Wall Street stocks followed the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) and European stocks higher on Friday, as the US Bureau of Economic Analysis’ Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index report showed the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge was in line with expectations for August.
The PCE price index climbed 0.3% in August, a slight uptick from the prior month’s 0.2% rise but in line with the 0.3% estimated by economists tracked by Bloomberg. On an annual basis, the index rose 2.7% for the month, above the 2.6% increase seen in August 2024.
The “core” PCE index, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, was up 0.2% in August from the prior month, less than the 0.3% uptick in July. On an annual basis, the core PCE index was unchanged at 2.9%. Those figures were also on par with economists’ estimates.
It came as Keir Starmer unveiled plans to introduce a mandatory digital ID card for all UK working adults to tackle illegal immigration and improve identity verification.
The initiative will be mandatory for adults in the UK and would enable digital checks on people’s right to live and work in the country. The card will include a name, date of birth, nationality or residency status, and a photo and will be on people’s phones, similar to contactless payment cards.
“I know working people are worried about the level of illegal migration into this country. A secure border and controlled migration are reasonable demands, and this government is listening and delivering,” the prime minister said.
“Digital ID is an enormous opportunity for the UK. It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure.
“And it will also offer ordinary citizens countless benefits, like being able to prove your identity to access key services swiftly – rather than hunting around for an old utility bill.”
However, the move has sparked debate over privacy and surveillance concerns. The UK has only introduced compulsory ID cards during wartime, although they stayed in place for several years after Second World War.
Read more: Trending tickers: Oracle, Costco, AstraZeneca, Daimler Truck and Pennon Group
Elsewhere, Donald Trump on Thursday night announced tariffs of 100% on medicines and pharmaceutical goods imported into the US, rattling markets in Asia overnight.
The US president also announced 25% tariff on imports of all heavy-duty trucks, 50% tariffs on kitchen cabinets, a 50% tariff on bathroom vanities and a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture, with all the new duties taking effect from 1 October.
The tariffs do not apply to generic pharmaceuticals, and companies will be exempt if they have begun constructing new manufacturing facilities in the US.
He said the new heavy-duty truck tariffs were to protect manufacturers from “unfair outside competition” and said the move would benefit companies such as Paccar-owned Peterbilt and Kenworth and Daimler Truck-owned Freightliner.
He added: “We need our Truckers to be financially healthy and strong, for many reasons, but above all else, for National Security purposes!”
It comes despite controversy over the legality of his tariffs.
Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets, said: “The tariff news ought to add to the bearish narrative we’ve seen take hold in equity markets this week, but so far European equity markets are rising and US futures are a bit higher.”
London’s benchmark index (^FTSE) was 0.7% higher by the end of the session
Germany’s DAX (^GDAXI) rose 0.8% and the CAC (^FCHI) in Paris headed 0.9% into the green
The pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) was up 0.7%
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose roughly 0.6%, leading gains, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) ticked 0.2% higher. The gains come after three straight days of losses for the major US gauges
The pound was 0.5% up against the US dollar (GBPUSD=X) at 1.3412
Follow along for live updates throughout the day:
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER 20 updates Fri, September 26, 2025 at 3:33 PM UTC Blog close
Well that’s all from us today, thanks for following along as always. We will be back bright and early on Monday for more of the latest markets news, and updates of what’s going on across the global economy.
Until then, have a great weekend folks!
Fri, September 26, 2025 at 3:24 PM UTC US consumer sentiment falls
US consumer sentiment cooled in September, with the University of Michigan’s consumer morale index dipping to 55.1 points, down from 58.2 in August.
The survey found that Americans are frustrated with high prices, and more pessimistic about labour markets, business conditions and personal expectations. However, those who hold large stakes in the stock market are more positive.
Surveys of Consumers director Joanne Hsu says:
Fri, September 26, 2025 at 1:53 PM UTC UK economic growth subdued but not stalling, says PwC
UK economic growth is “subdued but not stalling”, according to economists at PwC, as they upgraded projections for the current year.
Experts at the accounting and financial services giant have said that UK gross domestic product (GDP) is now on track to grow by 1.3% in 2025.
It had previously pointed towards an increase of 1.1% for the year.
The new forecast was driven by a stronger than expected first half of the year, with growth of 0.7% in the first quarter and 0.3% in the second quarter.
PwC’s research indicated that growth was “flattered” by Government spending, with higher state consumption and investment in healthcare helping to support growth in the second quarter.
It suggested that household consumption moderated over the quarter, while investment fell as firms were impacted by economic uncertainty and rising costs.
Barret Kupelian, PwC UK chief economist, said consumer spending has been somewhat better than expected despite being broadly flat in recent months.
