London midday: FTSE stays down as oil prices rise; HSBC slumps

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still in the red by midday on Wednesday as oil prices rose, with HSBC under pressure on news it's planning sweeping job cuts in its UK wealth management arm.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.7% at 10,470.04, while Brent crude was up 1.5% at $102.04 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was 0.7% firmer at $90.06

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Positivity around Tuesday's record-breaking session on Wall Street, with the S&P hitting new highs, failed to make its way across the Atlantic on Wednesday.

"European markets were in the red as the mood music continues to change daily. One minute investors are upbeat, the next they're not.

"Wall Street got a lift yesterday as investors resumed their bullish positioning ahead of the next quarterly earnings season. People are betting that the mega spending in AI is not letting up, and that inflationary pressures linked to a higher oil price won't derail the tech-related good news.

"In Europe, where there is a lower representation of AI-related names, investors are taking a more cautious stance. Oil prices remain above $100 a barrel and the inflation risks are clear to see.

"Nonetheless, there is still plenty of good corporate news on both sides of the Atlantic that suggests non-AI activities are still robust."

On home shores, the latest house price index from Lloyds showed that prices were steady in September despite the impact of higher interest rates.

House prices were unchanged on the month following a 0.3% decline in August. On the year, prices were flat in September, having fallen 0.4% a month earlier. The average price of a property was £298,441, versus £298,395 in August.

Northern Ireland continued to lead the UK, with annual house price growth rising to 7.4% from 6.8% a month earlier. Meanwhile, Greater London recorded the biggest annual fall, with prices down 2.2% year-on-year.

Andrew Asaam, mortgages director at Lloyds, said: "While the market overall has been fairly subdued, property prices have so far proved resilient during a period of higher mortgage rates, which has been driven by changing expectations around the future path of Base Rate. That's mirrored in wider economic data, with household spending holding up better than many expected despite energy and other cost pressures arising from the Middle East conflict.

"Whether that picture continues is likely to depend on how confident consumers feel that the latest costofliving pressures will prove temporary. Confidence has long been a key driver of housing market activity, and will play an important role in shaping demand over the remainder of this year and into 2027.

"For now, the housing market appears to be balancing buyer caution with continued underlying demand. While higher mortgage rates and wider economic uncertainty are encouraging some people to take a more measured approach, new enquiries from prospective buyers are now at their highest since February. That should help sustain activity in the near term, with any movement in house prices likely to remain modest."

In equity markets, HSBC fell following a report it's planning job cuts in its UK wealth management business, drastically reducing its ranks of financial advisers and other specialists as part of a push to use AI to help serve wealthy clients.

According to the Financial Times, which cited people familiar with the plans, the bank will cut roles across its UK wealth business. About half of the business's management and specialist roles are expected to go, while the reduction in the ranks of financial advisers will be closer to 70%.

Pennon Group fell sharply after launching a fully underwritten £550m rights issue at a 35.5% discount and saying it would be rebasing its dividend by around 30% to help fund a significant increase in investment across the company's regulated water businesses.

Severn Trent and United Utilities also lost ground.

On the upside, Shell edged higher as it lifted its third-quarter integrated gas production forecast.

Ocado surged following a report that Australia's Coles is exploring the use of robots in its supermarkets to pick and pack grocery orders and is in early stage talks with the London-listed company about trialling the technology in one of its Melbourne stores.

Avon Technologies rallied as it upgraded its full-year earnings outlook, while Bridgepoint gained as it lifted its 2026 earnings guidance, citing an "exceptional" performance from one of its funds.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,470.04 -0.68%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,157.10 -0.24%

techMARK (TASX) 6,136.96 0.01%

FTSE 100 - Risers

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 82.88p 3.16%

Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,078.00p 2.22%

Haleon (HLN) 339.70p 1.92%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 391.70p 1.53%

Compass Group 11 (CPG) 30.45p 1.50%

Vodafone Group (VOD) 126.65p 1.36%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 326.70p 1.30%

BT Group (BT.A) 197.75p 1.28%

Autotrader Group (AUTO) 470.60p 1.03%

BP (BP.) 566.00p 0.93%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Standard Chartered (STAN) 2,168.00p -3.95%

HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 1,421.40p -3.36%

Prudential (PRU) 896.80p -2.90%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,728.00p -2.79%

Severn Trent (SVT) 3,024.00p -2.77%

Investec (INVP) 602.00p -2.67%

Barclays (BARC) 435.95p -2.56%

Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 103.10p -2.50%

Informa (INF) 866.60p -2.48%

Weir (WEIR) 2,602.00p -2.25%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Avon Technologies (AVON) 2,165.00p 13.47%

Ocado Group (OCDO) 277.80p 5.64%

Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 363.00p 4.61%

B&M European Value Retail (BME) 257.60p 4.55%

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 2.10p 3.86%

Frasers Group (FRAS) 839.50p 2.56%

Genus (GNS) 2,168.00p 2.55%

Foresight Environmental Infrastructure Limited (FGEN) 89.20p 2.53%

BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 421.00p 2.06%

Foresight Group Holdings Limited NPV (FSG) 454.50p 2.02%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Pennon Group (PNN) 352.00p -22.09%

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 217.80p -5.98%

Inchcape (INCH) 650.50p -5.17%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 387.20p -4.80%

IP Group (IPO) 69.40p -3.74%

CMC Markets (CMCX) 656.00p -3.53%

Hill and Smith (HILS) 3,160.00p -2.92%

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 655.25p -2.74%

Renishaw (RSW) 5,830.00p -2.67%

Pan African Resources (PAF) 116.20p -2.44%