\n\tFTSE 100 falls 105 points to\u00a010,772.98
\n\tAIM UK 50 gains 0.10%
\n\tAminex jumps as high as 51% in\u00a0on Ntorya discussions
\n\tThruvision surges 29% after Canadian order
\n\tFTSE 250 remains close to unchanged
<\/p>\n
3.13pm: London slides further<\/p>\n
The FTSE 100 fell over 100\u00a0 points on Thursday, leaving London out of step with a Wall Street session that opened firmly higher.<\/p>\n
The proximate cause was mechanical rather than emotional.<\/p>\n
Glencore, the commodity trader and miner, LondonMetric Property and the speciality chemicals group Croda International all traded without entitlement to their latest dividends, and each fell around 2%.<\/p>\n
Ex-dividend adjustments of that kind subtract points from the index automatically, and accounted for a meaningful slice of the decline.<\/p>\n
The rest came from corporate updates and a broader unease about the interest rate outlook.<\/p>\n
July personal consumption expenditures data, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, showed prices up 3.7% on a year earlier, above the 3.6% economists had forecast.<\/p>\n
That was enough to revive concerns that American rates will stay higher for longer, a worry that weighs on London’s rate-sensitive property and consumer names.<\/p>\n
The irony is that American investors seemed far less troubled.<\/p>\n
The S&P 500 rose about 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite gained around 1% in early New York trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average close to flat.<\/p>\n
Nvidia, the chip designer at the centre of the artificial intelligence trade, climbed 6% after reporting second-quarter revenue of $96.2 billion, up 106% on the year, and guiding to $108 billion for the current quarter.<\/p>\n
The company also reportedly agreed to buy Hugging Face, a repository for open-source AI models, for $12.9 billion.<\/p>\n
Salesforce and CrowdStrike added to the technology mood with their own results, while weekly jobless claims fell to 203,000.<\/p>\n
Attention now shifts to the Fed’s Jackson Hole symposium, where chairman Kevin Warsh speaks on Friday.<\/p>\n
London did get some of the Nvidia halo, just not enough of it.<\/p>\n
Technology was the strongest sector, up around 1%, with Computacenter, the IT infrastructure reseller, jumping more than 4%.<\/p>\n
Prudential was the largest results-driven faller despite first-half adjusted operating profit rising 9% at constant exchange rates to $1.81 billion.<\/p>\n
Haleon, Shell and Melrose Industries also lost ground, while beverages, chemicals and real estate investment trusts fell between 1% and 1.6%.<\/p>\n
The FTSE 250 held up considerably better, close to unchanged.<\/p>\n
Halfords, the motoring and cycling retailer, led the mid-cap risers, gaining as much as 13.9% to 274.5p after upgrading its profit expectations on strong trading.<\/p>\n
1:30 pm: FTSE stays subdued; Nasdaq set to start strongly<\/p>\n
London’s FTSE 100 remained subdued at lunch, with the index down 40 points at 10,839.<\/p>\n
Over on Wall Street, early indicators present a mixed bag with the Dow pointing very slightly lower,\u00a0down 15 points to 53,506 (practically flat really), whilst the S&P 500 is called about 35 points or 0.4% higher at 7,725.<\/p>\n
The tech-centric Nasdaq, meanwhile, marked up 288 points or 1% with the benchmark enjoying the warm-fuzzy feeling of a post-Nvidia earnings rally.<\/p>\n
Following last night’s bumper results, released\u00a0afterhours, the AI chipmaker’s stock was this morning up $13.74 or 6.55% to $223.18 ahead of Thursday’s open.<\/p>\n
“Much of this week\u2019s attention has been on Nvidia\u2019s earnings, and the chipmaker delivered the sort of numbers of investors had been hoping for,” said\u00a0Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at FOREX.com.<\/p>\n
“Some investors had begun to question whether the AI trade was running out of steam, but for now at least Nvidia\u2019s results has offered some welcome reassurance.”<\/p>\n
Nvidia’s earnings was the week’s biggest talking point, followed second by the get-together of elite types –\u00a0central bankers, policy makers, economist\u00a0and various other\u00a0rainmakers – at Jackson Hole, where among other influencial people set to speak will be Fed chair Kevin Warsh.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t11.35 am: Aminex and Thruvision lead AIM gains<\/p>\n
The AIM UK 50 remained positive as substantial gains for Aminex and Thruvision contrasted with continued weakness among London\u2019s largest companies.<\/p>\n
The index of leading AIM constituents gained 0.10% to 4,305.20, having reached 4,309.79 during the session.<\/p>\n
The wider junior market remained slightly lower, with the AIM 100 down 0.09% and the AIM All-Share easing 0.04%. This indicated that the strength was concentrated among selected companies rather than representing a market-wide AIM rally.<\/p>\n
Aminex jumped upto 51% intraday from its previous close of 1.125p after confirming discussions aimed at progressing the Ntorya gas development in Tanzania.<\/p>\n
The talks involve Tanzania\u2019s Ministry of Energy, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation, Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority and project operator ARA Petroleum Tanzania.<\/p>\n
Thruvision surged 28.57% to 1.58p after receiving an order from its first Canadian government customer for an 8108 WalkTHRU security-screening system.<\/p>\n
The shares reached 1.60p, representing a 30.1% increase from the previous close of 1.23p. The system will be deployed at a municipal building, marking Thruvision\u2019s first move into Canada\u2019s building-entrance security market.<\/p>\n