PwC’s research indicated that a “lasting recovery will require household spending and private sector activity to pick up”.
Fri, September 26, 2025 at 1:29 PM UTC US personal spending rises 0.6%
Personal spending in the US rose 0.6% in August, for the third month in a row, new government data shows. It comes as Americans shrugged off tariff concerns, inflation, and a slowing jobs market.
The news could ease worries that the US economy is on the cusp of a slowdown.
Stephen Brown, deputy chief North America economist, said:
Fri, September 26, 2025 at 1:05 PM UTC Fed’s preferred inflation gauge meets expectations
The US Bureau of Economic Analysis’ Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index report Friday showed the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge was in line with expectations for August.
The PCE price index climbed 0.3% in August, a slight uptick from the prior month’s 0.2% rise but in line with the 0.3% estimated by economists tracked by Bloomberg. On an annual basis, the index rose 2.7% for the month, above the 2.6% increase seen in August 2024.
The “core” PCE index, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, was up 0.2% in August from the prior month, less than the 0.3% uptick in July. On an annual basis, the core PCE index was unchanged at 2.9%. Those figures were also on par with economists’ estimates.
Fri, September 26, 2025 at 12:40 PM UTC Meta to launch £3.99 subscriptions for Facebook and Instagram
Facebook and Instagram users in the UK will soon be able to avoid advertisements, if they agree to pay a monthly fee.
The Telegraph has the details…
The ad-free subscriptions, which will be introduced in the coming weeks, will cost £2.99 per month when purchased on the web or £3.99 from a smartphone.
Users can choose to continue to use Meta’s apps for free, but must agree to keep seeing adverts.
Meta said it would begin to notify all UK Facebook and Instagram users over the age of 18 that they have the option to subscribe to its apps. When someone subscribes, their personal information will not be used for advertising, it said.
The paid-for tier follows years of legal battles and wrangling between regulators and Mark Zuckerberg’s tech giant over online privacy.
In March this year, Facebook settled a legal dispute with a British Facebook user who had sued the tech giant over its targeted digital advertising. As part of the deal, it agreed to stop using her personal data.
Tanya O’Carroll had claimed Meta had breached rules with its “unfair terms”, including agreeing to hyper-targeted advertising in exchange for accessing its apps. She had claimed she had started seeing adverts linked to motherhood and pregnancy weeks after she found out she would be having a baby in 2017.
In the aftermath of the case, Meta said it was considering offering a paid subscription tier as an alternative.
Meta has previously launched other forms of subscriptions, including charging £9.99 for users who want to have their profile “verified”.
Fri, September 26, 2025 at 12:16 PM UTC Oasis fans outspend Swifties in Supersonic Wembley spending surge
As the Gallagher brothers wrap up their UK tour with a final show at Wembley Stadium this Sunday, new analysis from Lloyds reveals that Oasis fans have delivered a significant economic boost to Wembley, outspending even recent mega-concerts from Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and Dua Lipa’s Radical Optimism Tour.
The long-awaited reunion of the Gallagher brothers on 25 July 2025 sparked an 88% surge in spending compared to a typical Friday. Based on Lloyds’ customer transaction data, which has been extrapolated to represent projected consumer spending, analysts revealed that spending in and around Wembley reached £5.1m during the band’s first Wembley gig this year.
That figure surpasses the £3.7m spent during Taylor Swift’s 2024 Wembley opener and the £3.8mmillion generated by Dua Lipa’s 2025 show.
The reunion triggered a fan-fuelled economic surge that Lloyds has dubbed “Gallaghernomics” – proof that the enduring pull of Oasis outpaced even Swiftonomics and a nod to the economic power of nostalgia, with Oasis fans proving more willing to splash out than their younger pop counterparts.
The analysis was conducted by Lloyds Market Intelligence, which provides businesses with anonymised and aggregated data insights into consumer behaviour.
Enrique Del Rio, managing director at Lloyds Market Intelligence, said:
Fri, September 26, 2025 at 11:57 AM UTC Daimler Truck shares fall after Trump announces truck tariffs
Germany’s Daimler Truck (DTG.DE), which is one of the world’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturers, saw its shares fall nearly 3% on Friday morning after president Donald Trump announced tariffs on heavy-duty trucks, adding to trade tensions that have hit the automotive sector hard.
Together with a barrage of tariffs in other sectors, including on pharmaceuticals, Trump said on Thursday the U.S. would impose duties of 25% on imports of heavy-duty trucks from October 1.
Daimler Truck’s stock was down 3.3% after opening, making it the biggest decliner in Germany’s blue-chip index. Shares in Volkswagen-owned Traton, were 2.8% lower.
