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London open: FTSE steady after retail sales, borrowing data; StanChart surges
London stocks were steady in early trade on Friday as investors mulled the latest retail sales and borrowing figures, but Standard Chartered surged after well-received results.
At 0825 GMT, the FTSE 100 was flat at 8,664.68
Data released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that January’s monthly budget surplus was the biggest on record, although it still missed expectations.
Public finances recorded a £15.4bn surplus in January, up £800m on the previous year. This marked the highest figure for January since monthly records began in 1993.
Nevertheless, the figure was below the £20.5bn forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility and consensus forecasts of £18.8bn.
The ONS said combined self-assessed income and capital gains tax receipts were provisionally estimated at £36.2bn in January, up £3.8bn on the year and the highest January receipts since monthly records began in 1999.
Alex Kerr, UK economist at Capital Economics, said: “While January’s disappointing public finances figures may not be as bad as they first appear, they continue the run of bad news for the Chancellor in 2025 and underline the difficult choices she faces.
“While there is increasing pressure on the government to commit to higher defence spending, the OBR is likely to conclude that the Chancellor’s headroom against her fiscal rules has been wiped out and she will probably need to tighten fiscal policy as a result.”
Separate figures from the ONS showed that retail sales bounced back more than expected last month.
Retail sales grew 1.7% on the month following four consecutive months of falls and after a downwardly-revised 0.6% drop in December. Economists were expecting a smaller increase of 0.3%.
The ONS said food store sales volumes grew strongly in January 2025, following falls in recent months.
More broadly, sales volumes declined by 0.6% in the three months to January 2025, compared with the three months to October 2024, but they were up 1.4% compared with the three months to January 2024.
Food stores sales volumes rose 5.6% on the month – the largest jump since March 2020.
Sales at non-food stores – the total of department, clothing, household and other non-food stores – fell 1.3%. Clothing retailers and household goods stores suggested the fall was due to reduced consumer confidence.
Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said: “The 1.7% m/m leap in retail sales volumes in January (CE +1.0%, consensus +0.3%) suggests the retail sector shot out of the blocks at the start of the year.
“But some of that strength will have come at the expense of weakness in other parts of the economy. And with households in a fairly glum mood, we doubt it will last.”
In equity markets, Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered surged to the top of the FTSE 100 as it said it would hand back $1.5bn to shareholders after a rise in annual earnings.
Pre-tax profits for 2024 came in at $6bn, up from $5.1bn a year earlier and slightly below average estimates of $6.2bn.
NatWest and Barclays were also higher.
Ferrexpo gained sharply, having tumbled late on Thursday after Ukrainian officials said they planned to nationalise the company’s Poltava mining and processing plant amid allegations of illegal mining and fund misappropriation.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Standard Chartered Plc | +4.61% | +52.50 | 1,192.50 |
| 2 |  |
Natwest | +2.61% | +11.40 | 447.50 |
| 3 |  |
Centrica Plc | +2.54% | +3.65 | 147.20 |
| 4 |  |
Barclays | +1.98% | +5.90 | 304.30 |
| 5 |  |
Associated British Foods Plc | +1.57% | +29.50 | 1,912.00 |
| 6 |  |
Diageo Plc | +1.44% | +30.50 | 2,154.00 |
| 7 |  |
St. James’s Place Plc | +1.34% | +15.00 | 1,132.00 |
| 8 |  |
Bt Group Plc | +1.22% | +1.80 | 148.80 |
| 9 |  |
Rio Tinto Plc | +1.21% | +61.00 | 5,123.00 |
| 10 |  |
Marks And Spencer Group Plc | +1.19% | +4.10 | 347.70 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Ck Infrastructure Holdings Limited | -3.35% | -18.00 | 520.00 |
| 2 |  |
Gsk Plc | -2.59% | -37.50 | 1,409.50 |
| 3 |  |
Fresnillo | -1.52% | -12.00 | 775.00 |
| 4 |  |
Relx Plc | -1.36% | -54.00 | 3,930.00 |
| 5 |  |
Bp Plc | -1.04% | -4.70 | 447.30 |
| 6 |  |
Glencore Plc | -0.89% | -2.90 | 322.65 |
| 7 |  |
British American Tobacco Plc | -0.86% | -26.00 | 3,009.00 |
| 8 |  |
Shell Plc | -0.80% | -21.50 | 2,662.50 |
| 9 |  |
Bae Systems Plc | -0.78% | -10.00 | 1,274.00 |
| 10 |  |
London Stock Exchange Group Plc | -0.68% | -80.00 | 11,620.00 |
US close: Stocks sharply lower as traders digest FOMC minutes
Wall Street stocks closed sharply lower Thursday, knocking the S&P 500 from its record close.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.01% at 44,176.65, while the S&P 500 lost 0.43% to 6,117.52 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.47% weaker at 19,962.36.
