08:23 , Graeme Evans
The FTSE 100 index has given up a slice of yesterday’s 1.1% improvement, with London’s top flight down 49 points to 8221.84.
Mining stocks were among the fallers after China’s August trade figures offered a mixed picture on activity.
Imports growth slowed to 0.5% compared with the 2.5% forecast, although the exports figure of 8.7% topped expectations for a 6.6% improvement.
Rio Tinto lost 21.5p to 4555.5p and Anglo American shed 6.5p to 2023p.
Among the Asia-facing stocks, HSBC fell 0.4p to 660.7p but Prudential added 1.8p to 615.4p.
The FTSE 250 index rose 10.77 points to 20,661.65, with gold miner Centamin up 27.9p to 147.4p after its board backed a 163p cash and shares offer by AngloGold Ashanti worth £1.9 billion.
08:02 , Graeme Evans
DIY retailer and kitchen projects firm Wickes, which operates from 229 stores, today reported a 25% drop in half-year adjusted profits to £23.4 million.
The decline came as its Design and Installation division saw a 18.3% drop in like-for-like sales due to soft consumer appetite for larger ticket purchases
The retail division’s revenues rose 1% to £633.2 million thanks to a record market share, fuelled by gains in the categories of decor, garden and tiles & flooring.
Trading in the third quarter has seen an improved trend following a stronger like-for-like sales performance in retail and signs of stabilisation in Design.
Chief executive David Wood said: “We are on track for the remainder of the year and have been encouraged by trading at the start of the second half.”
07:47
The next rate cut from the Bank of England is looking less. likely to come this month after today’s drop in average earnings and the unemployment rate.
Both sets of numbers look to give monetary policymakers in Threadneedle Street more time to act in taking the base cost of borrowing down. City experts still expect more action this year, with another quarter-point cut taking rates to 4.75%.
But it is now expected in November rather than later this month. There is no Monetary Policy Committee meeting scheduled for October.
Mahmoud Alkudsi, Senior Market Analyst at ADSS, said: “With unemployment dropping, hints of disappointment might enter the market given that the Bank of England will be less inclined to cut interest rates for the second consecutive month.
“Current pricing in the market suggests a Bank Rate of 3.75% at the end of 2025, so we can still expect to see cuts in gradual increments over the rest of the year.”
07:34 , Michael Hunter
Official figures out this morning show that wage rises slowed in the three months to July, while the unemployment rate also eased.
The average earnings index fell to 4.0%, down from 4.6%, and under the 4.1% expected in City forecasts.
The unemployment rate dropped to 4.1%, down from 4.2% and in line with forecasts. There were 23,700 more people claiming unemployment benefits in the three months to the end of July, down from more than 102,000.
The numbers, from the Office for National Statistics, are out as the Bank of England considers the pace of its interest rate cuts.
At least one more quarter-point reduction in the benchmark cost of borrowing is expected this year. That would take the interest rate that sets the cost of millions of variable rate loans and mortgages to 4.75%
07:31 , Graeme Evans
FTSE 250-listed gold miner Centamin today said it had backed a £1.9 billion takeover approach by AngloGold Ashanti.
Centamin’s flagship asset is Sukari, Egypt’s largest and first modern gold mine.
It is one of the world’s largest producing gold mines, having delivered over 5.9 million ounces since 2009.
The cash and shares takeover approach values Centamin at 163p share, representing a 37% premium to last night’s closing price.
The proposed deal, which has been backed by the Centamin board, will leave shareholders holding 16.4% of the combined business.
New York-listed AngloGold Ashanti was formed in 1998 out of the gold mining interests of Anglo American. In April 2004, it merged with Ashanti Goldfields.
