London stocks rose in early trade on Wednesday, with Next pacing the gains after a guidance upgrade, as investors eyed the latest policy announcement from the US Federal Reserve.
At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 9,730.31, following a record close in the previous session.
Danske Bank said: “The main event today will be the FOMC’s rate decision, where we and the broad market consensus expect a 25bp cut. With no new projections, all eyes will be on Powell’s forward guidance, which we expect to remain vague.
“While markets price in a high likelihood of another cut in December, we do not expect the Fed to pre-commit at this stage. We expect the Fed to end QT for US Treasury holdings but continue QT for MBS.”
Meanwhile, the trade spat between the US and China remained in focus ahead of a meeting between US President Donald 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 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.
In equity markets, clothing and homeware retailer Next surged to the top of the FTSE 100 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 now 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.
Elementis was also in the black as the specialty chemicals firm backed its full-year guidance after a “resilient” third quarter.
On the downside, luxury car maker Aston Martin Lagonda slid as it posted 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.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,730.31 0.35%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,498.21 0.06%
techMARK (TASX) 5,613.30 0.44%
FTSE 100 – Risers
Next (NXT) 14,320.00p 6.83%
Glencore (GLEN) 372.25p 5.92%
GSK (GSK) 1,709.00p 3.95%
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,212.00p 2.98%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,947.00p 1.94%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,810.00p 1.91%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,506.00p 1.81%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,817.00p 1.62%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,574.00p 1.35%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 408.00p 1.24%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Diploma (DPLM) 5,535.00p -1.69%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 91.78p -1.31%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,944.00p -1.27%
Halma (HLMA) 3,544.00p -1.23%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,060.00p -1.13%
IMI (IMI) 2,360.00p -1.09%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,286.00p -1.08%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 427.10p -1.04%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 265.80p -0.97%
SSE (SSE) 1,871.50p -0.95%
FTSE 250 – Risers
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 340.60p 3.97%
AO World (AO.) 109.60p 3.59%
XPS Pensions Group (XPS) 352.50p 2.92%
THG (THG) 47.90p 2.66%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,126.00p 2.02%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 379.80p 1.99%
Ruffer Investment Company Ltd Red PTG Pref Shares (RICA) 307.00p 1.82%
Templeton Emerging Markets Inv Trust (TEM) 238.00p 1.71%
Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI) 209.50p 1.70%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 539.00p 1.70%
FTSE 250 – Fallers
Hilton Food Group (HFG) 644.00p -4.02%
Avon Technologies (AVON) 1,864.00p -3.62%
Patria Private Equity Trust (PPET) 602.00p -3.22%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 90.75p -3.10%
Rotork (ROR) 339.60p -3.08%
Wickes Group (WIX) 220.50p -2.43%
Pollen Street Group Limited (POLN) 860.00p -2.27%
PayPoint (PAY) 711.00p -1.80%
Savills (SVS) 1,004.00p -1.76%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 236.80p -1.66%