London midday: Stocks extend gains as gold miners, Lloyds jump
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Wednesday 08 Oct 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks had extended gains by midday on Wednesday, with gold miners shining as spot gold rose above $4,000 for the first time, while Lloyds rallied as the Financial Conduct Authority's motor finance redress scheme came in lower than expected.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 9,537.64.
The FCA said late on Tuesday that it expects payouts on 14m finance agreements where there were "widespread failings" in how lenders disclosed commission payments to brokers, to start next year, with customers receiving around an average £700 in compensation per agreement.
Lloyds said it was "assessing the implications" of the announcement, which will see lenders pay up to £11bn compensation for unfair practices.
The bank said it was looking at "the impact of this consultation in the context of its current provision for this issue and will update the market as and when appropriate".
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The motor finance scandal is proving to be less dramatic than thought. Lloyds' shares jumped after the regulator proposed that motorists would get £700 on average in compensation, lower than the previous indicated amount of £950.
"Lloyds has already taken a £1.2 billion provision to cover the cost, which now looks like a reasonable assumption. The fact its share price jumped means the market is comfortable with the outcome and that a big uncertainty factor will soon be removed.
"Lloyds' management will be keen to shift the market's focus to the bank's growth opportunities in the future, not what it has done in the past."
Close Brothers shares initially surged on the FCA news, but by midday they were up a more modest 0.6%.
Elsewhere, precious metals miner Fresnillo and gold miners Endeavour and Hochschild all shone after gold jumped past $4,000 an ounce for the first time as investors sought a safe haven amid the ongoing US government shutdown and concerns about the broader economy.
Russ Mould said: "While stock markets have generally done well this year, gold has been a superstar. Traditionally, investors would load up on the shiny stuff when markets look gloomy, not when they're motoring ahead.
"It shows that investors are hedging their bets, particularly as there are growing concerns that euphoria around AI has gone too far and the bubble could burst at some point."
Quilter racked up strong gains for the second day in a row after RBC Capital Markets said in a note on Tuesday that it could be a potential takeover target for Lloyds.
On the downside, student accommodation provider Unite Group tumbled as it said that 95.2% of beds for the 2025/26 academic year were now sold, down from 97.5% at the same time a year earlier. Empiric Student Property, which agreed in August to be bought by Unite, also fell sharply.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,537.64 0.57%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,972.53 -0.14%
techMARK (TASX) 5,558.62 0.63%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,768.00p 3.28%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 85.50p 2.64%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 397.90p 2.10%
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,346.00p 2.00%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 17,715.00p 1.87%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 548.40p 1.82%
Pearson (PSON) 1,071.00p 1.81%
Experian (EXPN) 3,595.00p 1.78%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 385.50p 1.77%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,468.00p 1.70%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
ICG (ICG) 2,200.00p -3.17%
Spirax Group (SPX) 6,945.00p -2.46%
SEGRO (SGRO) 654.40p -2.01%
LondonMetric Property (LMP) 180.40p -1.47%
Croda International (CRDA) 2,830.00p -1.46%
Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 382.90p -1.44%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,836.00p -1.24%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,430.00p -1.22%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,321.50p -1.16%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 588.00p -1.09%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Quilter (QLT) 174.40p 5.57%
Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,028.00p 2.59%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 379.00p 2.54%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,240.00p 2.53%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 212.00p 1.92%
IP Group (IPO) 53.80p 1.89%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 385.00p 1.85%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 91.60p 1.78%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 635.00p 1.76%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 242.00p 1.68%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Unite Group (UTG) 639.50p -9.48%
Empiric Student Property (ESP) 84.30p -6.33%
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 148.90p -2.30%
Workspace Group (WKP) 390.00p -2.26%
Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 669.00p -2.05%
Foresight Environmental Infrastructure Limited (FGEN) 67.00p -2.05%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 979.00p -2.00%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 391.70p -1.98%
Coats Group (COA) 79.90p -1.96%
RS Group (RS1) 549.50p -1.96%
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