Another dull session in London on Friday as the FTSE 100 lagged behind European and US markets, pulled lower by sharp falls in BP and Shell despite steady US inflation data and a more upbeat tone across global equities.
The FTSE 100 closed down 0.5% at 9,667.01. The FTSE 250 was barely changed, slipping 7.04 points to 22,063.95. The AIM All-Share fared better with a 0.3% rise to 751.30. The tone was more positive elsewhere in Europe where the CAC 40 dipped only 0.1% and the DAX rose 0.6%.
Wall Street was firmer at the London close, with the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all up 0.3%. Investors took comfort from inflation readings that matched expectations and strengthened hopes of a US rate cut next week. The PCE price index rose 0.3% in September, the same as August, while core PCE rose 0.2%. Annual PCE cooled to 2.8% from 2.9%, whereas core PCE ticked up to 2.8% from 2.7%.
The CME’s FedWatch tool now assigns an 87% probability to a quarter point cut, though minutes from the October meeting showed officials were split on what to do in December. Sentiment data offered further encouragement as the preliminary December reading climbed to 53.3 from 51.0, helped by improving confidence among younger households.
In the US corporate spotlight, Netflix agreed a blockbuster purchase of Warner Bros Discovery in a cash and stock deal worth around $82.7 billion in enterprise value. Netflix shares slipped 0.7% while Warner Bros climbed 3.8%.
Back in London, BP fell 2.6% and Shell fell 1.4% after Bank of America turned more cautious on both. The broker cut BP to underperform with a reduced 375p target and lowered Shell to neutral with a 3,100p target.
Trustpilot rebounded 13% after Thursday’s heavy selloff triggered by a critical report from Grizzly Research. The company said the report contained factual inaccuracies and false claims and added that it is considering its options in response.
Greggs rose 5.3% after JPMorgan initiated coverage with an overweight rating, saying a re-rating is on the menu as like for like sales and earnings are expected to prove more resilient from 2026, supported by better free cash flow and capital returns.
Ocado inched up 0.3% after announcing a $350 million one off compensation payment following Kroger’s plan to close three fulfilment centres in 2026. AJ Bell’s Russ Mould said the payment softens the impact of Kroger scaling back its use of Ocado’s technology.
Elsewhere, Big Yellow dropped 4.3% after ending takeover discussions with Blackstone. Advanced Medical Solutions jumped 8.9% after Sky News reported private equity firm Bridgepoint is considering a bid pitched between 270p and 280p, well above Thursday’s 207.5p close.