Citi said a 25% tariff on trucks assembled in Mexico would likely have a 700-800 million euro ($818-$934 million) impact on earnings for Daimler Truck, although the group could be able to absorb around half of that in the near term via price increases.
Neither Daimler Truck nor Traton export to the United States from Europe as they have factories in the U.S. and sites in Mexico that are covered by the USMCA free trade pact.
Analysts at Bernstein said it had not been explicitly said that Trump’s announcement would apply to the USMCA-compliant Mexican sites, but that they assumed it to be the case.
Fri, September 26, 2025 at 11:38 AM UTC Starbucks to close some US and UK stores
Starbucks will cut around 900 US jobs and close its worst performing stores in the country, as well as shutting some in the UK as part of a cost-saving drive.
Most of the stores earmarked for closure are in North America, with the revamp set to reduce wait times and help revive sales. The US jobs set to be cut would be support staff roles.
It comes after the coffee chain announced in February it was axing 1,100 jobs and simplifying its US menu to help flagging sales in its home market.
Niccol said in a letter to employees that the stores marked for closure were “unable to create the physical environment our customers and partners expect, or where we don’t see a path to financial performance”.
Fri, September 26, 2025 at 11:15 AM UTC UK motorists ‘ripped off’ at the pumps, says AA
Luke Bosdet, the AA’s spokesman, said:
Fri, September 26, 2025 at 10:49 AM UTC Rise in UK fuel margins
New data has shown that UK fuel retailers are hitting British motorists with historically high profit margins.
The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) reported that fuel margins raked in by supermarkets, and other fuel retailers, rose in the last three months, remaining “far” above historic levels.
Its data shows that supermarket fuel margins stood at 4% in 2017, but more than doubled to an average of 8.4% in the first half of 2025. Non-supermarket fuel margins were 6.4% in 2017, but the first half of this year averaged 9.8%.
Dan Turnbull, senior director of markets at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), says:
Fri, September 26, 2025 at 10:17 AM UTC
Gold (GC=F) traded just shy of its record high on Friday, on track for a sixth weekly gain. The precious metal held near $3,782 an ounce, up 0.3% at the time of writing, and this week after peaking on Tuesday above $3,791.
It was supported by elevated geopolitical tensions, inflows into bullion-backed exchange-traded funds, and a risk-off tone in broader markets.
It also comes as European diplomats warned the Kremlin this week that NATO is ready to respond to further violations of its airspace with full force, including by shooting down Russian planes.
Gold has climbed more than 40% year-to-date, with holdings in bullion-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at the highest since 2022. Banks including Goldman Sachs have previously said they expect the rally to extend.
After US Federal Reserve policymakers opted to cut borrowing costs earlier this month, there have been mixed signals about the next move, Reuters said. Michelle Bowman, the Fed’s top bank cop, said inflation was close enough to target to justify more rate reductions because the job market was weakening.
Silver has also performed strongly, topping $45 an ounce this week for the first time since 2011.
Fri, September 26, 2025 at 9:53 AM UTC 9 energy-efficient homes that keep running costs down
As temperatures drop, the cost of heating our homes is about to rise. On 1 October, the energy price cap will increase by 2%.
The average annual bill for a household that uses gas and electricity, and pays by direct debit, will be £1,755, compared with £1,717 for the same period last year.
Improvements such as topping up insulation and upgrading the boiler can help conserve energy and reduce bills. You could also move to one of these energy-efficient homes, where you’ll notice the difference straight away.
Fri, September 26, 2025 at 9:30 AM UTC US pharma tariffs capped at 15%, insists Ireland minister
Ireland’s trade minister has insisted that the US tariff deal on EU pharmaceuticals would remain capped at 15%, despite Donald Trump’s announcement of higher tariffs on the sector.
Simon Harris said in a statement:
Fri, September 26, 2025 at 9:13 AM UTC Trump announces new tariffs on pharmaceuticals
Donald Trump last night announced tariffs of 100% on medicines and pharmaceutical goods imported into the US, rattling markets in Asia overnight.
The US president also announced 25% tariff on imports of all heavy-duty trucks, 50% tariffs on kitchen cabinets, a 50% tariff on bathroom vanities and a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture, with all the new duties taking effect from 1 October.
The tariffs do not apply to generic pharmaceuticals, and companies will be exempt if they have begun constructing new manufacturing facilities in the US.
He said the new heavy-duty truck tariffs were to protect manufacturers from “unfair outside competition” and said the move would benefit companies such as Paccar-owned Peterbilt and Kenworth and Daimler Truck-owned Freightliner.
He added:
It comes despite controversy over the legality of his tariffs.
