The FTSE 100 was lower on Thursday after the Bank of England kept interest rates on hold at 4.5% and signalled they would take a ‘gradual and careful’ approach to cutting rates in the future.

London’s leading index was trading down 0.2% at the time of writing.

The decision to keep rates on hold was to be expected and had little influence on markets. However, investors may have hoped for a more dovish tone to the accompanying commentary, which suggested inflation was still preventing the BoE from cutting interest rates, despite growing macro threats.

“Monetary policy will need to continue to remain restrictive for sufficiently long until the risks to inflation returning sustainably to the 2% target in the medium term have dissipated further,” the Bank of England said in its Monetary Policy Summary.

The reaction in London was very different from US stocks’ reaction to the Federal Reserve’s overnight instalment, where markets rallied following the Fed’s interest rate decision.

Equity investors were little interested in the Fed’s decision to keep rates on hold and the forecast of just two rate cuts this year. They were more impressed by the Fed’s plan to slow the pace of bond sales in their “quantitative tightening” program.

Indeed, US stocks had the best ‘Fed day’ since July yesterday.

Away from the central bank action, Prudential provided a positive assessment of their recent developments, including a strong outlook and reasonable profits, sending share higher by 1%.

“Asian insurance focused Prudential has not only delivered the profit growth it promised but also exceeded expectations with a stronger-than-expected dividend,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“The Prudential appeal is starting to come through, with Insurance penetration rates in Asia still low and growing demand for long-term savings and protection products. The outlook set a positive tone too, with a 10% jump expected across pretty much every key metric, including the important dividend.”

Pearson was among the top fallers after UBS slashed their price target from 1,580p to 1,460p.

3i was the top faller after announcing sales at its portfolio company Action would grow slower than expected due to IT issues.

The impact of UK economic uncertainty was evident in Wickes’s full-year results as the DIY and home improvement specialist announced falling revenues and lower profits.

However, performance over the past year was marginally better than expected, and strength in Q4 provided investors with a reason to be optimistic.

Wickes reported its full-year results for 2024 on Thursday, with total revenue declining 1.0% year-on-year to £1,538.8m.

While the company achieved 1.9% growth in Retail revenue, this was offset by a 10.5% decline in Design & Installation revenue amid challenging market conditions.

Adjusted profit before tax fell £43.6m, down from £52.0m in 2023, though this figure was at the upper end of market expectations.

Statutory profit before tax fell to £23.2m, compared to £41.1m the previous year, reflecting a non-cash impairment charge.

The 6% rise in shares can, in part, be attributed to the company’s decision to maintain the dividend and even boost share buybacks. Wickes has declared a final dividend of 7.3p, bringing the total dividend to 10.9p for the full year, and announced a new £20m share buyback programme.

“We grew volumes and share throughout the year in Retail as customers bought more of our products for their home improvement projects, however big or small. In Design and Installation, we have been encouraged by a return to growth in ordered sales in Q4 following the actions we took to enhance our customer offer and experience,” said David Wood, Chief Executive of Wickes.

GenIP shares rose on Thursday after the Generative AI analytics firm announced a $0.35m contract win for their technology commercialisation services. 

The contract was secured with a new research organisation client in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Based on the company’s releases since its IPO in late 2024, today’s contract is the largest single order for AI-powered services as a publicly listed company.

The contract includes the delivery of 400 analytical assessments, marking a dramatic increase in the size of individual orders. GenIP will also provide consulting services.

Last week, GenIP issued its outlook for 2025, highlighting “clear revenue visibility, a strong order book, and a growing sales pipeline’.

The company also said it ‘believes the conversion of its current sales pipeline will lead to a step-change in order flow and revenue generation’.

Today’s $0.35m contract is evidence that this revenue step change is being delivered.

GenIP shares reacted accordingly, with a gain in excess of 10% at the time of writing.

“This agreement highlights the expanding range of services GenIP offers to global research organizations looking to accelerate the commercialization of their technological discoveries,” said Melissa Cruz, CEO of GenIP.

“We look forward to continuing to deliver value to our clients and will provide updates on significant developments as they arise.”

