29th Oct 2026 12:00
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were higher at midday on Thursday, with Shell leading the FTSE 100 following stronger-than-expected earnings, while investors awaited the European Central Bank's interest rate decision after President Christine Lagarde announced plans to step down early next year.
The FTSE 100 index was up 41.13 points, 0.4%, at 10,735.63. The FTSE 250 was up 31.65 points, 0.1%, at 24,670.68, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.06 points, 0.1%, at 761.98.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.4% at 1,064.84, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.4% at 21,717.07, and the Cboe Small Companies was marginally lower at 18,949.67.
In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt were both up 1.1%.
The European Central Bank is due to announce its latest interest rate decision at 1315 GMT, with markets widely expecting borrowing costs to remain unchanged.
The decision comes as ECB President Christine Lagarde announced earlier in the day that she would step down on February 7 next year, eight months before the scheduled end of her term in October 2027.
Lagarde informed the ECB Governing Council and European Council President Antonio Costa of her decision, bringing forward the leadership transition at a time of heightened economic uncertainty.
"The Governing Council thanked President Lagarde warmly and gave her a long standing ovation," the ECB said in a statement.
Under the selection process for the ECB chief, eurozone member states propose candidates before the Council of the European Union formally recommends a nominee. The European Parliament and ECB Governing Council are then consulted before EU leaders make the final appointment by reinforced qualified majority.
Among the potential candidates are Spain's Pablo Hernandez de Cos and former Dutch central bank governor Klaas Knot.
Lagarde's announcement marks a departure from her comments in February, when she said her "baseline" was to complete her term.
Her early exit would allow German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron to help shape the succession process ahead of France's presidential election in April and May.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3328 at midday Thursday, higher than USD1.3310 at the London equities close on Wednesday. Against the euro, sterling rose to EUR1.1954 from EUR1.1941 a day earlier.
The euro was steady at USD1.1147 from USD1.1148 late Wednesday. Against the yen, the dollar fell to JPY157.96 from JPY158.23.
Stocks in New York were called lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average set to open down 0.1%, the S&P 500 down 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite down 1.0%. Alphabet is down 11% in pre-market dealings.
The Google-owner said it expects a "meaningful" revenue ramp-up for its Cloud business in 2027, but shares fell amid margin worries and with growth slowing in its key Search business.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 5.02%, narrowing from 5.03% on Wednesday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury widened to 5.35% from 5.33%.
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh on Wednesday reaffirmed his determination to ensure price stability as he looked to justify leaving interest rates unchanged despite the backdrop of accelerating inflation.
Warsh told reporters it was the "right policy decision for this moment" and that the US central bank "will deliver price stability, no ifs, no buts".
The Fed chair said the US central bank is "taking stock, evaluating what we are seeing out of the window and looking for clarity in [the] coming period."
Questioned why the Fed didn't raise rates at this meeting given inflation remains well above its 2% remit, Warsh said the central bank will "figure out" an appropriate protocol to deliver price stability in the coming period.
In the FTSE 100, Shell topped the index, surging 3.8% after reporting quarterly earnings ahead of expectations and increasing its share buyback programme.
WPP gained 1.5% after maintaining its annual guidance following third-quarter trading in line with expectations.
At the other end of the blue-chip index, Haleon plunged 16% after cutting its revenue outlook and announcing accelerated changes to its operations in Brazil, which are expected to weigh on fourth-quarter revenue.
St James's Place dropped 6.0%. It reported a sharp decline in third-quarter net inflows, though funds under management still reached a record high.
Net inflows fell by two thirds to GBP570 million in the three months to September 30 from GBP1.76 billion a year earlier.
However, closing funds under management rose 14% to a record GBP242.44 billion from GBP212.36 billion, supported by positive investment returns and continued net inflows.
Lloyds Banking Group fell 4.4% despite reporting that pretax profit nearly doubled in the third quarter.
In the FTSE 250, Bridgepoint Group rose 4.3% after Bank of America upgraded the company's rating to 'buy' and raised its price target to 490 pence from 320p.
Rank Group lost 3.2% after warning that an increase in machine games duty announced in the UK budget would add around GBP9 million to its annual costs.
Among smaller companies, Vanquis Banking Group plunged 37% after sharply reducing its profitability guidance.
Brent oil was trading at USD113.83 a barrel at midday Thursday, lower than USD116.37 late Wednesday, amid renewed hopes of diplomatic progress between Washington and Tehran.
Gold was quoted at USD4,027.30 an ounce, lower than USD4,039.18 on Wednesday.
Still to come on Thursday's economic calendar, the US releases personal consumption expenditures inflation data and weekly jobless claims figures.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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