Equities in London underperformed European counterparts on Wednesday, as worries over the future of the Chancellor hit investor sentiment, knocked the pound and rocked bond markets.
The FTSE 100 suffered a minor fall, with a rise in mining shares tempering its decline, though there was a slump for housebuilders. A sharper fall for the FTSE 250 typified a drab day for more UK-focused stocks, meanwhile.
The FTSE 100 index lost 10.64 points, 0.1%, at 8,774.69. The FTSE 250 plunged 290.67 points, 1.3%, at 21,452.49, and the AIM All-Share fell 5.18 points, 0.7%, at 767.76.
In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris perked up 1.0%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt added 0.5%.
Rachel Reeves is “going nowhere” and will remain as Chancellor, Downing Street said, despite Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer declining to give her a public show of support.
The Chancellor was visibly tearful in the Commons, as her position came under intense scrutiny after the welfare U-turn, which put an almost £5 billion black hole in her fiscal plans.
But allies said she was dealing with a “personal matter” and No 10 said she had Sir Keir’s “full backing”.
“Since the welfare Bill will now not generate the £5 billion in savings that were originally mooted, gilt investors will be asking how Reeves will balance the books,” Rabobank analysts commented.
The analysts said even though a Labour minister this morning ruled out increases to income tax, national insurance or VAT, “the prospect of more taxation does appear to be a natural conclusion ahead of the autumn budget”.
The yield on the 10-year UK Government bond had sat as high as 4.68% earlier on Wednesday, compared with around 4.45% late Tuesday.
XTB analyst Kathleen Brooks commented: “The sharp rise in bond yields happened during PMQs, the leader of the opposition asked the Prime Minister if he would confirm if Rachel Reeves would remain as Chancellor. The PM refused to say that the Chancellor would remain in position until the end of this Parliament, as a visibly distressed Reeves was watching on. The PM might be keeping his options open at this stage, but the Chancellor is a strange choice to axe from a market perspective.”
Stocks exposed to rising borrowing costs fell on Wednesday. Housebuilder Berkeley Group was among the worst large-cap performers, sinking 7.9%.
The pound was quoted down at 1.3612 dollars late on Wednesday afternoon in London, compared with 1.3705 dollars at the equities close on Tuesday. The euro stood higher at 1.1781 dollars, against 1.1770 dollars. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at 143.85 yen compared with 143.62 yen.
XTB’s Ms Brooks added: “The pound is now the weakest currency in the G10 FX space, as the pound falls and yields rise. This is a sign of fiscal stress, which the UK has had to weather before.
“With all the main UK asset classes under stress today, the Government needs to be careful about its next steps. Will a surge in borrowing costs, even though the Bank of England is set to cut rates next month, cause another U-turn on benefit spending? Will there be cuts announced elsewhere, or will the Government try and tap the taxpayer for more funds?”
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was marginally higher, the S&P 500 added 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.7%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.29%, widening from 4.26% a day prior. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury stretched to 4.83%, widening from 4.79%.
Back in London, Bytes Technology slumped 33%.
The Surrey-based enterprise software firm said it expects gross profit to be at a similar level to last year and operating profit to be marginally lower, followed by more normalised growth in the second half to February 28 2026.
Bytes said trading has been hit by a “challenging macroeconomic environment”, resulting in some deferral of customer buying decisions.
Greggs shares fell after saying operating profit could be lower than last year, as June’s hot weather reduced demand for baked goods.
The Newcastle-based pastry provider said that despite “good progress” in May, footfall declined in June amid very high temperatures, although demand for cold drinks increased.
Greggs said total sales were up 6.9% in the 26 weeks to June 28, the end of its first half, to £1.03 billion, with like-for-like sales growth of 2.6%.
The baker forecasts operating profit in the first half to be lower than last year, due to last year’s stronger comparative and the phasing of refurbishments and cost recovery initiatives across the current year.
The stock declined 15%.
Topps Tiles surged 8.8%. It reported a strong acceleration in sales in its third quarter and said it expects margins to improve, despite ongoing cost pressures.
The Leicestershire-based retailer said group-adjusted sales, excluding its CTD brand, rose 10% year-over-year in the 13 weeks to June 28, up from 4.1% growth in the first half. Year-to-date, adjusted sales are 6.1% higher.
Topps Tiles said it expects its adjusted gross margin in the second half to be “slightly higher” than in the first half. However, the firm flagged around £4 million in added annualised costs from April, stemming from changes to UK national insurance rates and the national living wage.
Brent oil was quoted higher at 67.57 dollars a barrel at the London equities close on Wednesday, up from 66.97 dollars at the same time on Tuesday. Gold was quoted up at 3,341.71 dollars an ounce against 3,286.04 dollars.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Glencore, up 14.75p at 306.00p, Antofagasta, up 84.00p at 1,916.00p, Spirax, up 260.00p at 6,175p, Anglo American, up 90.50p at 2,263.50p, and Ashtead Group, up 141.00p at 4,788.00p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Berkeley Group, down 308.00p at 3,600.00p, Persimmon, down 88.00p at 1,210.50p, NatWest, down 27.60p at 473.80p, ConvaTec, down 14.60p at 257.40p, and Land Securities, down 33.50p at 600.00p.
Thursday’s economic calendar has the latest US jobs report. The US labour market took a turn for the worse last month, according to a tracker from payroll processor ADP.
Private employers shed 33,000 jobs last month, a sharp reversal from the revised gain of 29,000 in May. The FXStreet-cited consensus had expected a gain of 95,000 jobs for June.
Contributed by Alliance News.
