London open: Stocks fall as results from Taylor Wimpey, HSBC fail to impress

(Sharecast News) - London stocks fell in early trade on Wednesday as results from Taylor Wimpey, HSBC and BAE Systems failed to impress amid another deluge of corporate news.

At 0825 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.5% at 9,095.49.

Investors were also looking ahead to the last policy announcement from the US Federal Reserve, as well as earnings from the likes of Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Amazon.

Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said: "Powell & Co. are widely expected to hold at 4.25-4.50%, but traders will be scanning every comma of the press conference for signs of a policy pivot - or signs that one won't come. And frankly, it makes little sense for the Fed to wax dovish given the inflation unknowns still lurking around the corner, particularly from tariff pass-throughs.

"The effective tariff rate may settle near 15%-20%, but the second-round effects haven't hit the data yet. Powell's best move here is strategic ambiguity - keep the door open but don't throw it wide."

In UK equity markets, housebuilder Taylor Wimpey was under the cosh as it cut its annual profit guidance by �20m due to a one-off charge, but said it is on track to meet its completions guidance by the end of the year after a "good underlying performance" in the first half.

Group operating profits are now expected to come in at �424m over 2025, down from April's guidance of �444m, due to charges relating to principal contractor remediation works on a historical site.

Persimmon and Vistry also lost ground.

HSBC slumped as it reported lower-than-expected first-half profits as it took a large hit from its stake in China's Bank of Communications. Pre-tax profit fell by $5.7bn to $15.8bn with the BoC charge coming in at $2.1bn. Second-quarter earnings were down 29% year-on-year to $6.3bn.

BAE Systems was in the red even as it upgraded its full-year guidance following "another strong" performance in the first half against a market backdrop of increase defence spending.

Aston Martin fell as it downgraded its full-year profit outlook, pointing to disruption from US tariffs.

Investment management firm Aberdeen declined as it reported a slight dip in first-half profits due to efforts to improve efficiency, but said it is delivering well against its strategies with the business transformation "on track".

On the upside, Sage Group was a high riser as it hailed a solid performance in the first nine months of the year, with total revenue up 9%, and reiterated its guidance for the full year.

GSK nudged up after saying it expects to be towards the top end of its financial guidance for 2025 as it posted a 6% jump in second-quarter sales and a 12% increase in core operating profit.

Bodycote surged as it backed its full-year outlook and extended its share buyback by another �30m.

Wizz Air flew higher after an upgrade to 'buy' at Deutsche Bank.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,095.49 -0.45%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,775.91 -0.08%

techMARK (TASX) 5,264.95 -0.15%

FTSE 100 - Risers

The Sage Group (SGE) 1,302.50p 3.58%

Entain (ENT) 1,018.50p 1.49%

BP (BP.) 410.20p 1.12%

Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,100.00p 0.89%

Shell (SHEL) 2,714.00p 0.63%

British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,955.00p 0.53%

Diageo (DGE) 1,942.00p 0.49%

Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,922.00p 0.49%

LondonMetric Property (LMP) 192.00p 0.47%

GSK (GSK) 1,403.50p 0.47%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 101.60p -5.18%

HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 929.00p -4.23%

Convatec Group (CTEC) 239.00p -2.21%

BAE Systems (BA.) 1,781.50p -2.17%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,555.50p -2.00%

Persimmon (PSN) 1,142.50p -1.47%

Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,555.00p -1.44%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 87.86p -1.35%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 994.40p -1.15%

CRH (CDI) (CRH) 7,270.00p -1.12%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Bodycote (BOY) 625.50p 9.26%

Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 247.50p 4.65%

Dr. Martens (DOCS) 84.20p 4.47%

Big Yellow Group (BYG) 941.00p 3.75%

Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 131.80p 1.85%

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,234.00p 1.56%

Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,179.00p 1.46%

Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 695.00p 1.46%

Trainline (TRN) 266.80p 1.21%

Greggs (GRG) 1,585.00p 1.15%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,635.00p -10.07%

Man Group (EMG) 169.40p -3.48%

Auction Technology Group (ATG) 470.00p -2.99%

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 76.65p -2.67%

WH Smith (SMWH) 1,026.00p -2.38%

Me Group International (MEGP) 215.00p -2.05%

IP Group (IPO) 55.00p -1.79%

Abrdn (ABDN) 195.00p -1.66%

Vistry Group (VTY) 575.80p -1.54%

Great Portland Estates (GPE) 335.00p -1.18%