FTSE 100 Live: FTSE 100 Opens Lower as Investors Digest Fed Caution and US Tech Earnings

The FTSE 100 opened slightly lower on Friday, easing 0.3% to 9,728.86, after setting a record close at 9,760.06 in the previous session. The dip follows a mixed global market sentiment as investors weighed a “hawkish” Federal Reserve tone and Wall Street’s overnight retreat.

Market Snapshot: FTSE Movers

Among UK blue-chip stocks, Haleon led early gains, rising 1.65% to £356.60, followed by Fresnillo and Smith & Nephew, both advancing over 1%. 

Games Workshop Group also climbed 1.07% to £16,020, reflecting optimism in consumer-facing sectors.

Conversely, Standard Chartered slumped 1.62% to £1,545.50 after banking sector weakness and cautious global risk sentiment. Burberry Group also fell 1.09% to £1,266, weighed down by concerns over China’s retail demand. 

Other losers include Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, which dropped 0.88% to £6,760; Shell declined 0.75% to £2,861.50, and InterContinental Hotels Group fell 0.62% to £9,350, as investors rotated out of defensives following the Fed’s rate comments.

Corporate Developments

Informa CEO Lord Stephen Carter relocated to the UAE to oversee growth operations, underscoring the firm’s expanding footprint in the Middle East.

TT Electronics rejected three takeover bids from DBAY Advisors, favoring a higher £155 per share offer from Cicor Technologies, representing a 19% premium.

Raspberry Pi Holdings announced CFO Richard Boult will step down in 2026 after seven years with the firm. 

Moonpig Group appointed Catherine Faiers (Auto Trader COO) as its new CEO, succeeding Nickyl Raithatha.

Global Cues and Economic Factors

The dollar strengthened slightly, with sterling down to $1.3148 and the euro marginally higher at $1.1568. The 10-year US Treasury yield edged up to 4.10%, reflecting investor caution after Fed Chair Jerome Powell downplayed the likelihood of a December rate cut.

US indices closed lower on Thursday; the Dow Jones fell 0.2%, the S&P 500 lost 1%, and the Nasdaq Composite retreated 1.6% as traders digested mixed earnings. 

However, Apple and Amazon posted strong quarterly results. Apple reported $102.47 billion in revenue (up 7.9% YoY), while Amazon’s AWS division grew 20% to $33 billion, driving an overall net income of $21.19 billion.

Nikkei 225 surged 2.1%, while Shanghai Composite fell 0.8% and Hang Seng Index declined 1.1%.

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UK Economic Highlights

Nationwide’s October report showed UK house prices rising 0.3% MoM and 2.4% annually, bringing the average home value to £272,226. The data shows that housing demand continues to be resilient despite high mortgage rates and weak consumer confidence.

Chief Economist, Robert Gardner, commented that affordability may improve if wage growth continues to outpace inflation.