Source: Sharecast
The FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 9,494.16.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said enthusiasm for stocks was starting to wane after another record-breaking start to the week for Wall Street.
"Earnings reports and lingering concerns about the French political crisis are the key drivers of financial markets today. Upward pressure on French bond yields is easing after President Macron gave the Prime Minister, who resigned on Monday, two days to form a new government," she said.
"However, the spread between French and German 10-year bond yields remains elevated and is at the highest level since December 2024, which suggests that financial markets do not see political stability in France any time soon."
On home shores, the latest data from Halifax showed that house prices ticked lower in September, missing forecasts for a slight rise.
According to latest Halifax house price index, prices decreased by 0.3% in September, compared to a 0.2% uplift in August. It was the first decline since May. Most analysts had been expecting another 0.2% rise.
Year-on-year, house prices rose by 1.3%, the slowest annual rate since April 2024 and down on August’s 2% rise. It was also below forecasts, for a 2.2% increase.
The average property price now stands at £298,184.
However, Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said the market remained "broadly" stable.
"This slight monthly dip in house prices reflects a housing market that has remained broadly stable; prices are up 0.3% since the start of the year," she said. "While affordability remains a challenge, a relatively lower mortgage rate environment and steady wage growth have helped support buyer confidence.
"Although the broader economic outlook remains uncertain, with the affordability picture gradually improving, we continue to expect modest growth through the remainder of the year."
In equity markets, Rentokil was the standout performer on the FTSE 100 after Bernstein doubled upgraded the shares to ‘outperform’ from ‘underperform’ and hiked the price target to 570p from 313p, saying it sees signs of inflecting organic revenue growth.
The bank also said it believes that Rentokil can enjoy structural growth in line with the industry, combined with ongoing consolidation.
Tobacco giant Imperial Brands was a high riser after saying it remained on track to meet full-year guidance, supported by growth across both its tobacco and next-generation product categories, and announcing a £1.45bn share buyback.
British American Tobacco also gained.
Shell gushed higher after saying it expects "significantly higher" trading in its gas division in the third quarter than in the previous quarter.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Shell’s big bet on natural gas - which is more than a decade in the making - continues to yield positive results.
"In its teaser ahead of third-quarter results, Shell delivered a steady-as-she-goes assessment of trading. While this would not ordinarily be cause for too much excitement, to achieve an outcome broadly in-line with the second quarter despite a material decline in oil prices is a decent outcome.
"It has been driven by a strong showing from its integrated gas business, which encompasses its LNG business where volumes are notably higher quarter-on-quarter.
"Improving margins in its refining business are another bright spot and the renewables arm is expected to break into profit - although not a particularly meaningful one in the context of the wider group.
"Speculation about a potential merger with BP seems to have quietened for now, leaving CEO Wael Sawan to focus on improving the business and looking for ways to improve its valuation to be in line with US counterparts.
"The fear in London is this might eventually involve a shift in its primary stock listing to New York which would be a devastating blow for the UK market."
Marks & Spencer was in the black as JPMorgan placed the shares on ‘positive catalyst watch’ and reiterated its ‘overweight’ recommendation.
Quilter jumped to the top of the FTSE 250 as RBC Capital Markets suggested it could be a potential takeover target for Lloyds.
"UK banks, and particularly LLOY, are under penetrated in wealth management (WM), missing out on relatively high structural growth and returns," RBC said. "In light of narrowing valuation differentials, we think that the imminent introduction of Target Support could act as a catalyst for LLOY to acquire a wealth manager, and we see Quilter as a particularly attractive proposition."
On the downside, discount retailer B&M tumbled after saying it expects full-year profits to fall by up to 18% as it reported a flat underlying sales performance in the UK in the first half.
Broker Peel Hunt, which rates the shares at ‘buy’ with a 400p price target, said: "The shares have been relatively weak, and with this warning, they are likely to remain under pressure for now."
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,494.16 0.16%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,090.92 -0.04%
techMARK (TASX) 5,540.76 -0.17%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 404.00p 2.41%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,229.50p 2.29%
Beazley (BEZ) 918.50p 2.00%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,064.00p 2.00%
Croda International (CRDA) 2,893.00p 1.79%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,847.00p 1.64%
Shell (SHEL) 2,777.50p 1.48%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,064.00p 1.36%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 14,440.00p 0.98%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,306.00p 0.97%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Tesco (TSCO) 436.40p -2.91%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 326.00p -2.57%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 18,160.00p -2.08%
Relx plc (REL) 3,397.00p -1.91%
Entain (ENT) 853.20p -1.80%
Pearson (PSON) 1,043.00p -1.60%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,262.00p -1.48%
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 654.50p -1.43%
BT Group (BT.A) 180.95p -1.36%
Mondi (MNDI) 870.00p -1.09%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Quilter (QLT) 168.20p 3.96%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 243.50p 3.84%
Pinewood Technologies Group (PINE) 411.00p 3.40%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 412.50p 2.46%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 406.40p 2.21%
Carnival (CCL) 1,988.00p 1.66%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,005.00p 1.47%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 373.20p 1.36%
Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 7,735.00p 1.31%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 510.00p 1.29%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 241.70p -5.66%
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 611.00p -2.40%
BioPharma Credit (BPCR) 0.90p -1.74%
AO World (AO.) 102.60p -1.72%
Vistry Group (VTY) 643.00p -1.71%
Workspace Group (WKP) 396.00p -1.49%
Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 998.00p -1.48%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 628.00p -1.41%
PayPoint (PAY) 749.00p -1.32%
Hays (HAS) 57.10p -1.30%