The FTSE 100 surged to fresh intraday record highs on Wednesday as pharmaceutical stocks rallied on plans for a US direct-to-consumer sales platform

London’s leading index was trading at 9,420 after reaching a high of 9,424. A close above 9,350 would be a fresh closing record high.

The FTSE 100’s heavy weighting towards pharmaceuticals meant the index shrugged off concerns about the US government shutdown as US and European stocks dipped.

“The US government shutdown has left investors wondering what might happen next, with a minor pullback on European equity markets and weaker futures prices for Wall Street,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“The FTSE 100 bucked the negative trend, rising 0.4% thanks to a surge in pharmaceutical stocks.

“AstraZeneca, Hikma and GSK rallied after Donald Trump announced plans to launch a government-run website for consumers to buy drugs directly from manufacturers. It looks like investors are regaining confidence in the pharma sector following recent uncertainty around pricing and tariffs. More clarity on both points is helping to regain investors’ interest.”

AstraZeneca, the FTSE 100’s largest company by market cap, rose over 5% adding a significant number of points to the index. Hikma rose 4%.

JD Sports was also among the risers, with a 3.7% increase.

Housebuilders were fairly flat despite the latest data from Nationwide showing house prices rose at an annual pace of 2.2% in the year to September.

“A sustained upward trend in house prices reflects a resilient and increasingly competitive housing market,” said Nathan Emerson, CEO at Propertymark.

“This increase can be attributed to several key factors, including limited housing supply, strong buyer demand, and favourable lending conditions that continue to support purchasing activity despite broader economic uncertainties.”

Taylor Wimpey was up 0.4% after releasing a trading statement pointing to mild improvements in sales rates for the year to date. They did, however, highlight ‘softer market conditions’ in their second quarter.

Babcock was the top FTSE 100 faller, losing 2.3%.

The UK average house price has grown 2.2% on an annual basis as activity picks up despite broader concerns about the economy, according to the latest data from Nationwide.

The 2.2% annual growth rate in September represented an acceleration from the 2.1% recorded in August.

“The annual pace of UK house price growth was little changed in September at 2.2%, marginally stronger than the 2.1% recorded in August. Prices increased by 0.5% month on month, after taking account of seasonal effects,” explained Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist.

“The broad stability in the annual rate of house price growth over the past three months mirrors that of activity. The number of mortgages approved for house purchase have been hovering at around 65,000 cases per month, close to the pre-pandemic average (despite the higher interest rate environment).

“Despite ongoing uncertainties in the global economy, underlying conditions for potential home buyers in the UK remain supportive.”

Industry experts pointed to the Bank of England’s interest rate cut and ongoing undersupply of new homes as other factors that would provide support for the housing market in the coming months.

“Today’s data underscores the resilience and appeal of the UK property sector. Despite elevated inflation and stubborn borrowing costs, we welcomed the BoE’s recent rate cut as a hopeful first step in a much-needed easing cycle,” said Tom Brown, Managing Director, Real Estate.

“There’s clearly a significant and notable shortage of housing inventory across various price brackets and locations.”

Northern Ireland continued to be the powerhouse for house price growth, with the region storming ahead by 9.6% on a quarterly basis. London house prices grew at a meagre 0.6% over the same period.

Greggs shares jumped on Wednesday as the sausage roll maker reassured investors they were on track to meet full-year guidance despite the rate of third-quarter growth slowing.

 The firm’s total sales increased by 6.1% for the 13 weeks to September 27, 2025, and by 6.7% year-to-date. This compares to 7% growth in the group’s first half period.

Gregg’s slowing growth was highlighted in a profit warning in July, which led to a sharp sell-off in Greggs’ shares. Investors are breathing a sigh of relief that the company hasn’t had to lower guidance again, and shares jumped 5% on Wednesday.

“Even sausage rolls are sweating as Greggs feels the heat. Hot weather and a softer consumer backdrop meant third-quarter growth slowed, raising question marks around expectations for the full year,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown

“Management isn’t waving the white flag just yet, with the full-year outlook unchanged. But this quarter was about weathering the bumps rather than breaking records – a far cry from the Greggs of 2024.

“Longer term, the ingredients for growth are still in the mix. Expanding into supermarkets and online through Bake at Home, plus major supply chain upgrades, should set the stage for the next leg from 2026. Cost pressures are easing slightly, which helps, but today’s update is a reminder that even a category leader isn’t immune to short-term headwinds. For investors, the steady ship has been rocked this year, and the outlook has shifted to a slow rise rather than a rapid bake – but there is still an attractive recipe lurking beneath the surface.”

Although shares are much cheaper than they have been in recent years, some analysts offer the view that Greggs’ issues are the syptom of a wider shift in consumer behaviour that could persist in the near term.

“Greggs has recently issued a profit warning that reflects more than just the effects of unseasonably warm weather,” explained Alex Smith, VP, Global Lead at Third Bridge.

“Our experts say the bigger concern is the drop in footfall across high street locations, a structural shift that is weighing heavily on traditional outlets which once depended on commuter traffic and office workers.

