FTSE 100 Slips as Pound Weakens to $1.31; WPP Shares Plunge After Forecast Cut

The FTSE 100 edged lower in Thursday afternoon trading as losses across major European indices weighed on sentiment, while the British pound slipped to $1.31 and WPP shares tumbled following a sharp downgrade to the company’s full-year growth outlook.

By 12:07 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.6%, while sterling dropped about 1% against the U.S. dollar. On the continent, Germany’s DAX index eased 0.2%, and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.9%.

UK Market Highlights

• WPP PLC (LSE:WPP) shares slumped after the advertising giant slashed its full-year guidance and posted weaker-than-expected third-quarter results. The company now expects like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs to decline 5.5% to 6.0% in 2025, a deeper drop than the prior forecast of 3% to 5%.
  Third-quarter reported revenue fell 8.4% year-on-year to £3.26 billion, or 3.5% on a like-for-like basis, while revenue less pass-through costs dropped 11.1% to £2.46 billion, reflecting a 5.9% like-for-like decline. WPP attributed the weaker performance to a notable deterioration in its media division compared with the previous quarter.
• Standard Chartered PLC (LSE:STAN) traded higher after the Anglo-Asian lender posted a stronger-than-expected third-quarter profit and raised its 2025 financial targets. The bank’s underlying pre-tax profit climbed 10% year-on-year to $1.99 billion, topping Bloomberg’s estimate of $1.79 billion.
• Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL) delivered another robust quarter, with income attributable to shareholders rising to $5.3 billion, up from $3.6 billion in the previous quarter and $4.3 billion a year earlier. Adjusted earnings climbed to $5.4 billion from $4.3 billion, while adjusted EBITDA increased to $14.8 billion from $13.3 billion.
• Computacenter PLC (LSE:CCC) also reported strong trading, saying its performance for the first nine months of 2025 was “comfortably ahead” of last year. The technology services firm noted sustained growth in North America, an improving trend in the UK, and a return to expansion in Germany.
• Haleon PLC (LSE:HLN) reaffirmed its full-year guidance, maintaining its organic revenue growth target of around 3.5% for 2025, slightly above the 3.4% analyst consensus, despite uneven regional results in the third quarter.
• Drax Group PLC (LSE:DRX) announced a deal to acquire three battery energy storage system projects from Apatura Limited for £157.2 million. The portfolio includes 260MW of two-hour storage capacity across sites in Scotland and England, with staged payments planned between 2025 and 2028 based on project milestones.
• Vodafone Group PLC (LSE:VOD) said it has signed a binding agreement to acquire Skaylink GmbH for €175 million from funds managed by Waterland. Skaylink is a cloud, digital transformation, and security services provider with offices across Germany and Europe, a move expected to bolster Vodafone’s enterprise capabilities.