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.
U.S. Consumer Sentiment Deteriorates Slightly More Than Initially Estimated In August
Chicago Business Barometer Slumps Much More Than Expected In August
U.S. Consumer Prices Increase In Line With Estimates In July
German Unemployment Exceeds 3 Mln
U.S. PCE Price Index Increased In Line With Estimates In July
Slightly Weak Start Seen For U.S. Stocks; PCE Data In Focus
Lower Futures Pointing To Weak Start On Bay Street; Canadian GDP, US PCE Data In Focus
