FTSE 100 climbs as inflation remains steady; Barclays and Reckitt in spotlight

FTSE 100 rose on Wednesday morning, supported by steady September inflation figures and a flurry of corporate earnings, including results from Barclays and Reckitt Benckiser Group.

By 07:38 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.6%, while the British pound slipped 0.3% to 1.33 against the U.S. dollar. In contrast, Germany’s DAX dipped 0.1%, and France’s CAC 40 declined 0.5%.

UK inflation steady at 3.8%

U.K. inflation remained at 3.8% in September — the same level as in July and August — and below the 4.0% figure expected by economists. The figure is still nearly double the Bank of England’s 2% medium-term target.

In a separate development, a major cyberattack on Jaguar Land Rover was estimated to have caused £1.9 billion in damage to the UK economy, according to the Cyber Monitoring Centre. The late-August attack forced the automaker to shut down IT systems and suspend production at several plants for five weeks.

Corporate earnings highlights

• Barclays PLC (LSE:BARC) shares rose after the bank raised its full-year guidance and announced a new share buyback alongside its third-quarter earnings. It now expects a return on tangible equity (RoTE) above 11% in 2025, up from around 11% previously, after posting a 10.6% RoTE for the quarter.
• Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (LSE:RKT) reported stronger-than-anticipated Q3 sales, with like-for-like revenue rising 7% — ahead of the 6.4% forecast. Growth was fueled by emerging markets and improving trends in developed economies.
• Halfords Group PLC (LSE:HFD) surged 7.2% after reporting better-than-expected sales for the first half of its fiscal year. Like-for-like sales rose 4.1%, with Retail up 4.0% and Autocentres up 4.3%.
• abrdn plc (LSE:ABDN) said assets under management and administration (AUMA) climbed to £542.4 billion, up 6% year to date, supported by strong growth in its Interactive Investor platform, which gained 20,000 customers through the Jarvis acquisition.
• Fresnillo plc (LSE:FRES) met expectations on Q3 output, with gold production trending toward the upper end of guidance. Silver production fell 6.6% quarter-on-quarter and 19.1% year-on-year.
• Softcat plc (LSE:SCT) posted record annual results with gross profit up 18.3% to £494.3 million and underlying operating profit up 16.9% to £180.1 million.
• Quilter plc (LSE:QLT) reported core net inflows of £2.2 billion in Q3, up 48% year-on-year, lifting total assets under management and administration to £134.8 billion.
• Hochschild Mining plc (LSE:HOC) said attributable production fell to 70,308 gold equivalent ounces from 81,660 ounces in Q2, as its turnaround plan at Brazil’s Mara Rosa mine continues.

The mix of steady inflation data and upbeat earnings from major companies helped lift the FTSE 100 in early trading, though headwinds from global markets capped further gains.