26th Mar 2025 11:50
(Alliance News) - London stocks remained higher at midday on Wednesday, spurred on by the pound continuing to soften against the US dollar and ahead of an anticipated cut to the UK economic forecast in Rachel Reeves' spring statement at 1230 GMT.
The FTSE 100 index was up 18.87 points, 0.2%, at 8,682.54. The FTSE 250 was up 114.35 points, 0.6%, at 20,095.56, and the AIM All-Share was up 3.50 points, 0.5%, at 696.94.
The Cboe UK 100 was 0.1% higher at 867.95, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.5% at 17,560.84, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.5% at 15,546.61.
"The pound weakened in early trading against the US dollar as investors braced themselves for the UK government’s Spring Statement," commented AJ Bell analyst Dan Coatsworth.
The pound was quoted lower at USD1.2907 at midday on Wednesday in London, compared to USD1.2955 at the equities close on Tuesday.
The euro also stood lower, at USD1.0792 from USD1.0811. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JPY150.18 compared to JPY149.73.
Coatsworth continued: "The [Office for Budget Responsibility] is widely expected to downgrade its economic forecast for the country. What really matters to investors is the extent of that downgrade and the omens look bad.
"It could be a testing day for markets if chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers more bad news and is seen to be fighting a losing battle. However, the flipside of a weaker pound is that it benefits the army of dollar earners on the FTSE 100, hence why the UK index traded higher. Energy producers and miners were among the top risers.
"Lower than expected inflation figures today and strong services PMI data earlier in the week will have been welcomed with open arms by Reeves. Sadly, these two data points are not enough to convince markets that everything is rosy with the UK."
Uru Metals was trading up 33%, Alien Metals up 24% and Quantum Blockchain Technologies up 21% at midday in London. Shell was 1.8% higher and Ithaca Energy remained higher at 8.5%.
Consumer prices in the UK cooled slightly in February, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Wednesday.
Consumer price index inflation stood at 2.8% on-year in February, decelerated from 3.0% in January and lower than the 2.9% FXStreet-cited consensus. The UK consumer prices index including owner occupiers' housing costs rose by 3.7% in the year to February, down from 3.9% in the year to January.
Still to come on Wednesday's economic calendar, the spring statement at 1230 GMT and US durable goods orders data also at 1230 GMT.
In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was 0.6% lower, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.6%.
CMO Group was the leading riser on London's AIM around midday on Wednesday, up 93%.
The building materials retailer will cancel the trading of its shares on AIM as of Thursday, following the receipt of approval for delisting. The group's shares will from then be available for trading on the JP Jenkins matching platform, under a matched bargain facility.
Meanwhile, eEnergy Group was 10% higher.
The net-zero energy services provider said it was securing its first series of service agreements, including 75 solar systems across education, healthcare, and commercial sectors.
The deals included GBP80,000 in annual recurring revenue, contracted over 10 years, giving a total contract value of GBP800,000.
eEnergy Chief Executive Officer Harvey Sinclair said: "With the rapid growth of distributed solar, asset owners urgently need trusted partners to safeguard system performance and long-term returns. SolarLife delivers that confidence-ensuring solar installations perform at their peak, minimise downtime, and continue delivering strong financial and environmental value for years to come."
At the other end, bar and pub operator Revel Collective was down 22%.
Revel's Chief Financial Officer Danielle Davies announced her resignation on Wednesday, to take up another opportunity. She will leave the business "during the summer".
Until then, Davies will focus on "the effective transition of her responsibilities" and the delivery of the pub and bar operator's full-year results. An announcement on her replacement will be made "in due course".
Frontier IP slipped 8.0%.
The intellectual property commercialisation firm swung to a pretax loss of GBP1.6 million during the six months that ended December 31, from a profit of GBP1.4 million the year before. This was due to a GBP60,000 loss on the revaluation of its investments, against a GBP2.8 million profit the prior year.
"Market conditions remain difficult for both AIM-quoted companies and early-stage technology companies," said Frontier IP. "However, our portfolio companies are developing technologies that offer important commercial upside while meeting some significant challenges."
It expects its news flow to "remain positive" in the coming months, though notes the pace of development might be hurt by current market conditions.
Stocks in New York were called lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called down 0.1%, the S&P 500 index also down 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite 0.2% lower.
The Kremlin said Wednesday that it was in an "intensive" dialogue with the US, including on sanctions, after the two sides negotiated the contours of a Black Sea ceasefire alongside Ukraine.
Both Moscow and Kyiv agreed to the truce following separate talks with Washington in Saudi Arabia, but Russia said it would only enter into force once the West lifted certain sanctions affecting its agricultural exports.
Russia wants the West to lift sanctions on state-owned agricultural lender Rosselkhozbank, as well as other Russian financial institutions linked to food and fertilisers.
The White House did not mention lifting sanctions in its statement announcing the ceasefire plan, only that it would help restore "access to the world market" for Russia's agricultural and fertiliser exports.
Brent oil was quoted up at USD73.65 a barrel at midday in London on Wednesday from USD72.71 late Tuesday.
Gold was quoted higher at USD3,028.11 an ounce against USD3,023.13.
By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
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