(Sharecast News) - London stocks were flat in early trade on Friday, with gold miners under the cosh as the yellow metal retreated from recent highs.
At 0835 BST, the FTSE 100 was steady at 9,506.36.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The FTSE 100 has continued its shallow downward path this morning, after retreating from yet another record high yesterday, driven by weakness in the UK banks."
Nathan added that "the great reality check otherwise known as third quarter earnings season is upon us".
"The overall outlook for reporters looks robust," he said. "Average earnings per share growth of 8% is expected for US large caps, up from the 7.3% forecasted at the end of June. That's been fuelled by a record number of guidance upgrades. But one quarter's numbers alone aren't enough to justify the current market optimism. Rational investors need to keep at least one eye firmly on the future, so comments around the immediate and longer-term outlooks will be more important than ever.
"That's particularly true for the tech giants that are fuelling the AI rally. While there's plenty of reason for optimism in the sector, the usual reasons to stay diversified haven't gone away."
Investors were mulling the latest data from the British Retail Consortium, which showed that weak consumer confidence and uncertainty arising from the upcoming Autumn Budget prompted a steeper drop in footfall across the UK's high streets.
According to the monthly BRC-Sensormatic Footfall Monitor, overall footfall fell by 1.8% year-on-year last month, worse than the 0.4% annual decline posted in August.
Footfall across UK high streets was down 2.5% on last year, following a 1.1% increase the previous month, retail park footfall fell 0.8% after a previous 1.1% decline, while shopping centre traffic slipped 2.0% after no growth in August.
Footfall fell across all nations again in September compared with the year before: -0.5% in Northern Ireland, -1.8% in England, -2.3% in Scotland and -2.5% in Wales.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said speculation about possible tax rises in November's Budget was keeping shoppers away during the month.
"Tube strikes in London, heavy rainfall in the first half of September and Storm Amy towards the end of the month exacerbated the decline," she said.
Dickinson blamed the 5bn in additional employer costs imposed on the retail industry from the last Budget for the lack of investment in local communities and high streets.
"For retailers to invest in shopping destinations that will entice shoppers back, the government imposed cost burdens holding back that investment must be lifted. The upcoming Budget is the moment for the Chancellor to do just that, deliver the Labour manifesto commitment of a meaningful reduction in business rates for the industry and ensure no shop pays more in the process," she said.
In equity markets, building products manufacturer Ibstock tumbled as it reported weaker-than-expected demand in its core construction markets during the third quarter amid a "more uncertain near-term backdrop".
Ibstock said both clay and concrete revenues were impacted, with second-half sales volumes and adjusted underlying earnings now anticipated to match the first half due to softer market conditions.
Precious metals miner Fresnillo and gold miners Hochschild and Endeavour all fell as gold prices pulled back from recent highs.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said "the dip does little to upset a stellar direction of travel this year which has resulted in gains of 270% for Fresnillo and 118% for Endeavour".
Aviva was in the red after a downgrade to 'underperform' at KBW.
On the upside, Sage Group rallied as Citi placed the shares on 'positive catalyst watch' into full-year results in November, saying it expects a better-than-feared update.
Recruitment firm Hays gained after saying it experienced the typical recovery in post-summer activity in its first quarter, but expects ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty to weigh on its performance over the remainder of the year.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,506.36 -0.03%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,045.57 -0.03%
techMARK (TASX) 5,609.10 -0.13%
FTSE 100 - Risers
WPP (WPP) 354.10p 2.37%
The Sage Group (SGE) 1,135.00p 2.07%
Compass Group (CPG) 2,579.00p 2.06%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 99.22p 1.39%
SSE (SSE) 1,839.50p 1.24%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,473.00p 1.18%
Diageo (DGE) 1,812.00p 1.14%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 18,615.00p 1.03%
Experian (EXPN) 3,570.00p 0.96%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,360.00p 0.90%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,314.00p -3.34%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,724.00p -1.52%
Aviva (AV.) 672.60p -1.26%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,936.00p -0.91%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,003.00p -0.91%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,145.00p -0.87%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,834.00p -0.82%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,244.00p -0.80%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 409.80p -0.73%
Glencore (GLEN) 354.60p -0.71%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 60.60p 3.50%
Hays (HAS) 58.95p 2.25%
THG (THG) 37.88p 1.88%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 255.50p 1.59%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,100.00p 1.45%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 216.00p 1.41%
C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 137.80p 1.32%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 239.80p 1.31%
Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 780.00p 1.30%
3i Infrastructure (3IN) 356.50p 1.13%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Ibstock (IBST) 122.00p -8.82%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,056.00p -3.84%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 351.40p -3.62%
Marshalls (MSLH) 169.00p -2.54%
JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 690.00p -2.13%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 88.60p -2.05%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 195.80p -2.00%
Breedon Group (BREE) 339.60p -1.96%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 667.00p -1.91%
Patria Private Equity Trust (PPET) 573.00p -1.72%
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