(Sharecast News) - London stocks had nudged a smidgen lower by midday on Wednesday as investors eyed a key US inflation reading and quarterly results from US chipmaker Nvidia.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 10,870.49, while Brent crude was 2.7% lower at $86.15 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was off 2.4% at $80.38 following reports that Iran and Oman are getting closer to reaching a deal to secure an interim reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said "the holding pattern remained in markets generally ahead of another pivotal day".
"The next leg of the journey will follow today with the release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation," he said. "Headline inflation is expected to have risen by 3.6% in July, while core inflation, which excludes more volatile energy and food prices, is expected to rise to 3.2%, both of which would represent incremental gains. A preliminary estimate of second quarter GDP is also on the agenda, with business investment expected to nudge the figure to a slightly higher 1.6%, adding to the data which the Fed will be considering on the broader strength of the economy.
"Then there is the AI darling Nvidia, which posts its latest update after the close of play today. Shares gained by 2% ahead of the numbers, but there is no doubt that the bar of expectation is at fresh highs, as indeed are the company's revenue numbers. Its second quarter results are estimated to be stellar once more, with 97% growth in revenues to $92 billion, but the outlook on maintaining this extraordinary growth will also be firmly in investors' sights."
The PCE figures are due at 1330 BST, while Nvidia results will be released after the close of US markets.
On home shores, the latest Distributive Trades Survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed that retail sales fell sharply in August as the hot weather extended a "prolonged period of weak demand".
Retail sales volumes fell at a weighted balance of -48% in the year to August, compared with -26% in July. However, retailers expect the decline to ease in September, to -22%.
Sales were also judged to be poor for the time of year, while sentiment among retailers deteriorated to -29% from -15% in May.
Price pressures picked up, with retail selling price growth accelerating to +35% from +28% in May. Retailers expect inflation to accelerate further next month, to +53%.
Across the broader distribution sector, sales volumes fell at a balance of -27%, after stabilising in July.
"Retail firms grew more downbeat in August as they grappled with sharply falling sales volumes," said Martin Sartorius, lead economist at the CBI, who noted that weak sentiment was weighing on retailers' investment and hiring plans.
Employment also continued to decline, although at a slower pace than in May, while retailers still expect to cut capital expenditure over the next 12 months.
"With parliament returning next week, thoughts will start turning to the Autumn Budget and the steps that the Government can take to restore confidence across retail and the broader distribution sector," he said.
UK corporate news was scarce, but Sage Group was the biggest faller on the top-flight index following disappointing guidance from US peer Intuit.
Hochschild Mining surged to the top of the FTSE 250 as it said first-half adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation jumped 119% to $491.5m, while revenue rose 62% to $844.4m, underpinned by higher metals prices.
Chilean copper miner Antofagasta was the top gainer on the FTSE 100, meanwhile, as copper prices advanced.
In broker note action, Softcat fell after a downgrade to 'hold' from 'buy' at Deutsche Bank, while Bytes Technology rallied after an upgrade to 'buy' by the same outfit.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,870.49 -0.14%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,927.01 0.29%
techMARK (TASX) 6,172.36 -0.22%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Antofagasta (ANTO) 4,117.00p 2.79%
Diploma (DPLM) 7,385.00p 2.14%
Halma (HLMA) 3,648.00p 2.07%
Fresnillo (FRES) 3,230.00p 1.86%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 339.40p 1.74%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 86.74p 1.69%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 448.70p 1.67%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 18,850.00p 1.67%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,203.00p 1.65%
Spirax Group (SPX) 7,270.00p 1.54%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
The Sage Group (SGE) 1,064.50p -3.71%
BP (BP.) 514.70p -2.59%
Compass Group 11 (CPG) 30.29p -1.62%
Shell (SHEL) 3,333.50p -1.57%
Experian (EXPN) 2,967.00p -1.43%
BAE Systems (BA.) 2,071.00p -1.38%
3i Group (III) 2,864.00p -1.38%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,328.00p -1.17%
Entain (ENT) 534.00p -1.15%
Relx plc (REL) 2,589.00p -1.11%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 674.00p 7.91%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 426.80p 2.99%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 705.50p 2.99%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,113.00p 2.76%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 80.70p 2.41%
Renishaw (RSW) 5,175.00p 2.27%
THG (THG) 35.62p 2.12%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 210.60p 1.94%
Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 727.00p 1.82%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 174.40p 1.75%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Energean (ENOG) 734.50p -3.73%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 244.00p -3.33%
Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 1,052.00p -2.41%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 263.80p -2.15%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 514.00p -2.00%
Playtech (PTEC) 398.20p -1.63%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 285.00p -1.39%
Softcat (SCT) 2,054.00p -1.34%
Serco Group (SRP) 257.00p -1.15%
XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,794.00p -0.99%
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