“Our experts estimate the broader quick service restaurant and full-service dining sector will face a demand contraction of around 2 to 3 percent in the second half of 2025.”

Clinical diagnostics for organ transplants developer VericiDx (LON: VRCI) reported a rise in interim loss from $1.3m to $3.1m after a 43% decline in revenues to $1.9m. The company does have two commercial products and full year revenues are expected to rise to $4.14m. The share price rebounded 28% to 0.8p.

Video marketing platform operator SEEEN (LON: SEEN) increased first half revenues by 87% to $2.1m and full year revenues are expected to be more than £5m, helped by a significant deal signed earlier in the year. The full year loss should be reduced by three-quarters to £400,000 and the company could breakeven next year. Net cash was $1.2m at the end of June 2025. The share price increased 11.1% to 5p.

Gunsynd (LON: GUN) says assay results from the Bear Twit project have been sent to the lab and results should be received in October. Exploration continues at the Barb gold project. The share price improved 10% to 0.165p.

Carpet tiles manufacturer Airea (LON: AIEA) managed to increase first half revenues, while progressing the move to a new facility. Revenues improved from £9.23m to £9.82m, which is about as much as can be achieved in the current factory. The main growth was in the UK and Ireland, despite the weak market. There was a £44,000 loss after costs of setting up in Dubai and storage ahead of the move. Additional capital investment means that the move will be at the start of 2026. Even after the capital expenditure, net cash was £1.14m at the end of June 2025, although that excludes a similar amount of supply chain finance. An investment property valued at £4.1m may be sold. The share price rose 8.7% to 25p.

FALLERS

Difficult market conditions hampered regenerative medicine company Tissue Regenix (LON: TRX) and interim revenues were 6% down at $13.8m. That hit gross margin and the loss increased to $957,000. There were delays to regulatory approvals and falls in orders. Net debt is $9.3m with $5.6m of available bank facilities. The share price slumped 40.5% to 12.5p.

Steel structures supplier Billington (LON: BILN) has been hit by delays just like many other companies involved in the construction sector. It has won business to help cover for the delays, but margins are not as high. Interim revenues fell from £57.9m to £41.8m, while pre-tax profit slipped from £4.64m to £1.67m. Cavendish has halved its full year pe-tax profit forecast to £3.5m. The order book covers around 50% of forecast 2026 revenues and pre-tax profit could rebound to £8.3m. The share price declined 13.9% to 280p, which is less than seven times prospective 2026 earnings.

Health assessment technology developer GENinCode (LON: GENI) reported interims in line with its recent trading statement. Revenues rose 15% to £1.6m and the loss was similar to the previous year. Cash was £2.44m at the end of June 2024. Cavendish has cut its forecast 2025 revenues from £4.3m to £3.3m, while the loss is expected to be £4.7m. The share price fell back 14.3% to 3.6p, but it has doubled in the past fortnight.

Wishbone Gold (LON: WSBN) is raising £4m at 1.3p/share. This will fund further exploration at the Red Setter Gold Dome in Australia. The previous placing was at 0.13p/share. Interim results show a cash outflow of £1.3m, leaving cash of £826,000 at the end of June 2025. The share price slipped 13.3% to 1.265p.

The FTSE 100 recovered early losses on Tuesday as investors became increasingly concerned about a possible US government shutdown that could upset the trajectory for interest rate cuts.

London’s leading index was down as much as 33 points before recovering to trade down by less than 10 points.

“The FTSE 100 was lower on Tuesday as investors started to fret about the prospect of a government shutdown in Washington,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“Relations between the Democrats and Republicans are frostier than an Alaska morning, so markets are not confident on the prospects of agreeing a deal before midnight tonight.

“One of the biggest short-term concerns for markets is the impact this would have on the release of government data – particularly the jobs number due on Friday – without which the Federal Reserve might not feel as confident about cutting interest rates.”

A US government shutdown has a familiar playbook. Stocks dip as a possible shutdown looms and rebound on a resolution. The variables are whether the government actually shuts down, how much of it shuts down and how long the shutdown lasts.

The longest government shutdown was in 2018, lasting 35 days. The S&P 500 sold off sharply going into the shutdown and rebounded soon after.

There’s nowhere near the volatility of 2018 in markets this time round.

FTSE 100 constituents were finely balanced between gainers and losers on Tuesday. There was no clear sector direction, with peers trading in opposite directions.

Rio Tinto gained 0.2% while Antofagasta lost 1%. BAE Systems gave 0.9% as Babcock rose 0.6%. AstraZeneca fell 0.8% while GSK added 0.8%.

This directionless trade represents a wait-and-see approach from investors as Republicans and Democrats thrash out a deal.

BT was the FTSE 100’s top faller, losing 2.9%. Rentokil Initial rose to the top of the leaderboard after announcing the sale of its French workwear business.

SP Angel analysts have pointed to a ‘highly likely’ rerating of Tekcapital shares on the successful NASDAQ IPO of portfolio company Guident.

Tekcapital founded Guident and retains a 70% stake in Guident, which could be worth tens of millions of dollars after Guident lists on the NASDAQ. Tekcapital currently has a market cap of around £22m.

