The FTSE 100 was steady near all-time record highs on Friday as investors braced for the next phase of China/US trade talks, as Trump prepared to head to Asia.

After closing at a record high of 9,578 yesterday, the FTSE 100 eased back to 9,560 in mid-morning trading. The index also touched an intraday high of 9,594 during yesterday’s session.

“The FTSE 100 held firm after last night’s record close, with strength in banks and tech stocks offsetting weakness in the natural resources space,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Trade relations were front of mind for investors ahead of Donald Trump’s visit to Asia and a new fight between the US and Canada.

“A lot is riding on Trump’s negotiations with China’s Xi Jinping as tensions have been riding high. The market would love clarity on trade agreements between the US and China, and the avoidance of sky-high tariffs. It’s impossible to say whether that will happen, such is the unpredictable nature of Trump, but any positive takeaways could have a major impact on financial markets next week.”

Mild risk aversion was to be expected on Friday, yet the dip appeared to be nothing more than traders reducing exposure after a strong run rather than outright concern.

The London Stock Exchange Group was again the top riser as yesterday’s strong updates were met with a string of broker upgrades. Goldman Sachs had the most ambitious of the broker upgrades, raising its price target to 13,790p from 13,200p. LSEG shares were trading 5% higher at 9,802p at the time of writing.

NatWest was also among the top risers after releasing very attractive Q3 results. Profit rose 35% as income increased 15% amid higher net interest margins and strong underlying customer activity.

“NatWest has joined Barclays in upgrading guidance, a sign that things really are looking up for the UK banking sector. It has been a good 24 hours for UK news, providing hope that the economy is moving out of the doldrums,” said Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst UK at IG.

“NatWest’s performance means that speculation that it is poised to go hunting for more acquisitions can only increase from here, now that the turnaround efforts have borne fruit.”

NatWest shares were 2% higher at the time of writing.

Gains for NatWest and the London Stock Exchange Group were offset by weakness in miners and utility companies.

Fresnillo shares are starting to lose their shine with the precious metals rally showing signs of consolidation. Fresnillo was the top faller on Friday, down 2%, but that is nothing compared to the 240% gain the stock has seen so far this year.

Metlen Energy & Metals and Glencore were also among the fallers.

More good news from FTSE 100 banks. NatWest profit surged 35% in the third quarter compared to the same period last year as income increased 15%.

Natwest shares rose by more than 3% in the immediate reaction after hitting their highest levels since 2010 in very early trade on Friday.

“NatWest has joined Barclays in upgrading guidance, a sign that things really are looking up for the UK banking sector,” said Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst UK at IG.

“It has been a good 24 hours for UK news, providing hope that the economy is moving out of the doldrums. NatWest’s performance means that speculation that it is poised to go hunting for more acquisitions can only increase from here, now that the turnaround efforts have borne fruit.”

NatWest’s total income surged 15.7% year-on-year in Q3 and 8.2% quarter-on-quarter as net interest margin rose 9 basis points to 2.37%.

Operating expenses fell by £43 million versus Q2 despite a £171 million year-on-year increase, while the bank reduced headcount by approximately 600 full-time equivalents compared to Q3 2024.

NatWest’s impairment charges were also relatively low compared to its peers, underscoring strong underlying customer health.

“NatWest’s Q3 results paint a picture of a bank firing on all cylinders, with total income of £4.332 billion, representing a 5.7% beat versus consensus,” explained Max Harper, Analyst at Third Bridge.

“Another rise in income guidance to £16.3 billion, from over £16 billion, is very positive and should signal confidence in their strategy to the market.

“Net Interest Income (NII) outperformed by 5.6% to £3.268 billion, supported by a 9 basis point expansion in Net Interest Margin (NIM) to 2.37%. Our experts believe this is down to NatWest’s core competitive advantage, which is its ability to build relationships. Compared with other UK banks, their customers are more sticky, with fewer rate chasers, resulting in a resilient customer base.”

With earnings on the horizon, Nvidia’s shares offer further upside despite trading at a very rich valuation and have every chance of breaching $200 before they report in November.

Trading at $182 per share, Nvidia has a forward P/E ratio of about 40×.

Although this is rich compared with the broader market, the group’s explosive revenue and earnings growth projections more than justify current multiples. Investors have to look beyond the next 12 months to validate the group’s valuation.

Many analysts expected 40–45% annual earnings growth through 2027, and investment banks maintain a “Buy” rating with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America all having price targets in the $210–$230 range.

The company guided revenue to increase 54% year-on-year in Q3, and investors will eagerly await earnings, due for release on 19th November, for signs of continued momentum.

“From a fundamental perspective, NVIDIA’s financial strength remains exceptional. In fiscal year 2025 (February 2024 – January 2025), the company generated over $130 billion in revenue, doubling from the previous year,” said Linh Tran, Market Analyst at XS.com.

“This surge was driven primarily by soaring demand from data centers and the wave of investment in AI infrastructure by tech giants such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta. Its gross margin remained around 74–75%, underscoring NVIDIA’s near-monopolistic advantage in GPUs and specialized software.

“With its proprietary CUDA ecosystem and the advanced Blackwell architecture, the company controls over 80% of the global AI-GPU market — leaving rivals like AMD and Intel struggling to catch up.”

Tran continued to explain that while Nvidia has conquered most of the world’s chip markets, the key to the outlook for the chipmaker lay in China/US trade relations and whether they will be able to continue to service China’s burgeoning tech giants.

“Yet, despite its dominance, NVIDIA faces growing risks. One of the biggest factors clouding its medium-term outlook is U.S.–China trade policy,” Tran explained.

