LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - London stocks ended Wednesday's session narrowly mixed, as investors weighed a stream of corporate updates.
The FTSE 100 index slipped 0.21% to close at 8,585.01 points, while the FTSE 250 edged up 0.29% to 20,819.57 points.

In currency markets, sterling was last down 0.08% on the dollar to trade at $1.3295, as it dropped 0.22% against the euro, changing hands at €1.1870.

"Investors continue to pile back into US markets, but European markets have seen some losses today," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

"Having returned to record highs, the Dax looks vulnerable to some short-term selling, while the FTSE 100 seems to have a ceiling for the time being around 8,600.

"Nonetheless, the tariff truce and cooling inflation should continue to underpin gains for stocks in the weeks to come."

Beauchamp added that, while the current "ceasefire" in the global trade war could do wonders for equities, it had proven to be a burden for gold.

"Overall the commodity continues to look like it is in for an extended period of consolidation.

"Fund flows should continue to favour US stocks in the short-term, and as the current 'most crowded trade' gold seems vulnerable as some investors reduce their exposure."

UK labour market said to be resilient, German inflation cools

In economic news, the UK labour market was said to be showing unexpected resilience by Bank of England policymaker Catherine Mann, who defended her decision to vote against an interest rate cut last week.

Mann, speaking in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, said rising household inflation expectations and persistent goods price pressures prompted her to support keeping Bank Rate at 4.5%, contrary to the MPC majority.

Although the Bank lowered rates to 4.25% citing progress on disinflation, Mann warned that firms have yet to lose pricing power and that input costs remain elevated.

She stressed the need to see broader moderation in prices before backing further monetary easing.

On the continent, German inflation cooled slightly in April, falling to 2.1% year-on-year from 2.2% in March, in line with expectations.

The decline was largely driven by a sharp drop in energy prices, with motor fuels down 8.3% and heating oil falling nearly 13%, according to federal statistics agency Destatis.

Stripping out volatile items, core inflation stood at 2.8%.

The harmonised index, used across the eurozone, recorded annual inflation at 2.2%.

Across the Atlantic, mortgage activity in the US rose modestly last week, building on a sharp gain the week before.

Data from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed that overall applications increased by 1.1% in the week ended 9 May.

Purchase applications climbed 2.3%, buoyed by a growing housing supply, while refinancing activity remained largely flat but was up significantly from a year earlier.

The average 30-year mortgage rate was steady at 6.86%.

Burberry surges on cost-cutting plans, Imperial Brands in the red

On London's equity markets, Burberry surged 17.03% after unveiling a wide-ranging turnaround plan.

Despite reporting a full-year loss, the luxury fashion house won investor support with proposals that include potential job cuts affecting up to 1,700 roles as it looked to restore profitability.

Mondi climbed 3.2% after JPMorgan upgraded the packaging group to 'overweight' from 'neutral'.

Marks & Spencer also advanced, rising 2.84%, recovering from earlier losses linked to a cyber attack that compromised some customer data.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals benefited from a new 'outperform' rating at BNPP Exane.

On the downside, Imperial Brands dropped 7.27% after its half-year adjusted operating profit missed forecasts and it announced the upcoming departure of chief executive officer Stefan Bomhard, who would be replaced by group finance chief Lukas Paravicini.

Spirax Group fell 6% after issuing a cautious outlook, citing weaker customer investment due to global trade tensions.

Elsewhere, Compass Group dipped 2.53% after maintaining its full-year guidance, which flagged a deceleration in growth despite a solid first-half performance.

Experian declined 2.86% following the release of full-year results, while Persimmon lost 1.65% after selling its FibreNest broadband unit for £100m, saying it would reinvest the proceeds into its growth strategy.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,585.01 -0.21%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,819.57 0.29%
techMARK (TASX) 4,677.68 0.11%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Airtel Africa (AAF) 174.60p 3.25%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,226.50p 3.20%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 355.20p 2.84%
Entain (ENT) 785.60p 2.83%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,174.00p 2.18%
Beazley (BEZ) 893.00p 2.12%
Rightmove (RMV) 738.80p 2.10%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 74.94p 2.10%
Kingfisher (KGF) 313.10p 2.02%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,874.50p 1.96%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,680.00p -7.27%
Spirax Group (SPX) 6,170.00p -6.00%
Experian (EXPN) 3,870.00p -2.86%
Fresnillo (FRES) 981.50p -2.82%
Compass Group (CPG) 2,540.00p -2.53%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 116.50p -2.39%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 7,380.00p -2.23%
Croda International (CRDA) 3,101.00p -2.05%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 316.30p -1.98%
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 6,490.00p -1.82%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Burberry Group (BRBY) 967.60p 17.03%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 69.60p 4.66%
Trainline (TRN) 264.80p 4.50%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 115.20p 3.97%
THG (THG) 28.38p 3.88%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 619.00p 3.86%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,722.00p 3.49%
Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,063.00p 3.10%
Bodycote (BOY) 569.00p 2.89%
Carnival (CCL) 1,575.50p 2.84%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Foresight Environmental Infrastructure Limited (FGEN) 74.10p -3.26%
Vistry Group (VTY) 613.40p -3.13%
The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (TRIG) 77.90p -3.11%
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 128.90p -2.57%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 2,076.00p -2.44%
PayPoint (PAY) 674.00p -2.32%
HICL Infrastructure (HICL) 110.40p -2.30%
Man Group (EMG) 173.50p -2.20%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 273.80p -2.14%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 521.00p -2.07%

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