The FTSE 100 moved in the opposite direction, falling 54.87 points, or 0.50%, to 10,823.25. The index remained above its session low of 10,784.65.<\/p>\n
The FTSE 250 was almost unchanged at approximately 24,893, down around 0.02%.<\/p>\n
Computacenter remained the leading blue-chip riser, gaining 4.60% to 5,455p after reaching a record 5,500p.<\/p>\n
Halfords continued to lead the mid-cap index, rising 11.31% to 268.25p after upgrading its underlying pre-tax profit guidance. The shares earlier reached 274.5p, representing a 13.9% gain from the previous close.<\/p>\n
The latest figures show a divided London market, with selected AIM companies and individual corporate updates producing sharp gains while the FTSE 100 remains under pressure.<\/p>\n
10.30 am: Computacenter bucks weaker London market<\/p>\n
Computacenter reached a record high as enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence infrastructure helped the shares defy a broad decline across the London market.<\/p>\n
The FTSE 100 company climbed 5.18% to 5,485p after touching 5,500p, its highest level on record. The rally followed Nvidia\u2019s stronger-than-expected quarterly results and upbeat outlook for artificial intelligence-related demand.<\/p>\n
Sage edged around 0.4% higher, while technology-focused investment trusts Polar Capital<\/a> Technology Trust and Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust also gained.<\/p>\n The wider market moved in the opposite direction. The FTSE 100 fell 72.82 points, or 0.67%, to 10,805.30, having traded between 10,784.65 and 10,878.47.<\/p>\n Croda International led the blue-chip fallers with a decline of approximately 3%. LondonMetric Property lost 2.7% and Games Workshop dropped 2.4%, with all 3 trading without entitlement to their latest dividends.<\/p>\n Selling extended beyond ex-dividend shares. Diageo fell around 2.4%, while Prudential and Haleon declined approximately 2.3%. Auto Trader, Glencore, Lloyds Banking Group and Entain were also among the leading fallers.<\/p>\n The FTSE 250 slipped 0.17% to 24,856.17, while the FTSE 350 and FTSE All-Share both lost 0.61%.<\/p>\n Halfords provided the main mid-cap highlight, gaining 10.19% to 265.55p after upgrading its underlying pre-tax profit guidance to between \u00a355 million and \u00a365 million.<\/p>\n The motoring and cycling retailer earlier reached 274.5p, representing a 13.9% increase from its previous close of 241p and a new 52-week high.<\/p>\n AIM shares were comparatively resilient. The AIM UK 50 rose 0.09%, while the AIM 100 fell 0.13% and the AIM All-Share eased 0.05%.<\/p>\n Aminex jumped around 51% after confirming discussions with the Tanzanian government and other parties over the coordinated development of the Ntorya gas project.<\/p>\n Thruvision rose more than 14% after securing its first Canadian government customer and its first deployment in the country\u2019s building-entrance security market.<\/p>\n Gold gained 0.3% to around US$4,606 an ounce, while copper fell 0.5% to approximately US$6.57 per pound. Brent crude declined 0.9% to roughly US$87.06 a barrel and Bitcoin moved back towards US$80,000.<\/p>\n Computacenter\u2019s record performance provided a clear exception to an otherwise weaker London session dominated by ex-dividend adjustments and losses across consumer, financial and commodity-related shares.<\/p>\n 9.05 am: FTSE 100 approaches session low<\/p>\n The FTSE 100 extended its opening decline as weakness among miners, property companies and consumer stocks pulled the wider London market lower.<\/p>\n The blue-chip index fell 55.27 points, or 0.51%, to 10,822.85, leaving it only around 7 points above its session low of 10,815.74. It had briefly reached 10,878.47, fractionally above the previous close of 10,878.12.<\/p>\n Glencore became the largest FTSE 100 faller, dropping 2.15% to 585.9p. LondonMetric Property declined 2.11% to 190.6p and Croda International lost 1.99% to 3,396p.<\/p>\n Glencore, LondonMetric and Croda were trading without entitlement to their latest dividends, meaning the mechanical price adjustments accounted for part of the index\u2019s decline.<\/p>\n Prudential was the largest results-driven faller, while Haleon, Shell and Melrose Industries also lost ground.<\/p>\n Computacenter remained the strongest blue-chip performer, gaining 3.93% to 5,420p, although that was below its earlier advance of 4.51%. Polar Capital<\/a> Technology Trust rose 1.32% and Metlen Energy & Metals added 1.15%.<\/p>\n Weakness extended across the broader market. The FTSE 350 fell 0.46% and the FTSE All-Share declined 0.45%, while the AIM All-Share lost 0.14%.<\/p>\n The FTSE 250 was more resilient, slipping just 0.06% to 24,882.29.<\/p>\n Halfords led the mid-cap risers with an 11% surge to 267.5p after upgrading its underlying pre-tax profit guidance to between \u00a355 million and \u00a365 million, ahead of the previous market consensus of \u00a352.6 million.<\/p>\n Bloomsbury Publishing climbed 4.95% and Raspberry Pi gained 3.56%. At the opposite end, vehicle rental group ZIGUP fell 5.09%, Michael Page declined 3.24% and SDCL Efficiency Income Trust lost 3.18%.<\/p>\n Despite the wider decline, the near-flat FTSE 250 and several strong individual gainers indicated a measured pullback rather than indiscriminate selling.<\/p>\n 8.15 am: Ex-dividend shares weigh on blue chips<\/p>\n The FTSE 100 fell during the opening minutes on Thursday as several companies trading without entitlement to their latest dividends weighed on the index.<\/p>\n London\u2019s blue-chip benchmark opened close to unchanged before falling 38.53 points, or 0.35%, to 10,839.59. The morning high was 10,878.47 and the low 10,839.52, compared with Wednesday\u2019s close of 10,878.12.<\/p>\n The FTSE 250 proved more resilient, slipping just 1.65 points, or 0.01%, to 24,896.19.<\/p>\n