Fri, September 26, 2025 at 8:51 AM UTC What the budget could mean for stamp duty and council tax
Even before chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the date of this year’s budget as 26 November, there was speculation as to how the property market would be affected.
Two taxes in particular were being talked about as needing reform: stamp duty land tax and council tax.
To get their take and predictions on what might happen to these taxes, as well as the property market in general, we spoke to six experts in the property world.
Stamp duty and council tax have been identified as areas in need of improvement for very different reasons. “Stamp duty is widely viewed as inefficient and distortionary,” explains Adrian Anderson, of Anderson Harris. “It discourages mobility (people staying in houses longer than they otherwise would) and imposes a big one-off cost.”
Twenty years ago, the rate of stamp duty buyers paid was much smaller than the value of their property; now, thanks to higher rates and rising property prices, particularly in London and the South East, it’s a significant chunk of what a buyer is expected to budget for.
Fri, September 26, 2025 at 8:35 AM UTC JLR restarts spare part deliveries after cyberattack
Jaguar Land Rover is looking to restart deliveries of spare parts as early as next week to allow drivers of its cars to get vital repairs at garages.
In a letter to suppliers, seen by The Telegraph, JLR said its global parts logistics centre would reopen as soon as Monday to help mechanics get broken down Range Rovers back on the road.
“I am pleased to inform you that from Monday Sept 29, we will begin scaling up inbound capacity,” the letter said. “We kindly ask that you mobilise your teams in preparations to commence shipments from this date.”
It comes after JLR’s production lines have been suspended since a cyberattack in August forced a shut down of its IT networks. Its factories remain closed until next month at the earliest.
It has already begun a “phased restart” of its operations with parts of its IT system back up and running. The company is “working to clear a backlog of payments” to suppliers as it now had increased its processing capacity for invoicing.
Fri, September 26, 2025 at 8:18 AM UTC Keir Starmer set to announce plans for UK digital ID scheme
Prime minister Keir Starmer plans to introduce a mandatory digital ID card for all UK working adults to tackle illegal immigration and improve identity verification.
The initiative will be mandatory for adults in Britain and would enable digital checks on people’s right to live and work in the country.
The card will include a name, DOB, nationality or residency status, and a photo and will be on people’s phones, similar to contactless cards.
However, the move has sparked debate over privacy and surveillance concerns. The UK has only introduced compulsory ID cards during wartime. Although they stayed in place for several years after World War Two.
Fri, September 26, 2025 at 7:55 AM UTC Asia and US overnight
Stocks in Asia were lower overnight, with the Nikkei (^N225) down 0.9% on the day in Japan as the Tokyo CPI print for September showed a downside surprise of +2.5% in the headline CPI (vs. +2.8% expected).
However, this was partly because the government expanded the entitlement for free childcare, and that was a policy specific to Tokyo that won’t apply nationwide.
Meanwhile the Hang Seng (^HSI) fell 1.3% in Hong Kong, and the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 0.7% down by the end of the session. In South Korea, the Kospi (^KS11) slumped 2.5% on the day, one of its worst days in nearly two months.
Across the pond on Wall Street, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost 0.5%, posting a third consecutive decline for the first time in a month, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) was also 0.5% lower.
The Dow Jones (^DJI) also slipped 0.4% on the day as president Donald Trump announced a new set of sectoral tariffs.
The decline on Thursday was a broad-based one, and there were bigger falls for the Magnificent 7 (-0.95%) and the small-cap Russell 2000 (-0.98%). Sentiment also wasn’t helped by the prospect of a government shutdown next week, as funding is due to expire on 30 September, and there’s still no sign of a breakthrough between Republicans and Democrats.
Elsewhere, from 1 October, the US will impose a 100% rate on branded or patented pharmaceutical products, 50% on kitchen cabinets, 30% on upholstered furniture, and 25% on heavy trucks.
Fri, September 26, 2025 at 7:36 AM UTC Coming up
Good morning, and welcome back to our markets live blog. As usual we will be taking a deep dive into what’s moving markets and happening across the global economy.
To the day ahead we have data releases including US PCE inflation for August, and the University of Michigan’s final consumer sentiment index for September. Otherwise, there’s Canada’s GDP report for July, and the ECB’s Consumer Expectations Survey for August.
Meanwhile, central bank speakers include the ECB’s Cipollone and Escriva, along with the Fed’s Barkin and Bowman.
Here’s a snapshot of what’s on the agenda for today:
7am: Trading updates: Gemfields, Pennon Group, Ceres Power
1.30pm: US core PCE inflation report for August
3pm: University of Michigan’s US consumer morale survey
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