London close: Stocks flat as Entain, Flutter slide
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Tuesday 07 Oct 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks ended flat on Tuesday, with Imperial Brands and Shell both higher on the back of well-received trading updates but bookies under the cosh, as investors kept an eye on political developments in France.
The FTSE 100 closed steady at 9,483.58.
Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill Group said: "The FTSE 100 had surged to record highs last week, buoyed by interest in battered healthcare stocks after the U.S. government reached an agreement with drug manufacturer Pfizer, alleviating some uncertainties in the sector. Although the benchmark reached an intraday record high on Monday, it retreated following the resignation of the French prime minister, which raised concerns about fiscal and political stability.
"Analysts predict that the markets will remain in a wait-and-see approach due to the lack of significant catalysts and the ongoing U.S. government shutdown."
On home shores, the latest data from Halifax showed that house prices ticked lower in September, missing forecasts for a slight rise.
According to latest Halifax house price index, prices decreased by 0.3% in September, compared to a 0.2% uplift in August. It was the first decline since May. Most analysts had been expecting another 0.2% rise.
Year-on-year, house prices rose by 1.3%, the slowest annual rate since April 2024 and down on August's 2% rise. It was also below forecasts, for a 2.2% increase.
The average property price now stands at £298,184.
However, Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said the market remained "broadly" stable.
"This slight monthly dip in house prices reflects a housing market that has remained broadly stable; prices are up 0.3% since the start of the year," she said. "While affordability remains a challenge, a relatively lower mortgage rate environment and steady wage growth have helped support buyer confidence.
"Although the broader economic outlook remains uncertain, with the affordability picture gradually improving, we continue to expect modest growth through the remainder of the year."
In equity markets, Rentokil rallied after Bernstein doubled upgraded the shares to 'outperform' from 'underperform' and hiked the price target to 570p from 313p, saying it sees signs of inflecting organic revenue growth.
The bank also said it believes that Rentokil can enjoy structural growth in line with the industry, combined with ongoing consolidation.
Tobacco giant Imperial Brands gained riser after saying it remained on track to meet full-year guidance, supported by growth across both its tobacco and next-generation product categories, and announcing a £1.45bn share buyback.
British American Tobacco also gained.
Shell rose after saying it expects "significantly higher" trading in its gas division in the third quarter than in the previous quarter.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Shell's big bet on natural gas - which is more than a decade in the making - continues to yield positive results.
"In its teaser ahead of third-quarter results, Shell delivered a steady-as-she-goes assessment of trading. While this would not ordinarily be cause for too much excitement, to achieve an outcome broadly in-line with the second quarter despite a material decline in oil prices is a decent outcome.
"It has been driven by a strong showing from its integrated gas business, which encompasses its LNG business where volumes are notably higher quarter-on-quarter.
"Improving margins in its refining business are another bright spot and the renewables arm is expected to break into profit - although not a particularly meaningful one in the context of the wider group.
"Speculation about a potential merger with BP seems to have quietened for now, leaving CEO Wael Sawan to focus on improving the business and looking for ways to improve its valuation to be in line with US counterparts.
"The fear in London is this might eventually involve a shift in its primary stock listing to New York which would be a devastating blow for the UK market."
Marks & Spencer got a boost after JPMorgan placed the shares on 'positive catalyst watch' and reiterated its 'overweight' recommendation.
Quilter jumped as RBC Capital Markets suggested it could be a potential takeover target for Lloyds.
"UK banks, and particularly LLOY, are under penetrated in wealth management (WM), missing out on relatively high structural growth and returns," RBC said. "In light of narrowing valuation differentials, we think that the imminent introduction of Target Support could act as a catalyst for LLOY to acquire a wealth manager, and we see Quilter as a particularly attractive proposition."
On the downside, Ladbrokes owner Entain and Flutter Entertainment slid after New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange agreed to invest up to $2bn in Polymarket, a prediction market and information platform tracking event probabilities across markets, politics, sport and culture.
Discount retailer B&M tumbled after saying it expects full-year profits to fall by up to 18% as it reported a flat underlying sales performance in the UK in the first half.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,483.58 0.05%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,099.74 0.00%
techMARK (TASX) 5,524.01 -0.47%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 409.90p 3.90%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,105.00p 3.36%
Beazley (BEZ) 925.50p 2.78%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,233.50p 2.62%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,854.00p 1.82%
Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 46.40p 1.75%
Shell (SHEL) 2,779.00p 1.53%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,125.00p 1.14%
Croda International (CRDA) 2,872.00p 1.06%
Diageo (DGE) 1,778.50p 1.05%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Entain (ENT) 812.00p -6.54%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 17,390.00p -6.23%
Mondi (MNDI) 837.20p -4.82%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 102.00p -2.44%
Spirax Group (SPX) 7,120.00p -2.26%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,253.00p -2.19%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 8,680.00p -2.16%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,780.00p -2.11%
Relx plc (REL) 3,396.00p -1.93%
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,300.00p -1.79%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Pinewood Technologies Group (PINE) 417.00p 4.91%
Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 383.00p 2.96%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 694.00p 2.36%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 239.50p 2.13%
Quilter (QLT) 165.20p 2.10%
Patria Private Equity Trust (PPET) 574.00p 1.77%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 497.00p 1.47%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,848.00p 1.43%
BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 401.50p 1.39%
Elementis (ELM) 164.00p 1.36%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 236.20p -7.81%
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 604.00p -3.51%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 718.00p -3.36%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 359.40p -3.07%
Vistry Group (VTY) 634.40p -3.03%
Senior (SNR) 193.80p -3.00%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 71.15p -2.67%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 238.00p -2.46%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 221.00p -2.43%
Rank Group (RNK) 129.40p -2.41%
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