London midday: Stocks pare gains; retail sales, consumer sentiment reading in focus
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Friday 23 May 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were off earlier highs but just in the black by midday on Friday as investors mulled better-than-expected retail sales data and an upbeat reading on consumer sentiment.
The FTSE 100 was up just 0.1% at 8,746.46.
Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that retail sales increased 1.2% on the month in April following a 0.1% jump in March, which was revised down from 0.4% growth. Analysts were expecting a 0.3% increase.
The ONS said food stores sales volumes grew strongly, up 3.9%, mostly recovering from falls in February and March.
Supermarkets, specialist food stores such as butchers and bakers, and alcohol and tobacco stores all saw growth, with some retailers putting this down to the good weather.
ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said: "Sunny skies and warm temperatures helped boost retail sales in April with strong trading across most sectors.
"After a poor couple of months, food sales bounced back with supermarkets reporting robust sales, while it was also a positive month for butchers and bakers, alcohol and tobacco stores.
"Conversely, after a good March, clothing sales fell this month, although it was a brighter picture for department stores and household good shops whose sales grew."
Elsewhere, a survey showed that consumer confidence ticked higher in May on improved expectations for the UK economy.
The latest GfK consumer confidence barometer rose three points month-on-month to -20, although that remains below the -17 recorded in May 2024.
Driving the improvement was a five-point jump in personal finance expectations over the next 12 months, which took the sub-index into positive territory with a reading of 2.
The outlook for the economy over the coming year also strengthened, up two points at -33.
The major purchase index rose three points to -16, the highest since the end of 2024. In contrast the savings index - which is not included in the overall score - shed two points to 28.
Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director at GfK, said consumers may have "taken comfort" from the latest interest rate reduction.
In addition, the initial panic surrounding Donald Trump's sweeping global tariff regime has faded marginally, after the US president scaled back some of the more stringent duties and struck deals with both China and the UK.
That helped settle markets and ease medium-term fears about the impact of a trade war on both the global economy and inflation.
Bellamy said: "Those dangers - especially the issue of inflation - have not disappeared, but the consumer mood in the UK does appear to have improved a little."
In equity markets, AJ Bell surged to the top of the FTSE 250 as it hailed a "strong" interim performance, with pre-tax profit up 12% to £68.8m and revenue ahead 17%.
Warhammer maker Games Workshop tumbled as it said its current-year licensing revenue would not match 2024/25's record of £50m, but also that pre-tax profit for the 52 weeks to 1 June would be at least £255m, smashing estimates of £225m.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "It's been a monumental year for Games Workshop as it has delivered a string of good news around earnings and enjoyed promotion to the prestigious FTSE 100 index. It's capped that year off with another upgrade to earnings guidance.
"Games Workshop has enjoyed terrific success with licencing assets for the Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 video game. There's a warning that licencing gains seen over the past 12 months won't be matched in the new financial year, which explains why the shares have pulled back on the trading update.
"However, the pipeline looks strong enough to keep most investors on side. In addition to another Space Marine game being developed, it has all the licencing income from a deal with Amazon to look forward to."
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,746.46 0.08%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,803.73 0.02%
techMARK (TASX) 4,788.89 0.30%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Anglo American (AAL) 2,215.50p 4.50%
easyJet (EZJ) 571.40p 3.93%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 462.60p 2.12%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 332.50p 1.87%
3i Group (III) 4,143.00p 1.87%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 284.60p 1.79%
WPP (WPP) 601.00p 1.42%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,829.00p 1.40%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,775.50p 1.31%
Glencore (GLEN) 270.25p 1.26%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 15,090.00p -4.91%
Beazley (BEZ) 922.50p -2.84%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 373.40p -2.76%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,256.00p -2.18%
Prudential (PRU) 832.80p -2.12%
Diageo (DGE) 2,028.00p -1.60%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 84.10p -1.24%
Centrica (CNA) 157.15p -1.16%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,711.00p -1.13%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,342.00p -1.10%
FTSE 250 - Risers
AJ Bell (AJB) 491.20p 7.44%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 281.00p 3.54%
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 129.30p 3.36%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 173.60p 2.42%
Elementis (ELM) 132.00p 2.33%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 536.50p 2.29%
Indivior (INDV) 848.00p 2.05%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 77.05p 1.99%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,609.00p 1.77%
Petershill Partners (PHLL) 210.00p 1.69%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 259.20p -3.43%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,766.00p -2.70%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 557.50p -2.62%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 594.00p -2.30%
Rank Group (RNK) 122.20p -2.24%
RS Group (RS1) 556.00p -2.11%
Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) 513.00p -2.10%
Genuit Group (GEN) 383.50p -1.67%
SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 43.65p -1.58%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 402.40p -1.47%
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