(Sharecast News) - London stocks edged higher in early trade on Thursday following solid gains on Wall Street and as data showed the UK economy grew at the fastest pace in two years in the third quarter.
At 0845 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 10,861.95, while Brent crude was 0.9% higher at $93.58 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was ahead 0.8% at $87.23.
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 boosted 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 chief executive Jensen Huang following the recent scandal.
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 it 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 rallied as it introduced guidance for FY27 as it said its 'back to basics' campaign was bearing fruit, as UK stores showed a return to like-for-like sales growth.
Qinetiq shot higher as the defence firm posted a rise in underling half-year earnings driven by a higher order book and announced the sales of its US business to Serco for $292m.
Housebuilder Persimmon advanced after saying it still expects to trade in line with expectations despite pressures on buyers and rising costs due to the war on Iran.
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 slid 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) 10,861.95 0.24%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,916.08 -0.04%
techMARK (TASX) 6,271.52 0.32%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,166.00p 7.09%
3i Group (III) 2,684.00p 4.68%
Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 335.90p 3.13%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,181.50p 2.47%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,370.60p 2.34%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 357.80p 1.88%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 496.30p 1.58%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 256.80p 1.42%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 95.98p 1.39%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 692.00p 1.39%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,441.00p -3.06%
ICG (ICG) 1,901.00p -2.51%
Computacenter (CCC) 4,832.00p -1.95%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,241.00p -1.87%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,828.00p -1.66%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,494.00p -1.22%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,303.00p -1.14%
BP (BP.) 561.40p -0.97%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 253.80p -0.82%
Abrdn (ABDN) 229.80p -0.69%
FTSE 250 - Risers
B&M European Value Retail (BME) 327.80p 17.92%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 540.00p 4.68%
Vistry Group (VTY) 255.60p 3.90%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,303.00p 3.79%
Michael Page (PAGE) 213.40p 3.38%
Hays (HAS) 59.15p 3.04%
Bellway (BWY) 2,326.00p 2.65%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,640.00p 2.25%
Chemring Group (CHG) 530.00p 1.62%
ASOS (ASC) 469.00p 1.50%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 54.00p -14.67%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,751.00p -8.75%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 646.00p -8.66%
WH Smith (SMWH) 388.00p -8.52%
Keller Group (KLR) 2,908.00p -6.78%
Volex (VLX) 528.00p -6.70%
Pan African Resources (PAF) 107.00p -5.04%
Premier Foods (PFD) 193.60p -4.63%
SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 30.85p -4.34%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 451.80p -4.28%
36.87 (0.34%)
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