London midday: FTSE stays down; Taylor Wimpey, HSBC fall after results

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still in the red by midday on Wednesday as results from Taylor Wimpey, HSBC and BAE Systems failed to impress amid another deluge of corporate news. The FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 9,112.79.

Investors were also looking ahead to the last policy announcement from the US Federal Reserve, as well as earnings from the likes of Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Amazon.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Investors got out of the wrong side of the bed, judging by the negative reaction to the latest round of corporate earnings.

"A lot could happen over the next three days to either excite or disappoint the market. Data on the state of the US economy will show if Trump's tariffs have caused upset domestically. Soon after, we'll get the latest US interest rate decision.

"The Fed isn't expected to change rates but the market will analyse the accompanying commentary for signals on what could happen next.

"The central bank will certainly be watching jobs data on Friday like a hawk, and that result will feed into its future monetary policy decisions.

"All the while, we've got four of the Magnificent Seven mega cap US tech stocks reporting over the next two days. They have the power to move markets and any signs of weakness could damage investor sentiment."

In equity markets, housebuilder Taylor Wimpey was under the cosh as it cut its annual profit guidance by £20m due to a one-off charge, but said it is on track to meet its completions guidance by the end of the year after a "good underlying performance" in the first half.

Group operating profits are now expected to come in at £424m over 2025, down from April's guidance of £444m, due to charges relating to principal contractor remediation works on a historical site.

BAE Systems fell even as it upgraded its full-year guidance following "another strong" performance in the first half against a market backdrop of increased defence spending.

Russ Mould said: "BAE fell 2.3% despite upgrading 2025 guidance for sales and underlying earnings before interest and tax. Investors might not have liked the news it expects to buy back fewer shares following a strong run, nor the fact its earnings per share guidance has been left unchanged.

"Investors have lofty expectations for all defence stocks and they might have been banking on a significant upgrade to earnings guidance. Without that catalyst, the shares are vulnerable to a bout of profit taking."

HSBC slumped as it reported lower-than-expected first-half profits as it took a large hit from its stake in China's Bank of Communications. Pre-tax profit fell by $5.7bn to $15.8bn with the BoC charge coming in at $2.1bn. Second-quarter earnings were down 29% year-on-year to $6.3bn.

Aston Martin fell as it downgraded its full-year profit outlook, pointing to disruption from US tariffs.

On the upside, GSK gained after saying it expects to be towards the top end of its financial guidance for 2025 as it posted a 6% jump in second-quarter sales and a 12% increase in core operating profit.

Bodycote surged as it backed its full-year outlook and extended its share buyback by another £30m.

Wizz Air flew higher after an upgrade to 'buy' at Deutsche Bank.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,112.79 -0.26% FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,832.04 0.18% techMARK (TASX) 5,272.66 0.00%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Croda International (CRDA) 2,650.00p 2.00% Glencore (GLEN) 311.40p 1.80% GSK (GSK) 1,421.00p 1.72% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 8,784.00p 1.24% Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,112.00p 1.18% Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,952.00p 1.10% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 372.50p 1.03% Rightmove (RMV) 796.80p 1.01% Pearson (PSON) 1,069.00p 0.99% Weir Group (WEIR) 2,666.00p 0.98%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 102.20p -4.62% Convatec Group (CTEC) 234.40p -4.09% BAE Systems (BA.) 1,768.00p -2.91% HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 946.00p -2.47% Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,519.00p -2.44% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 87.00p -2.31% Centrica (CNA) 160.80p -1.50% Kingfisher (KGF) 270.10p -1.50% Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,285.00p -1.31% Unite Group (UTG) 756.50p -1.05%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Bodycote (BOY) 646.00p 12.84% Big Yellow Group (BYG) 938.00p 3.42% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,250.00p 2.88% Vesuvius (VSVS) 361.00p 2.21% Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited (BSIF) 97.90p 2.19% Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 104.80p 2.14% Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 230.00p 2.00% Hill and Smith (HILS) 2,045.00p 2.00% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 319.40p 1.91% Volution Group (FAN) 677.00p 1.80%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,670.00p -8.87% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 74.05p -5.97% The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (TRIG) 84.30p -2.54% Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 616.00p -2.22% Ithaca Energy (ITH) 170.90p -2.01% Travis Perkins (TPK) 537.50p -1.92% Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) 118.80p -1.82% Keller Group (KLR) 1,338.00p -1.76% Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 232.50p -1.69% ITV (ITV) 81.30p -1.39%