London midday: FTSE remains touch lower as BoE stands pat as expected

The FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 8,700.88, having moved into the red before the BoE announcement, while sterling remained lower versus the dollar, down 0.3% at 1.2971.

The BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee voted 8-1 to keep rates on hold at 4.5%. Only external member Swati Dhingra voted for a 25 basis points cut.

The BoE said in a statement: "As the Committee noted in February, there has been substantial progress on disinflation over the past two years, as previous external shocks have receded, and as the restrictive stance of monetary policy has curbed second-round effects and stabilised longer-term inflation expectations. That progress has allowed the MPC to withdraw gradually some degree of policy restraint, while maintaining Bank Rate in restrictive territory so as to continue to squeeze out persistent inflationary pressures.

"Since the MPC’s previous meeting, global trade policy uncertainty has intensified, and the United States has made a range of tariff announcements, to which some governments have responded. Other geopolitical uncertainties have also increased and indicators of financial market volatility have risen globally. The German government has announced plans for significant reform to its fiscal rules."

Earlier data from the Office for National Statistics showed the unemployment rate came in at 4.4% in January, unchanged from December.

Regular pay excluding bonuses rose 5.9% in the three months to January, the same as a month earlier and remaining at the highest level since the three months to April last year.

Meanwhile, total pay including bonuses was up 5.8%, down from 6.1% a month earlier and versus expectations for a smaller decline to 5.9%

ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: "Overall pay growth remains relatively strong, with pay growth high in both the public and private sectors, despite the latter slowing slightly in the latest period.

"The wider labour market picture is relatively unchanged, with the number of employees on payroll broadly flat in the latest period and with little growth seen over much of the last year.

"Unemployment, as measured by the Labour Force Survey, and the Claimant Count have both increased slightly in the latest periods, though caution continues to be advised with the survey estimates.

"Initial estimates show that the number of vacancies is little changed on the previous quarter, remaining just above pre-pandemic levels."

In equity markets, Crest Nicholson surged as the housebuilder said it had seen an encouraging start to the year and remained on track to deliver results in line with guidance in the current financial year.

Shaftesbury Capital rallied after saying it had sold a 25% stake in its Covent Garden portfolio to Norwegian sovereign wealth fund Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) for £570m. The deal values the Covent Garden estate, which covers some 220 buildings across 1.4m square feet, at £2.7bn, in line with an independent property valuation at the end of last year.

Great Portland Estates also gained.

Bloomsbury Publishing was sharply higher as it said full-year trading was ahead of expectations after a strong performance in the second half.

Food company Cranswick advanced as it upgraded medium-term targets and said the current year outlook was unchanged, with robust demand for its core pork and poultry products continuing throughout the fourth quarter.

Prudential pared earlier strong gains to trade just a smidgen higher as it hiked its dividend by 13% and accelerated its share buyback plan after profits rose by a tenth in 2024, with financial results in line with group guidance.

The insurance and asset management company returned $785m to shareholders in 2024, as part of its $2bn repurchase plan that will now complete by the end of 2025, ahead of the original mid-2026 schedule.

The firm reported an adjusted operating profit before tax of $3.13bn for 2024, up 10% on a constant currency basis.

On the downside, 3i Group slid after an update on non-food discounter Action, its largest portfolio company.

Investec fell after the international bank and wealth manager underwhelmed with its guidance for the year ending 31 March, with adjusted profits expected to rise by 5-12%.

Pearson and Beazley lost ground as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX)8,700.88-0.07%
FTSE 250 (MCX)20,108.58-0.07%
techMARK (TASX)4,769.680.04%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Experian (EXPN)3,620.00p2.96%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH)3,786.00p2.60%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG)11,220.00p2.47%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR)18,810.00p2.42%
Bunzl (BNZL)3,030.00p2.23%
SSE (SSE)1,553.50p2.00%
Diploma (DPLM)4,032.00p1.92%
Kingfisher (KGF)274.50p1.89%
Severn Trent (SVT)2,476.00p1.73%
Persimmon (PSN)1,222.00p1.71%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Pearson (PSON)1,213.00p-4.61%
3i Group (III)3,635.00p-4.40%
Beazley (BEZ)861.00p-4.29%
M&G (MNG)218.90p-2.97%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK)2,024.00p-2.79%
BAE Systems (BA.)1,629.00p-2.63%
Compass Group (CPG)2,446.00p-2.00%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA)878.20p-1.95%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.)794.20p-1.94%
Melrose Industries (MRO)531.00p-1.52%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST)166.00p9.07%
Shaftesbury Capital (SHC)125.50p6.70%
Great Portland Estates (GPE)305.00p4.10%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM)3,470.00p3.58%
Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY)600.00p3.45%
Vistry Group (VTY)648.50p3.03%
Pennon Group (PNN)447.20p2.57%
Alpha Group International (ALPH)2,480.00p2.48%
Ocado Group (OCDO)268.20p2.40%
Diversified Energy Company (DEC)1,018.00p2.31%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Ferrexpo (FXPO)74.10p-4.68%
Investec (INVP)498.60p-3.74%
Babcock International Group (BAB)727.50p-3.71%
Wood Group (John) (WG.)43.00p-3.54%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.)366.40p-3.27%
SSP Group (SSPG)154.90p-3.13%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS)280.50p-2.77%
Genuit Group (GEN)377.50p-2.33%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG)441.20p-2.30%
Chemring Group (CHG)376.50p-2.20%