It was another marginally higher day for the FTSE 100 on Wednesday as investors digested corporate updates from Lloyds, Reckitt Benckiser, and a plethora of US tech companies.
The FTSE 100 was up 15 points at 7,393 at the time of writing after recovering early losses as the index undulated between gains and losses.
“Despite gains in the US and Asia overnight on some solid US corporate earnings and news of Beijing launching a big stimulus package, the FTSE 100 was modestly lower on Wednesday morning,” said AJ Bell head of financial analysis Danni Hewson.
“Microsoft and Alphabet both delivered better than expected earnings although there was some divergence in the reaction, with the former higher and the latter lower on their respective numbers. Microsoft’s head start in AI seems to be paying off, while Alphabet appears to be in catch-up mode on both this and cloud computing.
Microsoft was up 4% in the premarket while Alphabet dipped 5%.
In terms of London-listed corporate updates, Lloyds was up 2% after reversing early losses as profits increased in the third quarter – despite net interest margins falling.
Reckitt Benckiser was among the top fallers after announcing a 4.1% reduction in volumes in the latest quarter and a 4% drop in reported revenues due to adverse currency swings. Reckitt Benckiser shares were 4.8% lower shortly after midday in London.
Ocado shares were the worst performer on Wednesday as the food distribution technology broke to the lowest levels since rumours of a takeover by Amazon surfaced.
Although there was a sense of calm in UK stocks on Wednesday, Russ Mould warned concerns around the Middle East and central bank action could rock the boat before long.
“As tensions remain heightened in the Middle East, US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell is set to deliver an address in Washington tonight which will be closely monitored by twitchy markets,” Mould said.