FTSE 100 Flat In Lackluster Trade; Bank Stocks Drifting Lower
(RTTNews) - 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.
European Stocks Close On Mixed Note
Euro Falls Amid Political Uncertainty
Bay Street Likely To Open On Positive Note
European Stocks Turning In Mixed Performance
CAC 40 Advances After Recent Losses
DAX Remains Weak Despite Paring Some Early Losses
Mixed Sentiment In Asian Markets
