(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still firmer by midday on Thursday as data showed the UK economy grew at the fastest pace in two years in the third quarter and boosted by some well-received corporate releases.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 10,874.46, while Brent crude was down 0.6% at $92.24 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was 0.7% lower at $85.94.
Stocks in the US rallied overnight, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 ending up 1.6% and 1.3% respectively after neocloud giant CoreWeave was lifted by solid third-quarter earnings, while Nvidia bounced back from recent losses. Nvidia shares were sharply lower in pre-market trade on Thursday, however, amid reports the company is looking to oust founder and chief executive Jensen Huang as fresh revelations emerged in the wake of his affair with an alleged Chinese spy.
According to the New York Times, Huang also had an affair with a woman who works at Nvidia. That in turn has caused the board to hold urgent talks about his future, it was reported by the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal.
On home shores, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the economy grew by a robust 0.7% in the last quarter despite war in the Middle East pushing up energy prices and undermining sentiment.
The dominant services sector drove growth in the three months to September. Output rose 0.9%, and helped offset a 0.7% slide in construction. Production output edged up 0.1%.
Chief economist Grant Fitzner said: "The economy grew robustly almost entirely due to strong and widespread growth in the services sector.
"Computer programming again increased strongly, as it has all year, registering its fastest growth in the last three years. We continue to see evidence that AI-linked businesses helped to boost the sector.
"Leasing of cars, intellectual property and property management companies also helped to boost services, alongside increases in accountancy, employment agencies and car dealerships."
Monthly GDP grew by 0.2%, compared to a downwardly revised no growth in August.
Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said: "London's Footsie skipped higher in early trade as the UK economy again confounded expectations, with another show of resilience. The big sums being poured into AI are starting to be felt across the wider economy and consumers have been shrugging off the squeeze in standards of living, and splashing the cash, keeping activity more upbeat.
"It's quite a turnaround in fortunes for an economy that has so been tarnished with a reputation of sluggishness but it also cements expectations for an interest rate hike in February, as the Bank of England policymakers have been fretting about the rising inflation and this rate of growth could fuel it."
In equity markets, Burberry surged after the luxury fashion brand said it swung to an interim profit of £19m from a loss of £48m in the same period a year earlier.
Rolls-Royce rose as the engine maker announced a £1.5bn share buyback and said that strong operational, strategic and financial progress in the second half of the year give the group further confidence in its full-year guidance of £4.7bn-£4.9bn of underlying operating profit and £3.8bn-£4bn of free cash flow.
B&M European Value Retail shot up as it introduced guidance for FY27 as it said its 'back to basics' campaign was bearing fruit, with UK stores showing a return to like-for-like sales growth.
Housebuilder Persimmon rose after saying it still expects to trade in line with expectations despite pressures on buyers and rising costs due to the war on Iran.
On the downside, shares of iconic bootmaker Dr Martens tumbled as it conceded that its first-half performance had been "disappointing", with group revenue down 9% at constant currency.
WH Smith also fell as the retailer reported a drop in full-year profit, in line with expectations as it presses ahead with its transformation, although revenue rose.
Precious metals miner Fresnillo lost its shine, along with gold miner Endeavour, amid lower gold and silver prices. The latter was also in focus after third-quarter results.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,874.46 0.36%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,986.98 0.25%
techMARK (TASX) 6,261.06 0.15%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,194.00p 9.33%
3i Group (III) 2,716.00p 6.20%
Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 338.90p 3.74%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,375.00p 2.49%
BT Group (BT.A) 218.20p 2.30%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 696.50p 2.13%
Next (NXT) 16,075.00p 1.84%
Weir (WEIR) 2,432.00p 1.84%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 357.00p 1.65%
Kingfisher (KGF) 376.30p 1.65%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
ICG (ICG) 1,902.00p -2.61%
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,458.00p -2.42%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,015.50p -2.26%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,252.00p -1.89%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,253.00p -1.72%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,892.50p -1.28%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,855.00p -1.20%
Spirax Group (SPX) 7,550.00p -0.92%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,501.00p -0.76%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,346.00p -0.60%
FTSE 250 - Risers
B&M European Value Retail (BME) 332.00p 18.71%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,334.50p 6.43%
Vistry Group (VTY) 257.20p 4.31%
Michael Page (PAGE) 214.80p 4.26%
Bellway (BWY) 2,362.00p 4.06%
International Workplace Group (IWG) 222.40p 3.73%
Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 300.00p 3.72%
Hays (HAS) 59.35p 3.04%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,652.00p 2.58%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 80.86p 2.49%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 52.90p -16.56%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 648.50p -7.88%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,863.00p -6.30%
Volex (VLX) 532.00p -6.17%
WH Smith (SMWH) 401.40p -6.04%
SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 30.85p -4.34%
Genus (GNS) 2,302.00p -3.68%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 454.40p -3.64%
Fidelity Emerging Markets Limited Ptg NPV (FEML) 1,230.00p -3.30%
Premier Foods (PFD) 196.70p -2.86%
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