The stock launched at the bottom end of a \u00a31.16bn to \u00a31.24bn target range set out last week and fell 1% in early trading today.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, analysts at some major banks have said that the market is underestimating the likelihood that the Bank of England will cut interest rates next week. <\/p>\n
Jack Meaning, UK chief economist at Barclays, now expects the monetary policy committee (MPC) will vote 5-4 for a interest rate cut by 0.25 percentage points to 3.75% on Thursday. He wrote in a note:<\/p>\n
Back in September, the committee was weighing up the balance of risks on both sides of its inflation outlook. We think the data since then, as well as signals of future fiscal policy changes, will have shifted that balance, leaving the committee more confident that disinflation is underway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Amazon shares surge 11% on back of earnings<\/p>\n Shares in Amazon are up about 11% now the market is open in the US, after its third quarter earnings beat expectations last night.<\/p>\n The tech giant reported a 20% surge in sales at its cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services, to $33bn thanks to demand for computing power for artificial intelligence. <\/p>\n Chief executive Andy Jassy said AWS is now growing at a pace not seen since 2022. He said:<\/p>\n We continue to see strong demand in AI and core infrastructure, and we\u2019ve been focused on accelerating capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n The blue chip S&P 500 index is up 0.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index is up 1%.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Barclays predicts Bank of England will cut rates next week<\/p>\n The City is underestimating the chances of the Bank of England cutting interest rates next week, analysts at Barclays have said.<\/p>\n Threadneedle Street Photograph: Antonio Olmos\/The Observer<\/p>\n Jack Meaning, UK chief economist at Barclays, now expects the monetary policy committee (MPC) will vote 5-4 for a interest rate cut by 0.25 percentage points to 3.75% on Thursday. He wrote in a note:<\/p>\n Back in September, the committee was weighing up the balance of risks on both sides of its inflation outlook. We think the data since then, as well as signals of future fiscal policy changes, will have shifted that balance, leaving the committee more confident that disinflation is underway.\u201d<\/p>\n Analysts at Goldman Sachs have also predicted a rate cut this week, as well as UniCredit. The latter bank wrote in a note:<\/p>\n \u2026the decision is likely to be very finely balanced, with a high risk that a majority on the MPC prefer to wait. Financial markets are only pricing a 25% probability of a 25bp cut, but a 60-65% chance of a cut by the end of the year.<\/p>\n Recent data have been supportive of a rate cut. Headline inflation held at 3.8% in September, 0.2pp below the BoE\u2019s forecast. Meanwhile, the labour market has shown further signs of deterioration. The unemployment rate rose to 4.8%, up 0.7pp from one year ago. Private-sector regular pay growth, while still elevated, has eased and is running below BoE projections.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Southern Water lifts hosepipe ban for Hampshire and Isle of Wight<\/p>\n Southern Water has ended its three month hosepipe ban that covered most of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.<\/p>\n The water company, which told its customers that the River Test and River Itchen were at \u201ccritically low levels\u201d in July, said it was able to lift the ban after wet weather in September and October.<\/p>\n Tim McMahon, Southern\u2019s director of water, said:<\/p>\n We\u2019re incredibly grateful to our customers for their support and understanding during this challenging time.<\/p>\n By working together, we\u2019ve not only saved millions of litres of water each day, but also helped protect our precious chalk streams.<\/p>\n This is a great example of how working together can make a real difference to our environment.\u201d<\/p>\n But the lifting of the ban follows a warning from the national drought group – which includes the Met Office, regulators, government, water companies, and others – that drought conditions could continue into 2026.<\/p>\n While recent wet weather has helped recover supplies, officials have warned that unless there is consistent rain in the coming months then a full drought recovery is still uncertain.<\/p>\n McMahon added Southern Water is investing heavily to build a more resilient water supply, including developing alternative water resources, such as the new reservoir at Havant Thicket and water recycling projects.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.44 EDT<\/p>\n Coming up to the midday point, and the FTSE<\/a> 100 is down 0.3%. Advertising group WPP is still the worst performer, falling 3.4% after its quarterly update yesterday sent shares down to their lowest level since 1998.<\/p>\n Auto Trader is a close second, with its shares also down 3.4%, after the online car marketplace announced its chief operating officer Catherine Faiers is stepping down. She will join the online greeting cards business Moonpig as chief executive.<\/p>\n Princes Group has wobbled a bit in its first few hours of trading, with shares in the newly listed company dropping by about 1% this morning.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Eurozone inflation eases to 2.1% in October Inflation eased back in October across the eurozone, according to an early estimate that showed prices growth fell from 2.2% to 2.1% in October.<\/p>\n Illustrating the calm that has descended on shop price inflation on continental Europe compared with the UK and the US, Eurostat said its first estimate of inflation last month showed food inflation fell from 3% to 2.5%.<\/p>\n Energy prices fell last month by more than in September, down 1% in October compared with -0.4% in the previous month.<\/p>\n Central bankers have been concerned about cutting interest rates in recent months while food, energy and services inflation remains high.<\/p>\n But the prices services firms charge each other and the public also dropped in October to 3.2%, which compares with a 4.7% rate in the UK in September.<\/p>\n The European Central Bank held interest rates yesterday, despite the more benign inflation outlook for the 20-member euro bloc.