London stocks opened lower on Friday as traders turned cautious ahead of a crucial speech by US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium. His remarks, due 15:00 this afternoon UK time, are being closely watched for clues on the path of interest rates.
Markets expect Powell to stress data dependency but warn there is greater risk of a hawkish tilt than a dovish surprise. Futures now price a roughly 75% chance of a September quarter-point cut, down from near certainty only last week, when some had even flirted with the idea of a larger move.
The FTSE 100 slipped 0.2% to 9,291.36, while the FTSE 250 edged down to 21,813.26 and the AIM All-Share eased to 758.52.
Revolution Beauty jumped 10%. The cosmetics retailer posted a £16.8 million annual loss as revenue fell 26% to £142.6 million, but investors welcomed the £15 million raised in a placing and subscription, as well as the surprise return of co-founders Adam Minto and Tom Allsworth.
Warehouse REIT slipped 1.1% after Tritax Big Box confirmed it will not increase its offer, currently valued at 111.1p per share. The logistics landlord has already shifted its recommendation to a 115p-a-share bid from Blackstone, whose shares edged higher after-hours in New York.
In the US, Wall Street closed lower on Thursday as investors positioned ahead of Powell. The Dow fell 0.3%, the S&P 500 lost 0.4% and the Nasdaq declined 0.3%. The speech later today is now seen as a key test for sentiment following a bruising sell-off in technology shares earlier this week.