London midday: Stocks mixed with French and US fiscal impasses in focus

(Sharecast News) - Stocks in London were trading on a mixed note around the midday mark, but had stabilised despite news of the French Prime Minister's resignation after just a month on the job. Sebastien Lecornu's decision followed a risky move by the President Emmanuel Macron, who the day before had ignored opposition parties and chosen a cabinet that included many of his loyalists.

The question now was whether France was headed again to the polls, due to the inability of its political parties to agree on a path for lowering its outsized fiscal deficit.

As of 1205 BST, the FTSE 100 was up by 0.11% to 9,501.57, buoyed by a softer pound and gains in US equity futures, while the second-tier index was down by 0.31% to 22,128.90.

In the background, the budget impasse in Washington D.C. continued and an internal vote in Japan's ruling saw it choose a a libertarian candidate as its new leader by surprise.

Regarding the latter, the win for Sanae Takaichi set off concerns of fiscal profligacy, but some analysts believed such concerns were overblown.

Nonetheless, in what some commentary had now labelled the 'debasement trade', gold futures on COMEX were climbing 1.32% to $3,960.50/oz. with US equity futures and the Greenback were both higher as well.

French 10-year bond yields were six basis points higher at 3.58%.

Japan's Nikkei-225 jumped 4.75% to 47,944.76, albeit alongside a big drop in the value of the yen.

Also at the weekend, OPEC+ countries agreed to boost their combined output by another 137,000 barrels a day.

That was less than expected by some economists.

On the economic data front, consultancy S&P Global UK construction sector Purchasing Managers' Index for the month of September came in at 46.2 versus 45.5 in the prior month.

Aston Martin drops, ITM Power pops

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings warned on profits and launched an immediate review of costs on Monday, after US tariffs crashed third-quarter demand, sending its shares sharply lower.

Shares of ITM Power popped after the electrolysers manufacturer announced that it has signed a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract for a project which has been shortlisted in the UK's Hydrogen Allocation Round 2.

AstraZeneca announced that its Datroway therapy against breast cancer had achieved positive high-level results in a Phase III trial both in terms of overall survival and progression-free survival.

Tools and equipment hire group Speedy Hire has announced a "transformational" commercial agreement with HSS Hire's ProService which will see it take a minority stake in the building services marketplace.

Mining giant Ferrexpo reported a modest rise in third-quarter output on Monday, as strong Chinese demand for high-grade concentrate helped offset reduced pellet production amid liquidity constraints. Total commercial production rose 3.3% quarter-on-quarter to 1.51m tonnes, though it remained 29% below Q1 levels.

Sirius Real Estate reiterated full-year guidance on Monday, despite the weaker economic backdrop weighing on UK valuations.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,504.82 0.14% FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,136.09 -0.28%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Prudential (PRU) 1,036.00p 2.52% BP (BP.) 434.10p 2.44% Glencore (GLEN) 353.95p 1.80% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 104.75p 1.40% Shell (SHEL) 2,736.50p 1.26% SSE (SSE) 1,768.00p 1.12% AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,778.00p 1.01% Halma (HLMA) 3,536.00p 0.97% St James's Place (STJ) 1,303.50p 0.93% WPP (WPP) 372.70p 0.84%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Mondi (MNDI) 901.60p -13.89% Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 2,985.00p -4.85% Kingfisher (KGF) 300.40p -2.37% Schroders (SDR) 386.80p -1.78% Bunzl (BNZL) 2,448.00p -1.69% 3i Group (III) 4,352.00p -1.67% United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,131.50p -1.52% BAE Systems (BA.) 2,024.00p -1.51% Severn Trent (SVT) 2,563.00p -1.42% Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 46.35p -1.28%

FTSE 250 - Risers

W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 94.40p 3.28% Energean (ENOG) 834.50p 3.15% Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 632.00p 2.76% Bodycote (BOY) 668.50p 2.69% JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 707.00p 2.46% Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 757.00p 2.44% VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 490.00p 2.08% Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 212.00p 1.92% Anglo-Eastern Plantations (AEP) 1,350.00p 1.89% Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 158.90p 1.73%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 75.85p -6.70% QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 510.50p -4.67% Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 412.30p -3.35% Marshalls (MSLH) 176.60p -2.43% Travis Perkins (TPK) 631.50p -2.40% RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,060.00p -2.37% C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 132.60p -2.21% THG (THG) 37.98p -2.16% Pennon Group (PNN) 468.40p -2.01% Pinewood Technologies Group (PINE) 394.00p -1.99%