London close: FTSE hits fresh high as Next, GSK jump on results; Fed eyed

(Sharecast News) - London stocks hit a fresh closing high on Wednesday for the second day in a row, with Next and GSK rallying on the back of results, as investors awaited the latest policy announcement from the US Federal Reserve.

The FTSE 100 closed up 0.6% at 9,756.14.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "A revival in commodity prices has helped the FTSE 100 a new record high, helped by strong results from GSK and Next. Overall the index continues to benefit from concerns about a bubble in US assets, with the FTSE 100's lower valuation providing a destination for funds without the concerns that too much good news is being factored in.

"It promises to be a busy 36 hours for investors, kicking off with the Fed decision that, like its predecessor and successor, is expected to be a foregone conclusion. But there is still room for some volatility around Powell's comments, and even if we escape that the trio of Mag7 names reporting tonight could also provide a stumbling block, even if only temporarily."

Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet are all slated to report across the pond.

Meanwhile, the trade spat between the US and China remained in focus ahead of a meeting between US President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea.

"The agenda is packed, given recent escalations including China's export controls on rare earths and Trump's tariff threats," Danske Bank said. "We expect the two leaders to strike a deal to ease tensions, however, failure to reach an agreement could trigger a negative reaction in risk markets."

Speaking on Air Force One on Wednesday, a day before his meeting with Xi Jinping, Trump said he would cut the 20% fentanyl levy in exchange for Beijing curbing the export of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl.

On home shores, figures from the Bank of England showed that mortgage approvals unexpectedly ticked higher in September and borrowing hit a six-month high.

According to the latest monthly Money and Credit Report, net mortgage approvals rose by 1,000 to 65,900 in September. Analysts were expecting a decline.

Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals rose by �1.2bn to �5.5 bn - the highest since March 2025.

The effective interest rate - the actual interest paid - on newly-drawn mortgages fell by seven basis points to 4.19% in September, which was the lowest since January 2023, continuing the downward trend seen since March 2025.

The report also showed that net borrowing of consumer credit was �1.5bn last month, down from �1.7bn in August.

Within that, net borrowing through credit cards was little changed at �0.7bn, while net borrowing through other forms of consumer credit fell to �0.8bn from �1bn over the same period.

Households' deposits with banks and building societies increased by �7.9bn in September, driven by households depositing an additional �5.8bn into interest-bearing sight deposit accounts, �2.4bn into ISAs, and �0.7bn into non-interest-bearing accounts.

In equity markets, clothing and homeware retailer Next surged as it lifted its guidance for full-year pre-tax profit by �30m to �1.14bn and said full-price sales in the fourth quarter were set to grow 7%, up from previous guidance of 4.5%.

Julie Palmer, partner at Begbies Traynor, said: "Next has once again proven why it's the gold standard in UK retail. With guidance lifted and healthy sales growth both at home and abroad, the retail giant's winning formula of tight cost control, effective stock management and a well-balanced online and store offer is clearly paying off.

"At a time when many retailers are feeling the squeeze from rising costs, weak consumer confidence and uncertainty around the next Budget, Next appears largely immune to such pressures. Instead, with a growing international presence and consistently strong UK performance, the FTSE 100 retailer remains firmly on a winning streak. For now, it's hard to see what could knock it off course."

Glencore advanced after a third-quarter production update, while GSK rallied after the pharma giant lifted its 2025 sales and earnings expectations following better-than-expected third-quarter results.

Miners more generally were in the black, with Antofagasta, Rio Tinto and Anglo American all up amid rising metals prices.

Luxury car maker Aston Martin Lagonda nudged higher as it posted a third-quarter loss of �112m on the back of lower-than-expected wholesale volumes as a result of US tariffs. The loss before tax for the three months to 30 September compared with a loss of �12.2m a year ago.

On the downside, Elementis slumped even as the specialty chemicals firm backed its full-year guidance after a "resilient" third quarter.

WH Smith lost ground after saying it was delaying the release of its preliminary results for the financial year ended 31 August 2025 to allow time for Deloitte to finish its review. Deloitte was hired to undertake the review in August after the retailer uncovered an accounting overstatement of around �30m for its North America trading profit.

Computacenter fell ahead of a third-quarter trading update on Thursday.