4th Dec 2025 09:14
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were mixed on Thursday, as the FTSE 100 missed out on a European rally amid weakness in SSE and National Grid after Ofgem approved a GBP28 billion investment.
The FTSE 100 index opened down 11.77 points, 0.1%, at 9,680.30. The FTSE 250 was up 11.90 points, 0.1%, at 22,013.35, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.52 points, 0.1%, at 749.69.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 970.21, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 19,134.67, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.2% at 17,651.26.
The new car market in the UK struggled in November ahead of the UK government budget announcement, the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders says.
The UK new car market fell 1.6% on-year to 151,154 units in November, from 153,610.
Battery electric vehicle update was up 3.6% on-year in November to 39,965 from 38,581. The BEV uptake reached a market share of 26.4% in November, up from 25.1% in November 2024.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, says: "Even in a fragile market, zero emission vehicle uptake continues to rise, which is exactly what we need. But the weakest growth for almost two years – ahead of government announcing a new tax on electric vehicles – should be seen as a wake-up call that sustained increase in demand for EVs cannot be taken for granted. We should be taking every opportunity to encourage drivers to make the switch, not punishing them for doing so, else the ambitions of government and industry will be thwarted."
In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.9% higher.
British Land has been promoted to the FTSE 100 in its latest quarterly shuffle, with WPP relegated from the benchmark index. British Land rejoins the FTSE after it was relegated in March.
Also joining the FTSE 250 are GB Group, Pan African Resources, Princes Group, and Shawbrook, which held its IPO in October.
Leaving the FTSE 250 are investors European Opportunities Trust and Foresight Solar Fund. PayPoint and Pinewood Technologies will also leave the index.
All changes will take effect from the start of trading on December 22.
Prior to that, Utilico Emerging Markets Trust and RTW Biotech Opportunities join the FTSE 250 on Thursday as replacements for Spectris and Petershill Partners.
Britain's energy watchdog has given the green light to an initial GBP28 billion of investment to upgrade UK energy infrastructure, but revealed the move will push up network charges on household bills by GBP108.
In its final verdict on price controls for energy network firms over the next five years, Ofgem has increased the allowed investment spend from the initial GBP24 billion that was provisionally given the go ahead in the summer.
It said the higher investment level will see GBP17.8 billion spent on gas transmission and distribution networks in the five years to 2031, with a further GBP10.3 billion used to strengthen the UK's high-voltage electricity network.
But Ofgem said its decision to increase the allowed investment spend will push up household bills by more than first expected, before savings.
Households will see the network charges on bills – which make up around a fifth of average annual energy costs – surge by GBP108 by 2031 to cover the cost of the extra investment, up from the GBP104 rise estimated in its draft verdict in July.
The regulator said this will include GBP48 for gas networks and GBP60 for the electricity grid.
SSE shares were down 1.8% as it said it welcomes improvements to baseline total expenditure.
"However, a detailed assessment is required to determine the overall investability of the package," SSE added.
SSE shares have gone ex-dividend on Thursday, meaning new buyers will not qualify for the most recent payout.
National Grid slipped 0.8% as it also welcomed "recognition of the need for significant investment into the electricity transmission sector".
"We will now review in detail the full package contained within the final determination, to assess how Ofgem have addressed the critical points we raised in our draft determination response, and therefore whether it delivers an overall framework that is both investable and workable," National Grid added.
Sterling was at USD1.3343 on Thursday morning, up slightly from USD1.3342 at the London equities close on Wednesday. The euro was higher at USD1.1678 from USD1.1664. Against the yen, the dollar was lower at JPY154.97 versus JPY155.02.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was up 2.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was 0.1% lower, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong gained 0.7%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney rose 0.3%.
In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.9%, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2%.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury widened slightly to 4.09% on Thursday morning from 4.08% at Wednesday's close. The yield on the 30-year was unchanged at 4.75%.
In London, Spirax Group shares led the way on the FTSE 100 index as it climbed 2.0%.
JPMorgan raised its price target for Spirax to 7,800 pence from 7,500p and maintained a 'neutral' rating for the thermal energy and fluid technology firm.
On the FTSE 250 index, SSP shares jumped 15% as it swung to a loss despite reporting higher revenue.
The food and beverage outlet operator said revenue rose 6.0% to GBP3.64 billion in the 12 months to the end of September from GBP3.43 billion a year prior. It swung to a pretax loss of GBP10.4 million from a GBP118.6 million profit a year ago.
The firm said its bottom line was hit by GBP183 million of non-underlying expenses and impairment charges.
It proposed a final dividend of 2.8 pence per share, up from 2.3p a year prior. This gives a full-year dividend of 4.2p per share, up 20% from 3.5p a year ago.
"We have delivered a resilient financial performance this year, with revenue and [earning per share] up 8% and 25% respectively, on a constant currency basis, and a pivot to positive free cash flow. As a result of our actions in the year including an ongoing focus on cost efficiency, we saw strong trading across three of our four regions," said Chief Executive Officer Patrick Coveney.
The firm said it has launched a "wide-ranging review" of its rail business in continental Europe.
Shares in Baltic Classifieds sank 22%.
The online classified ads portal provider said revenue grew 7.2% to EUR44.8 million in the six months to the end of October from EUR41.8 million, while pretax profit jumped 22% to EUR30.5 million from EUR25.0 million.
The firm said despite record inventory comparables and challenges in the Estonian auto market, it expects revenue growth for the second half of the year to be above the first half.
"With lower revenue growth and continued investment into our product, some [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation] margin compression is inevitable, but even with investments into data and AI, our Ebitda margin is expected to continue in the mid seventies," it said.
Among small caps, shares in NARF Industries jumped 15%.
The London-based cybersecurity provider said it has won a two-year contract worth USD3.6 million from a US government R&D agency.
It said the contract focuses on developing novel approaches to accelerate computer system recovery after cyber-attacks.
Gold was down at USD4,185.00 an ounce early on Thursday from USD4,222.94 late Wednesday. Brent oil was trading lower at USD62.94 a barrel from USD63.04.
Still to come on Thursday's economic calendar are eurozone retail sales, a UK construction PMI reading, and initial jobless claims data in the US.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
British LandWPPGb GroupPan African ResourcesPrinces GroupShawbrook GroupEuro Opps Tr.Foresight Solar FundPaypointPinewood Technologies GroupUtilico Emerging MarketsRtw BiotechSpectrisPetershillSSENational GridSpirax-SarcoBaltic Classifieds GroupNARF