the fallers.
15.00: FTSE 100 steady as US markets fall sharply
FTSE 100 has shrugged off a poor start to the US, where there are heavy falls for all three main indices.
Activity in London is light, however, with most desk heads likely to be away and leaving instructions not to touch anything.
British Gas owner Centrica is the best of the risers on confirmation it has started a new buyback worth £300 million.
Once complete it will take the value of shares repurchased to £1.5 billion since November 2022.
Shares rose 1.5% to 131p.
Next (LON:NXT) led the fallers, down by 2.1%, on reports of a disappointing start of the Boxing Day sales across the retail sector in terms of footfall.
FTSE 100 up 4 at 8,141.
In the US, the Dow is down 165 points or 0.38%, Nasdaq by 217 or 1.1% and the S&P by 45 or 0.75%.
13.06: Apple edges closer to US$4 trillion on gushing Wedbush note
Apple super fan Wedbush has raised its price target for the iPhone maker to US$325 from US$300, arguing a new 'Golden-era’ of growth is nigh.
“We believe Apple is heading into a multi-year AI-driven iPhone upgrade cycle that is still being underestimated by the Street. “
We estimate that with hundreds of apps in development around Apple Intelligence that in essence creates a new multi-billion annual Services revenue stream will be another growth catalyst along with catalysing iPhone upgrades across the board over the next 12 to 18 months.
“We believe Apple is on pace to reach the $4 trillion market cap threshold and be the first member of this exclusive club.
'Outperform' is the investment view.
Shares rose 0.3% to US$259.02 in pre-Friday opening trades, with anything north of US$264 enough to hit the US$4tn landmark.
FTSE 100 up 2 at 8,130.
11.48: US markets tipped for profit taking after Christmas week rally
US markets were tipped for some profit-taking on Friday after a strong run that had seen Dow Jones rise for six days straight after falling for the previous ten.
Yesterday, the Dow rose 29 points or 0.1% to 43,326 while the S&P 500 was flat, dipping 2.4 points to 6,038.
Futures some two hours ahead of the open suggested the Dow would open more than 130 points lower, Nasdaq 85 down and the S&P 500 off by around 21 points
Talking to Bloomberg, one trader said the most important thing to watch currently is the Treasury ten-year bond yield, currently at a seven-month high, which is an indicator of fears about the impact on inflation of the Trump administration.
Other than that, he said activity currently was largely technical position shifting.
In Asia, the benchmark MSCI index climbed for the fifth straight day, its best run since July.
FTSE 100 down 3 at 8,133.
10:51: Raspberry Pi charge continues
Raspberry PI’s end-of-year charge continues with shares in the computer firm up a further 10% today a new all-time high.
Listed at 280p in July, the success of the DIY-PC maker’s short life on the London stock exchange is fast becoming a counter to accusations that tech can’t work in London.
Recent buying by US investment group SW Investment Management is seemingly the reason behind the recent run, which has seen the share price double from 327p at the end of November.
A tightly held shareholder base is another reason, with well over 50% of the shares held by just two shareholders.
Shares jumped 60p to 658p, valuing the group at just under £1.3 billion.
FTSE 100 down 3 at 8,133.
9.37am: SRT gains on new $9mln contract
SRT Marine Systems PLC (LON:SORA) (LSE:SRT) moved higher on Friday on news of a new US$9 million (£7.2 million) contract in the Middle East.
SRT, which provides maritime domain awareness, security and environmental systems, noted on Friday that the contract, unveiled in November, had been signed and was now being implemented.
This would run for ten years and was with an existing Middle East coast guard customer, the AIM-listed company added.
“We are delighted to have commenced this system upgrade with this long-standing and highly valued coast guard customer,” chief executive Simon Tucker said.
“[We] look forward to many more years of business with them as they grow and enhance their national maritime surveillance and intelligence capabilities.”
Shares gained 2.1% on Friday, having surged by 43.0% to 42.9p over the past six months.
8.48am: Centrica kicks off additional £300mln buyback
Centrica PLC (LSE:CNA) has started buying back an additional £300 million worth of shares to take repurchases to £1.5 billion since November 2022.
