London midday: FTSE touch lower after Powell comments; defence firms gain
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Wednesday 24 Sep 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still a touch lower by midday on Wednesday, having taken their cue from a negative close on Wall Street after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said in a speech that equities were highly valued.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 9,212.56.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Wall Street hit pause on its rally yesterday, with the S&P 500 slipping 0.6% and the Nasdaq down 0.9%. The pullback came after three straight record closes, as Fed Chair Powell flagged 'fairly highly valued' equity prices and investors reassessed the sustainability of recent AI-fuelled gains.
"Gold is hovering near record highs as investors weigh mixed signals from the Fed on inflation and jobs. Powell's cautious tone was echoed by divided views across the committee, keeping rate cut expectations alive ahead of August's PCE print, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation. Add in rising geopolitical tensions and strong ETF inflows, and gold's appeal is holding firm despite the policy fog."
In equity markets, defence firms BAE Systems and Babcock were high risers after US President Donald Trump said he believes Kyiv can "win all of Ukraine back in its original form". He made the statement on Truth Social after meeting Ukrainian president Zelensky in New York.
Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets, said: "Defence stocks were among the big gainers after Donald Trump agreed Nato countries should shoot down Russian aircraft that violate their airspace, and backed Ukraine to reclaim all its territory lost to Russia - with EU funds of course."
Retailer JD Sports Fashion fell as it reported a drop in interim profits and struck a cautious note on the outlook for the trading environment. It flagged consumer finances, a weaker jobs market and changes in the footwear product cycle.
On the upside, JD also said the financial impact from US tariff exposure in the current year was likely to be limited and that it remained on track to meet forecasts for full-year pre-tax profits before adjusting items.
Saga rallied as it said full-year underlying pre-tax profit was set to be in line with market expectations after a better-than-expected first half, driven by continued strength in the travel segment.
Online classifieds portals operator Baltic Classifieds tumbled as it warned on full-year profits and revenue, pointing to a depressed Estonian car market.
Pinewood Technologies posted a rise in first-half profit and revenue and set new medium-term guidance, but shares fell as the company pointed to a one-time accounting impact and the delay of an implementation with customer Marshall.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,212.56 -0.12%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,688.42 -0.03%
techMARK (TASX) 5,416.60 -0.29%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,206.00p 2.29%
National Grid (NG.) 1,052.00p 1.25%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 582.50p 1.22%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,973.00p 1.13%
SSE (SSE) 1,724.00p 1.11%
Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 49.42p 1.07%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,175.50p 0.99%
Beazley (BEZ) 849.50p 0.89%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,104.00p 0.75%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,725.50p 0.74%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,100.00p -3.76%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 86.98p -1.83%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 234.60p -1.76%
ICG (ICG) 2,234.00p -1.50%
The Sage Group (SGE) 1,089.50p -1.45%
WPP (WPP) 355.50p -1.41%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,386.00p -1.32%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,604.00p -1.29%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 11,130.00p -1.14%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 356.30p -1.11%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 7,675.00p 2.74%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 903.50p 2.67%
Investec (INVP) 578.00p 2.12%
HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited A Shs (HVPE) 2,840.00p 1.79%
Computacenter (CCC) 2,520.00p 1.69%
Hays (HAS) 54.60p 1.68%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 262.10p 1.55%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 524.50p 1.55%
Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 738.00p 1.37%
Assura (AGR) 46.64p 1.30%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 285.00p -9.81%
Pinewood Technologies Group (PINE) 480.00p -9.26%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 78.50p -3.56%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 308.40p -2.34%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 3,035.00p -1.94%
Carnival (CCL) 2,069.00p -1.85%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 239.50p -1.84%
Energean (ENOG) 815.50p -1.81%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 393.80p -1.70%
Future (FUTR) 681.00p -1.59%
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