FTSE Edges Up on Wednesday
The FTSE 100 edged higher on Wednesday, recovering from two sessions of losses but underperforming other European markets. Oil majors provided support, with BP gaining around 2%, while HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest and Standard Chartered advanced between 0.5% and 1.1%. Barclays slipped slightly ahead of its corporate results due on Thursday. Fresnillo fell more than 2% after maintaining its annual silver production outlook despite lower output compared with last year. Investors also assessed fresh UK economic data showing persistent inflationary pressure and rising public borrowing. Annual consumer price inflation accelerated to 3.5% in September, above expectations of 3.4%, potentially strengthening the case for tighter monetary policy from the Bank of England. Meanwhile, government borrowing reached £97.8 billion in the April—September period, exceeding the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March forecast by £6 billion, while September borrowing totalled £24.5 billion.
The FTSE 100 edged higher on Wednesday, recovering from two sessions of losses but underperforming other European markets. Oil majors provided support, with BP gaining around 2%, while HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest and Standard Chartered advanced between 0.5% and 1.1%. Barclays slipped slightly ahead of its corporate results due on Thursday. Fresnillo fell more than 2% after maintaining its annual silver production outlook despite lower output compared with last year.
Investors also assessed fresh UK economic data showing persistent inflationary pressure and rising public borrowing. Annual consumer price inflation accelerated to 3.5% in September, above expectations of 3.4%, potentially strengthening the case for tighter monetary policy from the Bank of England. Meanwhile, government borrowing reached £97.8 billion in the April—September period, exceeding the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March forecast by £6 billion, while September borrowing totalled £24.5 billion.