Source: Sharecast
The FTSE 100 closed up 0.1% at 9,911.42. At the same time, sterling was off earlier lows, down 0.1% against the dollar at 1.3135.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "While tech stocks come under pressure on Wall Street the FTSE 100 has managed to hold at the record high set earlier today.
"Government turmoil in the US is set to give way to more drama at Westminster, though for now any market jitters are confined to the area of gilt yields. There has been a solid recovery in Europe too, as the global market rally enters a new phase"
In equity markets, SSE surged to the top of the FTSE 100 as it said it will spend billions on the UK’s electricity network as it unveiled a five-year investment plan alongside interim results. The power generator said the £33bn, five-year plan would increase its exposure to UK electricity networks and drive earnings growth.
The update came as it posed a 29% fall in interim adjusted earnings per share, to 36.1p, which SSE said was in line with expectations and consistent with typical seasonality.
Games Workshop got a boost after Jefferies hiked its price target on the stock to 18,300p from 11,850p, reiterating its ‘buy’ rating.
Luxury fashion brand Burberry was in the black ahead of interim results on Thursday.
Avon Technologies shot higher as it posted full-year revenue and operating profit ahead of market expectations.
On the downside, Experian slumped despite boosting its full-year outlook following a strong first half.
Hiscox fell after Jefferies double downgraded the shares to ‘underperform’.
3i Group was also in the red ahead of first-half results on Thursday, while easyJet flew lower after Jet2 announced that it would start flying from Gatwick airport.
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey lost ground after saying it still expects full-year results to be in line with guidance despite experiencing "softer market conditions" so far in the second half.
Net private sales per outlet averaged 0.63 a week since 30 June, down from 0.71 the year before, while underlying pricing remains broadly flat, impacted by uncertainty ahead of the upcoming Autumn Budget and continued affordability pressures on consumers, the company said.
The housebuilder said results were impacted by uncertainty ahead of the upcoming Autumn Budget and continued affordability pressures on consumers.
Other housebuilders also fell, with Berkeley and Persimmon lower.
Defence contractor BAE ended the session flat as it held annual guidance and cautioned that delays to contract funding and payment timings could occur if the US government shutdown persisted.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,911.42 0.12%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,149.88 0.00%
techMARK (TASX) 5,624.68 0.00%
FTSE 100 - Risers
SSE (SSE) 2,307.00p 16.84%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 16,320.00p 5.97%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,253.50p 4.02%
Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 44.25p 3.56%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 312.40p 2.76%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 392.50p 2.53%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 637.20p 2.51%
Croda International (CRDA) 2,823.00p 2.32%
Aviva (AV.) 695.00p 1.94%
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,344.00p 1.82%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Experian (EXPN) 3,323.00p -4.48%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 702.60p -3.67%
3i Group (III) 4,069.00p -3.37%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,916.00p -2.94%
Relx plc (REL) 3,136.00p -2.82%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,357.00p -2.79%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,994.00p -2.78%
Informa (INF) 950.00p -2.76%
Next (NXT) 14,205.00p -2.57%
Rightmove (RMV) 563.40p -2.09%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Smithson Investment Trust (SSON) 1,636.00p 7.07%
Avon Technologies (AVON) 1,978.00p 6.34%
Drax Group (DRX) 746.50p 6.04%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 974.00p 3.89%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,214.00p 3.54%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 186.40p 3.33%
Oakley Capital Investments Limited (DI) (OCI) 560.00p 2.94%
Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 756.00p 2.72%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,115.00p 2.67%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 444.60p 2.63%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 232.50p -5.10%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 101.65p -3.92%
Vistry Group (VTY) 646.40p -3.29%
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 136.30p -2.92%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 384.40p -2.83%
Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 117.00p -2.82%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 100.60p -2.80%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 654.00p -2.68%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 3,785.00p -2.45%
Gamma Communications (GAMA) 964.00p -2.13%