“According to a Reuters report last week, the Trump administration is considering new export restrictions on products made using U.S. software, potentially expanding trade limits far beyond the semiconductor sector. Such measures could affect NVIDIA directly, as China accounts for roughly 20–25% of its revenue. If these restrictions are enacted, NVIDIA’s high-end chips like H200 and L20 could face barriers in supplying Chinese cloud giants such as Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent.”

Nvidia reaching $200 before it reports earnings will depend on how talks between China and the US develop. But whatever the outcome, it is likely to prove a sideshow in Nvidia’s overall growth in the coming years.

“In the long term, NVIDIA’s outlook remains highly positive. Global demand for AI computing, simulation, and data processing continues to grow exponentially. National AI projects, autonomous-vehicle investments, and edge-computing infrastructure all open new growth cycles. Furthermore, NVIDIA benefits from an “exclusive ecosystem” — a unique integration of hardware and software that no competitor can easily replicate,” Tran concluded.

The FTSE 100 rose to within touching distance of record highs on Thursday amid strong earnings and a jump in oil prices following Trump’s announcement of fresh sanctions on Russia.

London’s leading index was trading 0.6% higher at the time of writing.

UK investors enjoyed a plethora of encouraging earnings and trading updates from the FTSE 100 companies on Thursday, with Rentokil Initial and the London Stock Exchange Group among the best performers.

Higher oil prices played a part in the FTSE 100’s rally after Donald Trump targeted Russian oil producers with fresh sanctions, helping BP and Shell rise by between 3% and 4%.

“Oil markets have spiked higher after news emerged that the US was putting Russia’s major oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, under sanctions due to the Kremlin’s failure to move toward peace in Ukraine,” said Steve Clayton, head of equity funds, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Brent crude has climbed 4% to almost $65 per barrel on the news, marking a dramatic recovery from recent weakness in crude markets. America’s new stance is in stark contrast to recent messaging from the White House and took markets by surprise. The effectiveness of the sanctions is yet to be proven, but President Trump has said that the Indian PM Narendra Modi has assured him that India will cease Russian oil purchases.”

The heavy weighting of Shell and BP played a leading role in the FTSE 100’s rally on Thursday. Their rally was compounded by favourable reactions to earnings for Rentokil Initial and the London Stock Exchange Group.

Rentokil was the FTSE 100’s top gainer after the pest control group signalled improvement in its North American business.

“Rat-catcher Rentokil surged after saying its US operations were in a much better place,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“The company had previously suffered from slower than expected growth in North America, causing investors to question if the 2022 acquisition of US pest control firm Terminix was ill-timed. A new game plan appears to be working, and Rentokil is now more upbeat on the region.”

Rentokil shares were 11% higher at the time of writing.

The London Stock Exchange Group gapped higher on a strong trading update in which EBITDA guidance was increased.

“LSEG shares are up 6% after reporting a strong period of growth, a boost to margin guidance accompanied by news of an investment by a consortium of banks into its Post Trade Services division and a new £1 billion share buy-back programme,” Steve Clayton said.

Unilever and Lloyds also reported on Thursday, but their updates were met with muted reactions. Lloyds confirmed the impact of the motor finance scandal, while Unilever posted reasonable volume growth.

Lloyds shares were steady on Thursday despite reporting a 36% hit to Q3 profit due to provisions for the motor finance scandal.

Profit for the nine months to September came in at £3.3 billion, down from £3.8 billion a year earlier, as an £800 million charge for motor finance commission arrangements weighed on third-quarter results.

The UK bank’s return on tangible equity fell to 11.9% for the period. Excluding the motor finance provision, the figure would have reached 14.6%.

The bank has now set aside £1.95 billion in total to cover potential liabilities related to motor finance commission arrangements.

Max Harper, Analyst at Third Bridge, explained what could have been “a decent set of results with a net income beat, driven by other income with NII below exceptions, has been heavily hit by new a motor provision sending profits down 36%. New GBP 800m provision brings total provisioning to GBP 1.95bn which should cover Lloyds for an outcome on the negative end of the spectrum.”

With the worst of the scandal now behind the industry, investors chose to look forward, and there was little reaction in shares on Thursday.

Despite the charges, the bank demonstrated underlying strength amid the higher interest rate environment. Net interest income climbed 6% to £10.1 billion, supported by a banking net interest margin of 3.04%, up 10 basis points year-on-year.

Operating costs edged up 3% to £7.2 billion, reflecting inflation and strategic investments, though cost discipline helped limit the increase. Operating lease depreciation rose 8% to £1.075 billion in line with fleet expansion.

Lending grew across the business. Customer loans increased £18 billion to £477.1 billion, with retail lending up £15.2 billion. Customer deposits rose £14 billion to £496.7 billion.

The bank has revised its 2025 guidance, now expecting underlying net interest income of around £13.6 billion and a return on tangible equity of approximately 12%, or 14% excluding the motor finance charge.

The market reaction suggests investors are pleased with the underlying business and are happy to take the view that the bank is well positioned to deliver growth, with a line drawn under motor finance redress concerns.

“On a positive note, the upgraded NII guidance to £13.6 billion from £13.5 billion is welcome, with their hedge continuing to perform well,” Harper said.

“Furthermore, acquiring the remainder of the Schroders Personal Wealth venture should be positive from an ‘other income’ perspective and allow Lloyds to capture revenue previously left on the table. However, our experts have highlighted concerns that Lloyds has a less affluent customer base than other banks, suggesting a need to acquire new, wealthier customers.”