Investors will note from their recent corporate update that GenIP is engaged in a bid process with several Asia-based institutions.

Although the company didn’t reveal the scale of the Asian bids, today’s win provides some insight into the potential level of engagement the company is working on and classes as ‘significant’.

At the time of listing, GenIP set out three core strategies, one of which is to grow revenue in the near term. Today’s announcement would suggest they’re well on the way to achieving this.

Crest Nicholson Holdings plc has reported an encouraging start to the year, with early signs of operational improvements as the company prepares to implement its refreshed strategic direction.

Investors cheered the combination of a strong start to the year and an upbeat medium term outlook as shares rose over 10%.

In the 10-week period to 14 March, the housebuilder achieved an open market sales rate of 0.61, up from 0.50 in the previous financial year. This improvement has been driven by several self-help initiatives, including enhanced training for the sales team, revised incentive schemes, and improvements to the product offering.

The company remains on track to deliver results in line with guidance for the current financial year, with cash performance exceeding expectations in the first four months.

Despite these positive developments, Crest Nicholson acknowledges that market conditions remain challenging. While mortgage rates have improved marginally, slower-than-expected interest rate reductions, persistent inflation, and broader global macroeconomic uncertainty continue to affect consumer confidence in the housing sector.

At today’s Capital Markets Day in Windsor, CEO Martyn Clark and CFO Bill Floydd will outline the company’s strategic plans to position Crest Nicholson for sustainable growth and returns.

Crest Nicholson has also announced medium-term guidance for FY24 to FY29, which includes mid-single digit percentage growth in home completions annually over five years to exceed 2,300 units, average annual improvement in gross margins of approximately 100-150 basis points per annum to over 20%, overhead reduction to approximately 7% of revenue by FY27, and average Return on Capital Employed improvement of approximately 200 basis points per annum to over 13%.

“We are focused on unlocking the significant opportunity in the mid premium segment of the market, through becoming truly customer-centric, driving operational excellence and optimising our land portfolio to maximise value creation,” said Martyn Clark, CEO of Crest Nicholson.

“We have established and have confidence in delivering a set of ambitious yet achievable medium-term financial targets which will underpin sustainable profitability and returns. We are excited about the road ahead and are clear on what we need to do to ensure success.”

The FTSE 100 eased off marginally on Wednesday as investors prepared for a busy period of central bank action.

Traders chose a cautious approach to stocks with the Federal Reserve due to announce its interest rate decision this evening, closely followed by the Bank of England tomorrow.

Although economists predict no change in rates from either central bank, investors are eagerly anticipating the central banks’ assessments of the economy and hints of when they may next move to alter interest rates.

It will be the first opportunity for central banks to give their reading on the impact of Trump’s tariffs, so markets are understandably showing signs of risk aversion.

“Caution is set to be the name of the game today as investors assess crunch central bank decisions on interest rates amid global tariff turmoil. After gains yesterday, London’s FTSE 100 is on the back foot in early trade as a wait-and-see mood swirls,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“But overall, the more positive sentiment towards UK and other European stocks is expected to continue while equity investors seek safer havens as Trump rips up international agreements and shreds relations with formerly steadfast trading partners.”

London’s leading index was down 0.1% at the time of writing after gently undulating in a tight range for most of the session.

In stark contrast to yesterday’s risk-on move, cyclical sectors showed little signs of life, and very few stocks gained over 1%.  

This meant declines in names such as Compass Group, Tesco, GSK and Diageo weighed on the index.

M&G was the FTSE 100’s top riser after releasing a very respectable set of full-year results reflecting strong action on costs and the reduction of debt. 

The introduction of a progressive dividend policy will be a positive for investors, who will be pleased to see profits higher than expected.

“After posting an impressive profit beat, investors might have expected more from the dividend, which only saw a modest 2% increase from the previous year.

“While the company’s focus on simplification and streamlining has certainly boosted performance, some underlying challenges remain. Net flows into the asset management division, particularly in the UK, have struggled for some time and while there are signs of improvement, it’s still an area of weakness.”

M&G shares were over 2% higher at the time of writing, touching the highest level since early 2024.