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Nvidia strikes deal with South Korea’s biggest companiesSamsung chair Jay Y Lee, Hyunda executive chair Euisun Chung and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at a restaurant in Seoul on 30 October. Photograph: Yonhap \/Reuters<\/p>\n Nvidia has said it will supply around 260,000 of its chips to help support South Korea\u2019s capabilities in AI computing.<\/p>\n Nvidia announced its plan alongside the South Korean government and some of the biggest businesses in the country, including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and the car company Hyundai Motor.<\/p>\n About 50,000 of the GPUs will be used to support a government project to build a national cloud computing centre. Nvidia will provide the same number of GPUs each to Samsung and SK to help improve their manufacturing processes and push forward the development of advanced semiconductors.<\/p>\n Hyundai and Nvidia said they plan to collaborate on developing tech for self-driving cars, as well as smart factories and robotics.<\/p>\n Last night a photo of Nvidia boss Jensen Huang, Samsung Electronics chairman Jay Y Lee and Hyundai chair Euisun Chung toasting at a fried chicken restaurant went viral.<\/p>\n Hundreds of people, including reporters, gathered at the restaurant. Huang was later seen handing out baskets of chicken to the crowd waiting outside.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.45 EDT<\/p>\n Nvidia boss says selling Blackwell chip in China is Trump’s call<\/p>\n Jensen Huang, chief executive of the chip designer Nvidia, has said that President Donald Trump will make the final call on whether the company can sell its latest chip in China. He said at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit:<\/p>\n I hope the Blackwell can be sold in China but that\u2019s a decision for President Trump to make.<\/p>\n He added that China was \u201csimply irreplaceable\u201d, and was disappointed by Nvidia\u2019s fall in market share in the country, though he said it will continue to grow.<\/p>\n Trump said on Wednesday that he would discuss Nvidia\u2019s Blackwell artificial intelligence processors with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping.<\/p>\n Nvidia has faced an effective ban on selling its latest hardware to Chinese customers, over fears that China could use it to accelerate AI-driven military developments.<\/p>\n The US president has previously said that he would consider allowing Nvidia to sell a downgraded version of its Blackwell chip in China, which would help it regain its market share in the country.<\/p>\n In August, both Nvidia and another chip developer AMD agreed to give the US government 15% of their revenue from advanced chips sold to China in return for export licenses to the market.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.17 EDT<\/p>\n Tinned tuna maker Princes Group joins stock market at \u00a31.16bn<\/p>\n Princes Group has floated on the London stock market this morning with a starting price of 475p per share, giving it a market capitalisation of \u00a31.16bn and making it one of the biggest IPOs in the City in recent years.<\/p>\n The nearly 150-year-old company, which makes Princes Tuna and Branston Beans, is headquartered in Liverpool and employs about 7,000 people.<\/p>\n Simon Harrison, chief executive of Princes Group, said:<\/p>\n Today marks a defining moment in Princes Group\u2019s journey as we proudly begin our chapter as a publicly listed company. This milestone is a testament to the strength of our brands, the dedication of our people, and the trust placed in us by customers and partners across the globe.<\/p>\n For nearly 150 years, Princes has been a name synonymous with quality, value, and innovation in food and drink. Our listing on the London Stock Exchange reflects not only our heritage but also our ambition for future growth.<\/p>\n As we look ahead, we remain focused on expanding our international footprint, deepening our category leadership, and delivering sustainable, long-term value for all our stakeholders. I\u2019m incredibly proud of what we\u2019ve achieved and even more excited about what lies ahead for Princes Group as we continue to shape the future of food.\u201d<\/p>\n Yesterday Shawbrook made its market debut, with shares in the specialist lender up 6.8% in its first day of trading.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Richard Hunter, of the broker Interactive Investor, thinks there could be a gloomy mood over markets this Halloween. He said:<\/p>\n In the tech space, Meta Platforms dropped by more than 11% in response to increasing concerns over the level of AI spending, where the company revealed that it was looking to raise $25 billion for the purpose. Microsoft shares dropped by 3% on similar concerns, despite an otherwise highly positive earnings report.<\/p>\n \u2026The mood was also sombre as investors digested the previous comments from Fed Chair Powell, who poured cold water over the probability of a further rate cut in December which markets had priced in.<\/p>\n \u2026The mixed market mood from overseas weighed on the FTSE100 at the open, although the premier index remains close to record highs. WPP failed to find any friends with another share price decline following yesterday\u2019s sharp sell-off, while Standard Chartered, HSBC and Burberry felt some pressure on the weak Chinese economic outlook.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>UK stock market falls at the open<\/p>\n The FTSE<\/a> 100 has slipped 0.2% at the open, retreating from its recent record. Fresnillo is the best performer across the index, up 1.6%.<\/p>\n WPP is still at the bottom, with its shares falling a further 1.9% this morning after it slashed its sales growth guidance for the year yesterday and its boss called its recent performance \u201cunacceptable\u201d. Its shares fell yesterday to their lowest level since 1998.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Gold miner Fresnillo buys Canadian rival for \u00a3424m<\/p>\n On the corporate front this morning, the metals miner Fresnillo has announced it will buy Probe, the Canadian gold mining company, for $780m in Canadian dollars (about \u00a3424m).<\/p>\n Shares in the FTSE<\/a> 100 miner have risen by more than 240% this year, making it the best performer across the whole index, boosted by the steady rise of the price of gold. Fresnillo, which is listed in London but headquartered in Mexico City, operates gold and silver mines across Mexico.<\/p>\n![\"Phillip](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761934091_2_Philip_Inman.png\")
Phillip Inman<\/p>\n