Consumers, industrials push the FTSE 100 downward

FTSE Futures

On Wednesday, Britain’s FTSE 100 saw a drop, affected by the performance of consumer staples and industrial sectors, as investors assessed various corporate earnings reports. The blue-chip index has closed down by 0.2%, while the domestically focused mid-cap index has slipped by 0.3%.

In the market, consumer staples firms faced a downturn. Associated British Foods faced a notable drop of 13.2%, representing its poorest performance since 2016, as it sank to the lowest rank on the FTSE 100. This decline comes after the announcement of an expected drop in underlying sales for its Primark clothing division in the latter half of the fiscal year. Other consumer staples stocks, including Marks & Spencer and Diageo, experienced declines of 3% and 1.3%, respectively.

  • The Travel and Leisure sector experienced a decline of 1.9%.
  • British Airways owner IAG experienced a drop of 4.1%, while Wizz Air fell by 2.6%.
  • EasyJet also a decrease of 2.2%.
  • Certain industrial stocks, including RELX and Experian, experienced declines of 4.2% and 1.1%, respectively.
  • The technology index has experienced a decline of 3.4%.
  • Software firm Sage experienced an initial boost from Oracle’s results but subsequently declined by approximately 1%.
  • Medical equipment and services experienced a decline of 1.6%, with Smith+Nephew and Convatec reporting decreases of 1.5% and 1.8%, respectively.
  • Heavyweight bank saw stocks increase by 1.1%, while HSBC rose by 1.8%.
  • Aerospace and defence company BAE Systems experienced an increase of 2.2%, while Rolls-Royce saw a rise of 1.2%.
  • The life insurers index increased by 1.7%, driven by Prudential, which saw a rise of 3.4%, leading the FTSE 100.

In other developments, Vistry experienced a decline of 5.7% in its shares following the announcement that economic uncertainties may persist, impacting demand, as its first-half profit faced a decrease of one-third. Anglo American has advanced by 1.6%, following a significant increase of 9.1% the previous day, attributed to a $53 billion merger agreement with Canada’s Teck Resources. Berenberg has updated the miner’s rating to “hold” from “sell”. London Stock Exchange Group was down approximately 1% after experiencing a decline of 4.7% in the previous session, impacted by concerns regarding competition. Nonetheless, JPMorgan and other analysts upheld an optimistic perspective.

Weak jobs data has bolstered that argument; however, focus should be directed towards US inflation figures, with PPI set to be released today and CPI following tomorrow. Haleon’s stock increased by 1.4% following an upgrade from Goldman Sachs, which changed its rating for the consumer healthcare group from “neutral” to “buy.”
Serica Energy experienced a decline of 14.5% following a revision of its 2025 production forecast.