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Early market roundup: FTSE 100 outperforms peers as UK inflation slows

London’s blue chip index performed better than its peers in Paris and Frankfurt on Wednesday morning, as consumer price index inflation slowed more than anticipated in February, ahead of UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s spring statement.

The FTSE 100 index opened up 9.74 points, 0.1%, at 8,673.54. The FTSE 250 was up 98.50 points, 0.5%, at 20,079.71, and the AIM All-Share was up 3.10 points, 0.5%, at 696.74.

The Cboe UK 100 was broadly flat at 867.41, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.4% higher at 17531.94, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.1% at 15605.36.

Consumer prices in the UK softened slightly in February, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Wednesday.

Consumer price index inflation stood at 2.8% on-year in February, decelerated from 3.0% in January and lower than the 2.9% FXStreet-cited consensus. The UK consumer prices index including owner occupiers’ housing costs rose by 3.7% in the year to February, down from 3.9% in the year to January.

The inflation data spells some relief for UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who will deliver her spring statement at around 1230 GMT, during which she is expected to acknowledge she needs to go ‘further and faster to kickstart growth’, amid dour predictions about her cost-cutting measures and as she scrambles for savings to help balance the nation’s books without hiking taxes.

In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.2%.

The pound was quoted lower at $1.2889 early on Wednesday in London, compared to $1.2955 at the equities close on Tuesday. The euro stood at $1.0791, down against $1.0811.

Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JP¥150.23 compared to JP¥149.73.

In Asia on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.7%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down marginally, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was 0.6% higher. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.7%.

Ithaca Energy was among the FTSE 250’s winners on Wednesday morning, up 6.6%, behind only Ocado Group, which touts a 13% rise at the market open.

The North Sea oil and gas firm reported pretax profit growth of 11% in 2024, rising to $334.3 million from $302.0 million in 2023. Revenue, however, dipped 15% to $1.98 billion from $2.32 billion.

Cost of sales reduced to $1.14 billion from $1.32 billion during the year, while Ithaca recorded just $263.0 million in impairment charges, against $557.9 million in 2023.

Ithaca eyes 2025 production between 105,000 and 115,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, compared to 105,500 boed in 2024.

LifeSafe Holdings opened 17% higher on Wednesday.

The fire safety technology developer announced it has signed an exclusive global distribution deal with Hurst Jaws of Life and Vetter, both subsidiaries of Idex Fire & Safety.

The agreement is for an initial 18-month term and relates to the exclusive supply of LifeSafe’s industrial fire extinguishing and prevention products into the professional fire sector.

The deal is estimated to generate between £6 million and £8 million in revenue for LifeSafe over the next three years.

everplay opened up 12% on Wednesday.

The video game developer and publisher reported a swing to £25.4 million in pretax profit for 2024, from a loss of £1.1 million the year before, on revenue growth of 4.7% to £166.6 million from £159.1 million.

This was driven by administrative expenses reducing 21% to £45.6 million from £57.6 million, cost of sales decreasing 4.2% to £97.3 million from £101.6 million, and finance income rising to £1.7 million from £344,000.

everplay also declared its maiden final dividend of 2.7 pence per share for the year.

Ariana Resources fell 17%.

The mineral exploration and development firm with gold mining interest in Africa and Europe announced plans to raise around £1.2 million via a placing and subscription for shares at 1.5p each. This is around a 14% discount to Tuesday’s market close, and opens with immediate effect.

Brent oil was quoted higher at $73.27 a barrel early in London on Wednesday from $72.71 late Tuesday.

Gold was also quoted slightly higher, at $3,026.56 an ounce against $3,023.13.

‘Gold prices extended their gains on Wednesday, supported by lingering geopolitical tensions and renewed trade uncertainty that continue to weigh on investor sentiment. In the Middle East, ongoing unrest has sustained demand for safe-haven assets like gold,’ commented DHF Capital analyst Bas Kooijman.

‘In Eastern Europe, hopes of progress were dampened to a certain extent as Russia could only honour a peace agreement after certain sanctions were lifted. This setback further solidified gold‘s short-term bullish outlook.’

In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up marginally, the S&P 500 up 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.5%.

Kooijman continued: ‘Looking forward, investors will closely monitor this week’s GDP and PCE numbers, which could provide crucial clues on the Fed‘s next moves. Additionally, speeches from several Fed officials may further shape expectations for the central bank’s next move.’

Still to come on Wednesday’s economic calendar, the spring statement at 1230 GMT and US durable goods orders data also at 1230 GMT.

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