10th Dec 2025 08:47
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened mixed on Wednesday, ahead of the US Federal Reserve interest rate decision.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 7.85 points, 0.1%, at 9,649.86. The FTSE 250 was down 26.60 points, 0.1%, at 21,882.52, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.68 points, 0.1%, at 748.26.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 968.39, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.1% at 19,035.86, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 17,560.23.
Berkeley Group on the FTSE 100 was up 2.3%, despite reporting decreased earnings and no dividend for its first half.
The housebuilder reported pretax profit of GBP254.0 million, down on-year from GBP275.1 million. Revenue decreased to GBP1.18 billion from GBP1.28 billion. It declined to declare a dividend for the period, down from 207 pence.
Back in September, the company had announced that it completed its 2011 shareholder returns programme, amid a focus on its Berkeley 2035 strategy which it launched in December 2024. Berkeley had said it will make shareholder returns via a combination of share buybacks and dividends under a "flexible capital allocation model".
Berkeley also said it is on track to deliver on its pretax profit guidance for financial 2026 and 2027, and noted the UK government's focus on housing supply.
On the FTSE 250, FirstGroup gained 4.8%.
The public transport provider says it has been named as the preferred operator for the London overground suburban rail network contract by Transport for London. The contract is estimated to have a value of around GBP3 billion.
On AIM, Amaroq was up 2.8%.
The Greenland-focused mine developer says Nanoq gold project drilling results in south Greenland confirmed "significant" gold copper mineralisation, citing intersections of up to 187.4 grammes of gold per tonne, and up to 1.1% copper.
James Gilbertson, vice president of Exploration at Amaroq, says: "Our current drilling only covers a portion of the interpreted system. Our results suggest that mineralisation remains open at depth, along strike, and within a number of parallel structures to the west. With shallow, stacked mineralised zones and strong grades, we believe Nanoq could represent a much larger gold system than currently defined."
In political news, Beijing said Wednesday it "firmly opposes" the British government's sanctions on two Chinese companies over alleged cyber activities.
"China expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the UK's practice of using cybersecurity issues for political manipulation," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular press conference, adding that Beijing had lodged "stern representations" with London.
Elsewhere, Elon Musk's SpaceX is pursuing an initial public offering which would seek to raise "significantly" over USD30 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing "people familiar with the matter".
The listing, which sources claimed SpaceX is pursuing as soon as mid-to-late 2026, would be the biggest of all time with the firm targeting a valuation of about USD1.5 trillion.
In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.2%.
The pound was quoted lower at USD1.3321 early on Wednesday in London, compared to USD1.3331 at the equities close on Tuesday. The euro stood higher at USD1.1649, against USD1.1637. Against the yen, the dollar was trading lower at JPY156.62 compared to JPY156.90.
In Asia on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.1%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.3%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.1%.
In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.4%, the S&P 500 down 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.1%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.19%, widening from 4.18%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.81%, widening from 4.80%.
"Everybody knows the Federal Reserve (Fed) will announce a 25bp rate cut today," commented Swissquote's Ipek Ozkardeskaya. "I know it, you know it, he/she/it knows it, my five-year-old knows it, my cat, your dog, the birds in the sky. Everyone knows the Fed is lowering rates later today. Market pricing is giving it roughly an 88% probability — too high for the Fed to walk back in the absence of an emergency.
"What we don't know is what Fed members are planning for next year. How many cuts they anticipate, and whether their projections will convince markets to react accordingly."
Brent oil was quoted lower at USD61.85 a barrel early in London on Wednesday from USD61.98 late Tuesday.
Gold was quoted lower at USD4,203.31 an ounce against USD4,214.16.
Still to come on Wednesday's economic calendar, Canada also has its interest rate decision. The US, meanwhile, has several other releases, including EIA crude oil stocks and the employment cost index.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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