FTSE 100 Extends Recent Gains

(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks are extending gains to a seventh straight session as positive moves in other European markets help underpin sentiment on Wednesday. Worries about potential trade tariffs by the Trump Administration and their impact on growth weigh a bit and limit market's gains.

Investors, digesting the data showing a larger-than-expected budget deficit, are also focusing on earnings updates.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 28.29 points or 0.33% at 8,576.58 a little while ago.

Intermediate Capital is gaining 5.5%. The company reported assets under management or AUM of $106.571 billion at constant currency as on the third quarter ended December 31, 2024. That was up 27.5% higher than the previous year. AUM increased 5.1% from the last quarter.

Aviva is climbing 3.6% and Halma is rising 2.5%. Diploma, Entain, Pershing Square Holdings, Smiths, Ashtead Group, Beazley, Rolls-Royce Holdings and Persimmon are up 1.5 to 2%.

Haleon, Lloyds Banking, Scottish Mortgage, DCC, Barrat Redrow, IMI, Compass Group and Intercontinental Hotels are also notably higher.

Easyjet is down more than 3% despite the airline company reporting narrower pre-tax loss for the first quarter. For the three-month period to December 31, 2024, the company recorded a headline pre-tax loss of 61 million pounds, lesser than a loss of 126 million pounds, reported for the same period last year.

Headline EBITDA surged to 148 million pounds from the prior year's 74 million pounds. Revenue was 2.037 billion pounds, up from 1.800 billion pounds in 2023. Passenger revenue improved to 1.255 billion pounds from the previous year's 1.133 billion pounds.

Vodafone and Marks & Spencer are lower by 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively. United Utilities, Coca-Cola, Vistry Group and Natwest Group are also weak.

Data from the Office for National Statistics said that the nation's budget deficit more than doubled in December from the last year as increases in spending were much larger than increases in receipts.

Public sector net borrowing increased GBP 10.1 billion from the last year to GBP 17.8 billion in December. This was the highest December borrowing for four years and also above GBP 14.6 billion forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

At the same time, borrowing to fund day-to-day public sector activities rose by GBP 7.3 billion to GBP 10 billion, the highest deficit for December in two years.

Borrowing in the financial year to December was GBP 129.9 billion, which was GBP 8.9 billion more than at the same point in the last financial year, the data said.