12th Dec 2025 07:43
(Alliance News) - Stocks were called to open higher in London on Friday, as the Office for National Statistics reported that the UK economy unexpectedly shrank in October.
Here is what you need to know before the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called up 46.6 points, 0.5% at 9,749.76
GBP: lower at USD1.3395 (USD1.3416 at previous London equities close)
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ECONOMIC CALENDAR
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07:45 GMT France CPI
13:00 GMT Germany current account
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ECONOMICS
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The UK economy shrank in October and in the three months leading up to October, the Office for National Statistics reported. Gross domestic product is estimated to have fallen by 0.1% in October, the same as in September, and missing the FXStreet-cited market consensus for a 0.1% rise. Services output fell by 0.3%, while construction output fell by 0.6%. Production output, however, climbed 1.1%. In the three months ended October, real GDP also fell by 0.1%, flipping from growth of 0.1% in the quarter to September, which itself slowed from 0.2% in the three months to August. Services output experienced no growth, while construction output declined 0.3% and production output fell 0.5%.
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The UK's trade deficit increased sharply in the three months to October, the Office for National Statistics reported. The country's goods and services trade deficit widened by GBP4.0 billion to GBP6.7 billion in the three months to October 2025. The trade in goods deficit widened by GBP3.9 billion to GBP60.5 billion in the three months to October, while the trade in services surplus is estimated to have remained unchanged at GBP53.8 billion.
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Separately, the ONS reported that UK production output is estimated to have increased 1.1% monthly in October, better than the FXStreet-cited expectation of a 0.7% uptick, and after a decline of 2.0% in September.
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BROKER RATINGS
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UBS cuts Glencore to 'neutral' (buy) - price target 425 (410) pence
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JPMorgan cuts Pennon to 'neutral' (overweight) - price target 565 (600) pence
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Goldman Sachs starts Magnum Ice Cream with 'neutral' - price target 13.70 EUR
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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GSK announced that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended expanding the indication of its adjuvanted recombinant respiratory syncytial virus vaccine to all adults aged 18 years and older. GSK said it expects the European Commission's final decision in February, and the vaccine would be available for all adults aged 18 years and older if approved. RSV is a common contagious virus affecting the lungs and breathing passages and impacts an estimated 64 million people of all ages globally every year, the pharmaceutical major said.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Harbour Energy has agreed to buy "substantially all" subsidiaries of Waldorf Energy Partners Ltd and Waldorf Production Ltd, currently in administration, for USD170 million, to be "funded through readily available sources of liquidity". The oil and gas producer said the acquisition is immediately materially accretive to free cash flow and will support the competitiveness, resilience and longevity of its UK business. It expects the deal to add 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in oil-weighted production, and 35 million boe in 2P reserves; to increase Harbour's interest in the Catcher field to 90%; and to provide a new North Sea production base with the addition of a 29.5% interest in the Kraken field. Harbour said the deal should be complete during the second quarter of next year.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Fermi said that Fermi America has commenced discussions with several other potential tenants for power delivery at the Project Matador Site in 2026. The investment-grade-rated tenant, with whom Fermi entered a non-binding letter of intent in September to lease a portion of the site, notified the firm on Thursday that it is terminating the 'advance in aid of construction agreement' signed in November, but the parties continue to negotiate the terms of a lease agreement at Project Matador pursuant to the letter of intent, the data centre-focused real estate investment trust says. "The company remains confident that it will be able to meet its expected power delivery schedule at Project Matador as the demand for behind-the-meter power for AI remains robust over the near and long term," Fermi adds.
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By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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Related Shares:
Fermi IncGlaxosmithklineGlencorePennonHarbour Energy