London stocks ticked up on Wednesday as traders waited for the Fed’s rate call and digested cooler-than-expected UK inflation numbers.
The US central bank is set to cut rates later, with the focus on how dovish it gets in the face of a softer labour market.
Closer to home, UK inflation was steady at 3.8% in August, slightly under forecasts for 3.9%. On the month, prices rose 0.3%, while service inflation eased to 4.7% from 5.0%. The reading lands just ahead of Thursday’s Bank of England decision, where rates are expected to stay at 4.00%.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 9,202.73, the FTSE 250 gained 0.3% to 21,547.47, and the AIM All-Share added 0.1% at 768.32.
Among individual movers, Fresnillo slipped 3.8% as gold prices faded, though the miner’s shares remain up nearly four-fold over the past year. Barratt Redrow climbed 1.8% after reporting a profit beat, even as completions came in short of guidance. CEO David Thomas hailed the Redrow integration as “transformative” and said the group expects up to 17,800 completions in FY26, barring political or tax-related shocks.
Moonpig jumped 5.7% as order growth and new customers underpinned revenue momentum. The group said about half of all cards now include personalisation options such as AI-generated stickers or video messages, while Plus subscriptions have topped one million. Guidance for mid-single-digit earnings growth this year was left intact.
On AIM, Autins collapsed 50% after reporting weaker revenue and warning of disruption following JLR’s UK production halt earlier this month. The group said it has taken cost-cutting steps while awaiting clarity on when its main customer restarts production.