Investment accounts
Adult accounts
Child accounts
Choosing Fidelity
Choosing Fidelity
Why invest with us Current offers Fees and charges Open an account Transfer investments
Financial advice & support
Fidelity’s Services
Fidelity’s Services
Financial advice Retirement Wealth Management Investor Centre (London) Bereavement
Guidance and tools
Guidance and tools
Choosing investments Choosing accounts ISA calculator Retirement calculators
Share dealing
Choose your shares
Tools and information
Tools and information
Share prices and markets Chart and compare shares Stock market news Shareholder perks
Pensions & retirement
Pensions, tax & tools
Saving for retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Speak to a specialist Creating a retirement plan Taking tax-free cash Pension drawdown Annuities Investing in retirement Investment Pathways
London midday: FTSE maintains gains as BoE stands pat
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still in the black by midday on Thursday, helped along by a solid performance from Shell, as the Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged. The FTSE 100 was up 0.5% at 7,668.79, while sterling was down 0.2% against the dollar at 1.2663.
The BoE held rates at a 16-year high of 5.25% for the fourth time in a row, in line with economists' expectations.
The decision was not unanimous, however. Two members of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee opted to lift rates by 0.25 percentage points to 5.5%, while one member was in favour of cutting rates to 5%.
This was the first time since March 2020 that a member voted for lower rates.
The MPC hiked the cost of borrowing 14 times since the end of 2021, as it looked to tackle surging inflation.
While inflation is now well off its peak, it remains notably above the BoE's long-term target of 2%. The latest data from the Office for National Statistics also showed a surprise uptick in December, to 4% from 3.9% a month previously.
Overnight, the Federal Reserve also stood pat on interest rates, while pouring cold water on the prospect of a rate cut in March.
Steve Clayton, head of equity funds at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Interest rate bulls, many of whom have been calling for early and sustained rate cuts, effectively had their legs cut away from beneath them after that message. The market has had to push back expectations for the scale and pace of rate cutting through the rest of 2024. It's very much a case of train delayed, not cancelled, at this point. But investors are likely to be less forgiving if we see any data emerging suggesting that the economy still has scope to keep inflation bubbling away."
In equity markets, Shell gushed higher as the oil giant posted a drop in annual profits but lifted its dividend and announced another $3.5bn share buyback.
Africa-focused telecoms group Airtel Africa rallied as it said it plans to launch a share buyback worth up to $100m after a strong underlying performance in the third quarter, though currency movements weighed heavily on growth.
BT Group ticked up as it reiterated annual guidance and reported flat adjusted earnings for the third quarter and a rise in revenues driven by higher prices.
JD Sports was trading down on the back of a weak outlook from Adidas, while Paragon Banking fell sharply as it traded without entitlement to the dividend.
In broker note action, easyJet flew higher after an upgrade to 'overweight' from 'neutral' at JPMorgan.
Marshalls was boosted by an upgrade to 'buy' at Berenberg, but Pets at Home was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'hold' by the same outfit.
Bytes Technology slumped after a downgrade to 'hold' at HSBC and retailer Next fell after a downgrade to 'equalweight' at Barclays.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,668.79 0.50% FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,309.24 -0.25% techMARK (TASX) 4,399.02 0.61%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Shell (SHEL) 2,517.00p 2.86% Diploma (DPLM) 3,348.00p 2.70% Croda International (CRDA) 4,919.00p 2.37% Entain (ENT) 986.20p 1.86% GSK (GSK) 1,595.60p 1.76% Rightmove (RMV) 569.40p 1.64% Glencore (GLEN) 427.35p 1.64% WPP (WPP) 784.00p 1.63% Beazley (BEZ) 553.00p 1.56% Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 513.20p 1.54%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Fresnillo (FRES) 509.80p -4.10% 3i Group (III) 2,405.00p -2.99% Ocado Group (OCDO) 535.60p -2.01% Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,298.00p -1.84% Next (NXT) 8,322.00p -1.72% Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,388.00p -1.70% Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 2,914.00p -1.15% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 115.75p -1.11% Land Securities Group (LAND) 662.20p -1.11% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,296.00p -0.92%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Marshalls (MSLH) 296.00p 5.49% AJ Bell (AJB) 324.00p 2.40% easyJet (EZJ) 566.80p 1.91% Future (FUTR) 728.00p 1.82% Darktrace (DARK) 350.20p 1.71% Serco Group (SRP) 176.30p 1.61% Carnival (CCL) 1,221.50p 1.58% Rotork (ROR) 318.20p 1.53% Renishaw (RSW) 3,556.00p 1.48% Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited (BSIF) 112.40p 1.44%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 665.50p -5.47% Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 623.00p -5.10% Dr. Martens (DOCS) 84.65p -4.99% Pets at Home Group (PETS) 267.80p -4.43% Wood Group (John) (WG.) 152.40p -3.24% Supermarket Income Reit (SUPR) 78.80p -2.72% Tritax Eurobox (GBP) (EBOX) 50.40p -2.70% Auction Technology Group (ATG) 531.00p -2.57% Centamin (DI) (CEY) 94.90p -1.96% Moonpig Group (MOON) 164.80p -1.90%
Share this article
Related Sharecast Articles
Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
Award-winning online share dealing
Search, compare and select from thousands of shares.
Expert insights into investing your money
Our team of experts explore the world of share dealing.
Policies and important information
Accessibility | Conflicts of interest statement | Consumer Duty Target Market | Consumer Duty Value Assessment Statement | Cookie policy | Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Doing Business with Fidelity | Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Reports | Investing in Fidelity funds | Legal information | Modern slavery | Mutual respect policy | Privacy statement | Remuneration policy | Staying secure | Statutory and Regulatory disclosures | Whistleblowing policy
Please remember that past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance, the performance of investments is not guaranteed, and the value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. When investments have particular tax features, these will depend on your personal circumstances and tax rules may change in the future. This website does not contain any personal recommendations for a particular course of action, service or product. You should regularly review your investment objectives and choices and, if you are unsure whether an investment is suitable for you, you should contact an authorised financial adviser. Before opening an account, please read the ‘Doing Business with Fidelity’ document which incorporates our client terms. Prior to investing into a fund, please read the relevant key information document which contains important information about the fund.
This website is issued by Financial Administration Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (FCA Register number 122169) and registered in England and Wales under company number 1629709 whose registered address is Beech Gate, Millfield Lane, Lower Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 6RP.