“The forthcoming IPO of Guident Corp in the US is highly likely to trigger a further re-rating of TEK’s share price,” SP Angel analysts wrote in a note.

“The proceeds from Guident’s IPO will be used to accelerate the deployment of its autonomous vehicle monitoring & control system and its robotics software development. We await pricing and valuation data but see this as a pivotal moment for TEK’s portfolio. On current market prices TEK is trading at an unsustainable 45% discount to NAV per share.”

SP Angel has assigned Tekcapital a price target of 15p, representing a potential 50% upside in the shares. The price target, however, does not take into consideration the potential uplift in Tekcapital’s NAV subsequent to Guident’s IPO.

To derive their price target, SP Angel analysts applied a discount of 15%-20% to Tekcapital’s current NAV of 18p to reflect the average Discount-to-NAV across the investment company sector. SP Angel noted that they await Guident’s IPO valuation to feed this into an updated price target.

In addition to highlighting the disconnect between the share price and NAV, SP Angel also suggested that Guident’s IPO may lead to the repayment of a convertible loan note amounting to $4.5m, which could fund Tekcapital’s operating costs for several years.

Tekcapital portfolio growth

As alluded to by SP Angel, Tekcapital is nearing a ‘pivotal’ moment for portfolio value creation that could see the discount between the value of its Tekcapital shares and its portfolio snap back in line.

Recent half-year results revealed another period of portfolio value growth for Tekcapital as portfolio companies improved revenue generation.

A 10% increase in NAV in the first half means Tekcapital’s net assets grew from approximately $32.7m in 2020 to a record $77.4m by mid-2025, representing a compound annual growth rate of around 19%.

Even as portfolio revaluations moderated in the first half of 2025, Tekcapital maintained a positive half-year ROCE of 7.36%—equivalent to approximately 14.7% annualised—whilst larger rivals IP Group and Frontier IP Group continued to report negative returns, burdened by portfolio write-downs and persistent operating losses.

In contrast, Tekcapital noted that it had reduced its operating costs by 50% compared to the same period in the previous year.

Lower costs will position Tekcapital well for improved cash balances following Guident’s IPO, as Tekcapital will no longer need to support portfolio companies with growth capital. This will be further enhanced should Guident begin to repay the $4.5m convertible due to Tekcapital.

Metals recycling specialist Majestic Corporation has reported a period of strategic progress in the first half, despite declining revenues amid challenging market conditions.

The company sources and processes e-waste and other forms of discarded metals, returning them to the supply chain through their established network of smelters and offtake partners.

Majestic posted revenue of $18.2 million for the six-month period, down from $25 million in the corresponding period last year. However, gross profit margins climbed to 8.6%—a 22% improvement on the prior year’s 7%.

Management attributed the stronger margins to a deliberate shift in strategy and its focus on extracting better value from key material streams, including platinum group metals, stainless steel, copper and aluminium.

UK push gathers momentum

Perhaps the most notable takeaway from today’s update for investors is Majestic’s plan to ramp up its UK expansion.

Majestic has accelerated its expansion into the British market through the completion of the acquisition of TeleCycle Europe Limited in the first half. Telecycle is a Welsh recycling operation that previously served as a tolling agent for the company and has provided an initial hub for Majestic as it expands its supply network across the UK.

In a sign of intent, Majestic is preparing to launch a 50,000 square foot facility in Wrexham later this year, which will substantially increase processing capacity and enable the firm to utilise advanced processing machinery to help boost margins further.

The company is also developing a proprietary digital application, currently awaiting approval from Apple and Google, designed to streamline material sourcing from smaller collectors and individual contributors.

Navigating industry turbulence

Like most companies involved in metal supply, Majestic faced headwinds in the first half of 2025. Trade barriers and tariffs disrupted flows of scrap and refined materials. Ferrous scrap prices were under pressure, particularly across Europe and Asia, where demand from automotive and construction sectors weakened.

However, the company believes these pressures to be transitory and pointed to its ability to increase margins during the period, despite lower revenue.

Majestic enjoyed strength in non-ferrous metals during the period, with copper and aluminium benefiting from manufacturing growth, electrification projects and renewable energy development. Platinum group metals and critical materials remain in short supply, driven by demand from clean technology and the production of electric vehicles.

“Despite volatility in global commodity markets, we reinforced our leadership in recovering and reintroducing valuable metals into the global supply chain, broadening our global customer base and positioning the business for continuous profitable growth,” said Peter Lai, Founder, CEO  and Chairman of Majestic.

“Working towards our target of processing 100,000 tonnes of material by 2030, we are pleased to report strong progress in delivering our UK-focused growth strategy.

“A key milestone in this journey will be the launch of our new 50,000 sq. ft. facility in Wrexham in 2026, which will significantly increase capacity, enable the deployment of our proprietary processing technology, and support substantial UK revenue growth and margin expansion.

“We remain confident that our strategic focus will continue to drive continuous profitable growth, create long-term shareholder value, and secure the supply of critical and precious metals for economies worldwide and future generations.”

Majestic Corporation shares were flat at the time of writing on Tuesday after gaining over 30% since the beginning of 2025.