16th Sep 2026 09:13
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Wednesday, as investors digested an acceleration in UK inflation and looked ahead to the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, while Barratt Redrow surged following its annual results.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 35.20 points, 0.3%, at 10,693.33. The FTSE 250 was up 83.09 points, 0.4%, at 23,901.83, and the AIM all-share was up 4.16 points, 0.5%, at 787.31.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.4% at 1,063.68, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 20,699.55, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.2% at 18,494.43.
In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.3%.
UK consumer price inflation accelerated to 3.1% year-on-year in August from 2.9% in July, in line with market expectations cited by FXStreet, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The increase was driven by higher transport costs, particularly motor fuels, as rising oil prices fed through to consumers.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.5% in August, compared with a 0.3% increase in the same month a year earlier.
Core CPI, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, rose 2.6% annually in August, unchanged from July and also matching market expectations.
Goods inflation accelerated to 2.7% from 2.2%, while services inflation remained at 3.4%, suggesting underlying domestic price pressures were broadly steady despite the rise in the headline rate.
Meanwhile, the consumer prices index including owner-occupiers' housing costs, or CPIH, increased 3.3% annually in August, accelerating from 3.1% in July. Core CPIH inflation was unchanged at 2.9%.
UK producer price inflation also accelerated in August as higher oil prices continued to raise costs for manufacturers.
Producer input prices rose 6.1% year-on-year, accelerating from a revised 5.8% in July and exceeding the 5.4% increase expected by markets, according to FXStreet.
Analysts at ING said: "UK inflation has risen back above 3%, and higher energy prices suggest that could get to 3.6-3.7% over the winter. For now, though, there’s nothing in the latest data that screams a need to hike interest rates."
The Bank of England's next interest rate decision is due on Thursday, with markets mostly expecting no change in rates.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3478 early Wednesday, lower than USD1.3485 at the London equities close on Tuesday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR1.1668 from EUR1.1681 a day prior.
The euro traded at USD1.1551 early Wednesday, higher than USD1.1545 late Tuesday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY154.94 versus JPY155.12.
Barratt Redrow was at the top of the FTSE 100, jumping 8.0%, after reporting pretax profit of GBP363.5 million for the 52 weeks that ended June 28, up 48% from GBP245.3 million on an aggregated basis a year earlier, as revenue rose 6.6% to GBP6.06 billion from GBP5.68 billion.
Adjusted pretax profit before purchase price allocation adjustments fell 7.1% to GBP572.8 million from GBP616.5 million, while total home completions increased 5.0% to 17,667 from 16,826.
The housebuilder lowered its financial 2027 completions guidance to between 17,500 and 17,900 homes from 17,700 to 18,200, citing continued planning delays.
However, its net private weekly reservation rate improved to 0.62 from 0.55 between June 29 and September 6, while forward sales rose to 11,200 homes from 10,593.
Barratt Redrow plans a GBP400 million capital return in financial 2027, including around GBP386 million of share buybacks. From financial 2028, it intends to return 50% of adjusted net income alongside an annual GBP100 million buyback.
Miners were also higher. Fresnillo rose 3.0%, Antofagasta gained 2.9%, and Endeavour Mining added 2.5%.
Marks & Spencer Group was at the bottom of the blue-chip index, down 4.0%.
On the FTSE 250, Moonpig Group was the worst performer, down 5.9%, despite saying trading since the start of its financial year on May 1 was in line with expectations and leaving its financial 2027 outlook unchanged.
Revenue growth in its Moonpig business is driven by higher orders and average order value, supported by an expanding active customer base, product upselling, and a modest increase in gift attachment rates. Greetz continues to deliver modest year-on-year growth.
At Experiences, online gross transaction value continues to grow, although reported revenue remains lower year-on-year following the managed exit from some third-party retail partnerships and reinvestment in its customer proposition. Moonpig expects Experiences revenue to return to year-on-year growth in the second half.
The group maintained its targets for mid-to-high single-digit annual revenue growth, a 25% to 27% adjusted Ebitda margin and double-digit adjusted EPS growth, alongside further share buybacks.
At the top of the FTSE 250, Kier Group rose 6.3% after Deutsche Bank Research raised its price target to 330p from 295p, retaining its 'buy' rating.
Pan African Resources rose 5.8% after reporting a surge in annual profit following what it described as a record-breaking year.
In Asia on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo closed 0.7% higher. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended up 0.7%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed 0.2% higher. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.3%.
In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.6%, the S&P 500 down 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.8%.
In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.6%, the S&P 500 down 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.8%.
The US Federal Reserve began its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, with markets expecting policymakers to raise interest rates for the first time since 2023 as inflation remains stubbornly above target.
The decision is due at 1800 GMT on Wednesday, followed by a press conference from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh. US consumer price inflation remained at 3.4% in August, unchanged from July and well above the Fed's 2% target.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 5.00%, narrowing from 5.01%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 5.37%, unchanged from Tuesday.
Brent oil was trading at USD107.46 a barrel early Wednesday, lower than USD108.48 late Tuesday, as the US-Iran war and hostilities in the Gulf dragged on.
Gold was quoted at USD4,334.91 an ounce early Wednesday, higher than USD4,285.70 on Tuesday.
Still to come on Wednesday's economic calendar, the eurozone publishes industrial production figures, while the US releases retail sales and export and import prices before the Federal Reserve announces its latest interest rate decision.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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