British Gas owner Centrica on Friday noted the buyback extension would be completed by September 2025 and see approximately 4.6% of its issued shares repurchased.
Some 20% of Centrica’s issued capital would have been bought back between November 2022 and September 2025 as a result, Centrica said in a previous update.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Merrill Lynch would carry out the latest buyback on its behalf, Centrica added.
British Gas had been among firms to see profits spike as prices skyrocketed for consumers during the energy crisis.
Centrica guided for mean net cash of £2.56 billion for 2024 previously, though profits have scaled back since the crisis after the likes of allowances for firms to recoup consumer debt in Ofgem’s energy price cap ran their course.
8.21am: FTSE 100 drops early on
London’s blue chips failed to build on gains over the shortened Christmas week as the FTSE 100 dropped eight points to 8,128 early on Friday.
Stocks had gained slightly earlier in the week following a sharp drop in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s December meeting and hawkish commentary on rate cuts ahead.
Anglo American PLC (LSE:LON:AAL) led Friday’s fallers with a 1.4% drop, ahead of the likes of Haleon PLC (LSE:LON:HLN, NYSE:HLN) and National Grid PLC (LSE:LON:NG.).
DS Smith PLC (LSE:LON:SMDS) topped the risers in the meantime in the absence of any major movers, gaining 1.3%.
Elsewhere, AIM-listed Gelion PLC (AIM:GELN) was among the few to report on Friday, with shares dropping 8.0% after the battery firm’s update… Read more
8.10am: Tech firms face £70mln annual bill from Online Safety Act
Technology giants are facing a £70 million annual bill to foot the cost of new internet safety laws in the UK.
A new levy, under consideration by regulator Ofcom, would see companies' global revenue pay for the extra costs of enforcing the Online Safety Act.
Consultation documents, cited by The Telegraph, said around 20 firms which met a revenue threshold would contribute to the cost.
Facebook (NASDAQ:META) owner Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, ETR:FB2A, SWX:FB), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Google, Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, ETR:APC) and TikTok would likely cover around 91% of the cost, according to the document.
Such costs would be covered through a 0.02% tax on “qualifying worldwide revenue”, meaning the five largest firms could pay in excess of £10 million each.
The Online Safety Act is set to be implemented in January in a bid to keep children safe on the internet, including through the use of age checks on some sites.
Further rules in March will then stretch to the likes of social networks and search engines.
7.39am: High Streets lose out on Boxing Day boost
Boxing Day failed to bring a festive boost for brick-and-mortar retailers, preliminary figures showed on Thursday.
According to MRI Software (ETR:SOWGn), footfall across Britain’s high streets had dropped by 9.6% year on year come Thursday evening, while shopping centres faced a 5.1% drop.
Online shopping channels were likely to have dominated once again as retailers looked to draw consumers in with the traditional post-Christmas sales.
However, overall activity fell by 7.6% across all UK retail destinations, dampening hopes for an uptick after wider economic pressures have hit shops recently.
Physical shops looked to have faced a sharp drop in footfall against historic levels too, with the figures showing in-store visits down 20.5% against pre-pandemic levels.
Jenni Matthews, of MRI Software, noted this year’s decline marked a “major contrast” to 2023’s Boxing Day, which saw footfall increase.
“This could be reflective of the shift in consumer behaviour influenced by the ongoing cost-of-living crisis,” she commented.
7.12am: Stocks to gain
Futures had the FTSE 100 edging higher by eight points to 8,154 on Friday and adding to gains seen over the shortened Christmas week.
London’s blue chips had ticked up earlier in the week, though remained off a full recovery in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s December meeting which saw hawkish commentary over rate cuts in 2025 hit stocks.
US markets had faced a mixed showing on Thursday, with the Dow Jones rising but both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq heading lower.
Overnight, Asian markets were mixed as Japan’s Nikkei racked up the biggest gain of 1.8%, while South Korea’s Kospi marked the largest faller, down 1.0%.
Friday's schedule
Finals: Gelion PLC (AIM:GELN) (Gelion PLC (AIM:GELN))
AGMs: Eco Atlantic (LON:ECOE) Oil & Gas Ltd, Opg Power Ventures PLC, THG Holdings (LON:THG)
Economic news: Goods Trade Balance (US)