London midday: Stocks push higher as Airtel Africa, St James's Place impress

(Sharecast News) - London stocks had extended gains by midday on Thursday, helped along by well-received updates from Airtel Africa and St James's Place and better-than-expected data from the Bank of England, as investors eyed a policy announcement from the European Central Bank.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 8,588.32.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The Fed, as expected, kept interest rates in a holding pattern, but dropped its recent mention of inflation making progress. With threats and speculation flying around about trade tariffs and the potential impact on consumer prices, its little wonder policymakers seem in no rush to cut rates again, especially given the resilience of the US economy."

Looking to the rest of the day, eyes will be on the latest policy announcement from the ECB.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "The market is certain that the ECB will cut interest rates at this meeting and is 100% priced for a cut. We do not expect the ECB to disappoint market expectations. The impact from the rate cut is not expected to be particularly market moving, instead, the focus will be on ECB President Christine Lagarde's press conference at 1345GMT and the ECB statement that will accompany the decision."

On home shores, figures from the BoE showed that mortgage approvals sparked in December, comfortably beating expectations.

According the latest money and credit report from the BoE, net mortgage approvals for house purchases ticked up to 66,526 from 66,061 in November.

Most analysts had expected a fall, to an average of 65,400. Mortgage approvals eased by 2,300 in November.

Approvals for remortgaging in December fell, albeit slightly, down 700 to 30,500.

The effective interest rate - which is the actual interest paid - fell 3 basis points to 4.47%.

Net borrowing of mortgage debt, meanwhile, jumped �1bn to �3.57bn, the biggest rise since September 2022.

Iain Swatton, director at Exemplar Financial Services, said: "Despite concerns over the Budget, and signs of a faltering economy, mortgage activity remained surprisingly buoyant in December, with strong enquiry levels continuing into 2025.

"Rate fluctuations persist and a lender price war has yet to emerge, but demand remains resilient."

Many expect the BoE to continue cutting interest rates throughout 2025, as it looks to stimulate growth without triggering an uplift in inflation.

The housing market is also being further supported by upcoming changes to stamp duty thresholds, with many rushing to complete purchases ahead of April.

The BoE's money and credit report also showed a slight increase in net borrowing of consumer credit by individuals in December, up �100m at �1.0bn. Within that, net borrowing on credit cards increased to �0.4bn while other forms of consumer credit, such as car dealership finance, were largely unchanged.

In contrast, household deposits with banks and building societies jumped �4.5bn in December, well up on November's �1.2bn increase.

In equity markets, Airtel Africa surged after a well-received third-quarter update and as it announced the launch of a second share buyback programme.

St James's Place rallied as it said net inflows and strong investment returns for clients had driven record funds under management for the year to the end of December 2024.

Oil giant Shell advanced as it lifted its dividend but posted a bigger-than-expected drop in fourth-quarter profits.

Future was a high riser as the media group announced the appointment of Kevin Li Ying as its new chief executive officer with effect from 31 March, succeeding Jon Steinberg.

Serco jumped as it agreed to buy Northrop Grumman's mission training and satellite ground network communications software business for $327m (�264m) in cash.

On the downside, BT Group slid as it said third-quarter revenues had fallen amid weaker phone sales and a struggling business unit.

Software group Sage was also in the red despite saying it had made a strong start its new financial year with revenues rising by a tenth in the first quarter, as all regions delivered solid growth.

Wizz Air tanked as it reported a narrowing of its third-quarter losses but cut its full-year profit forecast as it deals with issues related to engine groundings. The airline now expects full-year net income of �250m to �300m, down from previous guidance of �350m to �450m.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,588.32 0.36%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,722.56 0.79%

techMARK (TASX) 4,719.12 -0.57%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Airtel Africa (AAF) 146.80p 10.38%

St James's Place (STJ) 1,006.00p 8.29%

easyJet (EZJ) 509.60p 3.85%

Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) 2,332.00p 2.73%

Prudential (PRU) 686.20p 2.30%

Fresnillo (FRES) 688.00p 1.93%

Rightmove (RMV) 663.80p 1.90%

United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,018.00p 1.86%

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 459.10p 1.80%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,722.50p 1.77%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

BT Group (BT.A) 143.40p -1.78%

Admiral Group (ADM) 2,721.00p -1.20%

GSK (GSK) 1,385.50p -1.07%

The Sage Group (SGE) 1,322.50p -1.05%

Whitbread (WTB) 2,887.00p -1.03%

Haleon (HLN) 371.00p -0.83%

Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 62.04p -0.77%

Barclays (BARC) 294.65p -0.56%

NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 432.70p -0.55%

Rentokil Initial (RTO) 392.20p -0.53%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 101.20p 5.97%

Serco Group (SRP) 158.20p 5.05%

HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited A Shs (HVPE) 2,700.00p 4.45%

Future (FUTR) 934.00p 4.30%

Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 543.50p 3.52%

Wood Group (John) (WG.) 68.20p 3.41%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 173.60p 3.33%

Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 79.95p 3.23%

Alpha Group International (ALPH) 2,535.00p 3.05%

Genuit Group (GEN) 381.50p 2.97%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,266.00p -7.73%

SThree (STEM) 257.00p -2.65%

Essentra (ESNT) 117.60p -2.65%

AO World (AO.) 96.60p -2.23%

Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 96.00p -1.84%

Supermarket Income Reit (SUPR) 66.20p -1.78%

Foresight Environmental Infrastructure Limited (FGEN) 65.50p -1.50%

Sequoia Economic Infrastructure Income Fund Limited (SEQI) 77.40p -1.28%

Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 647.00p -1.22%

Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 137.00p -1.08%