FTSE 100 Live: Index Slides From Record as Vodafone and Shell Drag, While BT and LSE Rebound

The FTSE 100 slipped from its record close on Thursday, pressured by weakness in telecoms and energy stocks. The index fell 40 points, or 0.4%, to trade around 10,362.

Telecoms and Energy Weigh on the Index

Vodafone declined around 5% to £108.75, despite upgrading full-year guidance. Investors appeared to lock in gains following the stock’s recent rally. Still, there are some concerns around execution risks tied to the ongoing integration of Three UK. 

Although service revenue grew 7.3% year-on-year in the third quarter, softness in Germany and the UK capped optimism.

Energy major Shell dropped 2% to £2,843 after reporting a 40% decline in quarterly earnings. The group announced another $3.5 billion share buyback and raised its dividend by 4%. 

Among others, Compass Group declined 5.45% to £2,101, while Fresnillo dipped 2.49% to £3,682.

Hikma Pharma also declined 4.53% to £1,558, and Berkeley Group Holdings backed 2.36% to £4,216.

BT and LSE Provide Upside Support

BT Group climbed around 3% after it reiterated full-year guidance. The telecoms firm reported a 4% fall in quarterly revenue but losses at Openreach were better than feared. 

BT now expects 850,000 line losses for the full year, which is an improvement on earlier forecasts. Management also reaffirmed its cash flow outlook, and the target of around £2 billion by next year.

London Stock Exchange Group rose 3% to £7,400, recovering from recent AI-driven selling. The stock found support as broader technology sector pressure eased, while peers such as RELX also posted gains of 3% to £2,229.

Elsewhere, Experian added 2.67% to £2,614, while Standard Chartered rose 2.88% to £1,910.50, on the back of the strength in financial stocks.

Perishing Square Holdings increased by 1.50% to £4,608, and Games Workshop Group advanced 0.29% to £17,060.

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Macro Focus: Central Banks, Commodities, and Crypto

Attention is now on Bank of England as the market anticipates interest rates to be unchanged at 3.75% level. 

The commodities experienced significant declines, with silver prices falling by 10% and gold prices decreasing by 1%. This has created a selling pressure on mining stocks during early trade.

Bitcoin declined by 2.4%, reaching approximately $71,200. The scenario represent its lowest level since November 2024 and highlights larger risk-off sentiment across global markets.

In the US, Nasdaq Composite declined 1.5% while S&P 500 backed by 0.5%. Nikkei 225 in Asia saw a 0.8% decline and the Hang Seng index managed to close the day 0.2% lower after a recovery.