U.K. stocks are somewhat subdued in lackluster trade on Wednesday as investors remain a bit reluctant to make significant moves due to a lack of triggers.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was at 9,266.25 a little before noon, up 0.45 points over previous close.
Among the gainers, JD Sports Fashion is up nearly 2% after the company’s board announced a share buyback programme of 100 million pounds.
JD Sports Fashion reported that its second quarter Group like-for-like sales were down 3.0%. On an organic basis, sales were up 2.2%. For the 26 weeks to 2 August, like-for-like sales were down 2.5%.
Pershing Square Holdings, National Grid, Severn Trent, Airtel Africa, Pearson, Vodafone Group, SSE, Intercontinental Hotels, Games Workshop, Smith & Nephew and Hikma Pharmaceuticals are also notably higher.
Natwest Group, Standard Chartered and Barclays are down 2.7%, 1.5% and 1.7%, respectively.
Endeavour Mining is down nearly 2%. Sainsbury (J), Associated British Foods and Bunzl are down 1 to 1.1%.
In economic news, the Confederation of British Industry’s retail sales gauge for the UK increased slightly to -32 in August 2025 from -34 in July, better than market expectations of -33. The latest reading indicated that retail sales volumes declined for the 11th consecutive month. Looking ahead, the outlook for September brightened to -16.
Market Analysis
FTSE 100 Flat In Lackluster Trade; Bank Stocks Drifting Lower
2025-08-27 10:59:44