The Dow closed 450.94 points lower on Thursday, easily reversing gains recorded in the previous session as traders got stuck into minutes from the FOMC’s latest monetary policy meeting, which revealed that central bank officials agreed they would need to see inflation come down more before lowering interest rates further and expressed fears around Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“Participants indicated that, provided the economy remained near maximum employment, they would want to see further progress on inflation before making additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate,” said the minutes. :Participants generally pointed to upside risks to the inflation outlook upside risks to the inflation outlook.”
On the macro front, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated pace in the week ended 15 February, according to the Labor Department. Initial jobless claims rose by 5,000 to 219,000 last week, ahead of expectations for a reading of 215,000, while continuing claims were broadly in line with expectations at 1.869m. The four-week moving average, which aims to smooth out week-to-week volatility, decreased by 1,000 week-on-week to 215,250.
Elsewhere, the pace of factory activity in the US mid-Atlantic region slowed in February, following a surge during the previous month. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia‘s regional manufacturing sector index slipped from a reading of 44.3 during the first month of the year to 18.1. Consensus estimates had been for a reading of 20.0.
In the corporate space, retail giant Walmart issued weak guidance that overshadowed a solid Q4 trading performance that topped analysts’ estimates, while Shake Shack shares surged on the back of stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings that offset lacklustre Q1 guidance.
Friday newspaper round-up: UK lenders, independent breweries, HP, MoD
UK lenders paid “advance commissions” to car dealers that may have encouraged them to push costlier loans on to consumers, legal filings linked to the motor finance scandal reveal. Court documents seen by the Guardian show that lenders, including Lloyds Banking Group, have paid commission to individual dealerships in lump sums upfront, which campaigners say total millions of pounds. – Guardian
The number of independent breweries in Britain declined at its fastest rate in 2024, figures from the “indie beer” trade body suggest. The UK had 1,715 breweries at the end of 2024, 100 fewer than at the start of the year, according to the data released by Siba, which represents independent brewing companies. The overall fall the previous year was just eight. – Guardian
Printer and PC company HP has been deliberately adding a 15 minute wait time to its customer service line in an attempt to force people to fix their own problems, it has been claimed. The US consumer electronics giant has added the compulsory waiting time for customers who call its helplines to force them to pursue a “digital self-solve” instead. – Telegraph
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is hiring a diversity tsar with a “spiritual edge” even as Sir Keir Starmer faces pressure to increase military spending amid looming threats posed by Russia. The role, advertised on the government website, states that the suitable candidate will be required to “constructively challenge and critique current practice” within diversity and inclusion and will be eligible for an annual salary of up to £38,790. – Telegraph
A former analyst at one of the City’s biggest fund managers used confidential information on companies including Daimler, Jet2 and THG to make nearly £1 million with his sister and others, prosecutors told a London court on Thursday. Redinel Korfuzi, 37, is accused of using information he accessed through his job as a research analyst at Janus Henderson, which has more than £300 billion of assets under management, to trade using accounts held by his three co-defendants. – The Times
