London stocks fall as investors weigh mixed earnings; focus on Fed, BoE
Market Overview and Key Drivers
Performance of Major Indices
April 29 (Reuters) - British shares drifted lower on Wednesday as investors parsed a mixed bag of corporate earnings, with attention turning towards central bank decisions on both sides of the Atlantic.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 1.2%, slipping for the seventh time in eight sessions and closing at its lowest in a month. The midcap FTSE 250 eased 1%.
Corporate Earnings Highlights
Pharmaceutical Sector
• AstraZeneca and GSK fell 1.5% and 5.4%, respectively, after both drugmakers stuck to their full-year forecasts despite posting better-than-expected quarterly profit.
Banking Sector
• Lloyds Banking Group dipped 1.5% despite reporting a better-than-expected rise in first-quarter profit.
Other Notable Movers
• DCC surged 9.3% after the sales and marketing services provider said it was reviewing a cash takeover proposal from a consortium comprising U.S. investment firms Energy Capital Partners and KKR.
• Money manager St. James's Place fell 6% after reporting first-quarter net inflows of 1.53 billion pounds ($2.07 billion), down from 1.69 billion pounds ($2.28 billion) a year earlier.
Geopolitical and Macroeconomic Factors
Impact of Iran Conflict
• Earnings season is in full swing with investors cautious of any impact stemming from the Iran war as surging oil prices continued to pressure markets. [O/R]
• Efforts to end the Iran war were at an impasse with U.S. President Donald Trump unhappy with the latest proposal from Tehran as he wants nuclear issues dealt with from the outset.
Central Bank Decisions
Federal Reserve Meeting
• The Federal Reserve was meeting later on Wednesday, followed by results from megacaps Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon, which could set the tone for markets globally.
Bank of England Outlook
• With geopolitical uncertainty still high, the BoE was set to keep interest rates unchanged on Thursday.
• Tentative hopes of a resolution to the Iran war have helped steady the FTSE 100, putting it on track for a marginal April gain after the conflict drove its worst monthly slump in six years.
Additional Information
($1 = 0.7407 pounds)
(Reporting by Medha Singh and Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Alex Richardson)
