The FTSE 100 struggled for direction on Thursday as nagging concerns about trade and ex-dividend prevented the index from attacking all-time highs, while improving optimism around the TACO trade kept investors in the market.

London’s leading index was trading up 0.1% at the time of writing. 

“UK markets are in a holding pattern, with the FTSE 100 patiently waiting for a fresh catalyst to deliver the final push toward new all-time highs. The UK-US trade deal appears to be doing enough to insulate UK markets from excessive Trump-related volatility, though it remains to be seen how long this relative calm will last,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

With the FTSE 100 so close to record highs, the psychological element to trading starts to creep in, and investors will start to question whether we’re in the right environment for the UK’s benchmark equity index to trade at fresh records. 

Traders will also be conscious that the sharp recovery for Trump’s Liberation Day announcement leaves the index vulnerable to a wave of profit taking on the slightest of negative developments. 

Investors will also have one eye on the ECB and their rate decision. As always, the press conference will likely provide the most potential for a market move with rates expected to be cut again for the 8th time in a row.

“Inflation isn’t a problem, but sluggish economic growth is. That points to further monetary easing to encourage more borrowing and spending by consumers and businesses,” AJ Bell’s Russ Mould said.

Although the FTSE 100 was fairly flat on an index level, there were underlying signs of caution. There was again a bid in safe haven stocks such as precious metals miners, pharmaceutical firms, and consumer staples that suggested investors weren’t entirely convinced about the immediate outlook for stocks. 

Precious metals miner Fresnillo enjoyed buying interest with gold and silver prices trading near recent highs. 

WPP was the top faller as the stock traded ex-dividend. Sainsbury’s shares were in the same boat.

One of the UK’s leading Fintech firms is planning to shift its primary listing to the US, yet another blow for London’s public equity markets.

The move was announced alongside results for the financial year ended 31 March 2025, in which Wise grew its revenue by 15% and profit for the period by 18%.

Their decision to move their primary listing to the US is particularly painful because Wise is one of the very few UK Fintech giants that have decided to list on London’s exchange, while many choose to remain private. Some, including Revolut, have expressed a desire to IPO in New York.

For Wise to upsticks and move their primary listing to the US puts a massive dent in London’s efforts to bolster its reputation as a centre for fast-growing companies.

Has Wise outgrown London? Probably not. However, it sees the US as an important part of the next leg of its growth strategy as customer numbers rise and profits increase.

“Our growth over the past financial year is a testament to the team’s laser focus on our vision to build money without borders. We moved £145.2 billion across borders for 15.6 million people and businesses, a 23% increase compared to last year,” said Kristo Käärmann, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer.

“This growth has been generated by the investments we’ve made in our underlying infrastructure, delivering lower fees and faster speeds for our customers: we reduced our take rate by 14bps over the year, to 53bps in Q4 FY2025. More customers also benefited from instant payments, with approximately 65% of transactions being completed in under 20 seconds.”

Käärman continued to explain their ambitions for global expansion and plan to grow their share of a ‘c.£32 trillion market opportunity’ in money transfers. The company sees shifting its primary listing to the US as a vital part of this strategy.

“As part of our next step on that journey, today we are announcing our intention to dual list our shares in the US and UK. We believe the addition of a primary US listing would help us accelerate our mission and bring substantial strategic and capital market benefits to Wise and our Owners.

“These include helping us drive greater awareness of Wise in the US, the biggest market opportunity in the world for our products today, and enabling better access to the world’s deepest and most liquid capital market. A dual listing would also enable us to continue serving our UK-based Owners effectively, as part of our ongoing commitment to the UK. The UK is home to some of the best talent in the world in financial services and technology, and we will continue to invest in our presence here to fuel our UK and global growth.”

GenIP released its maiden annual results on Wednesday, revealing the costs related to its AIM IPO, early sales traction and its cash position at the end of 2024.

Like many early-stage companies, GenIP’s prior years’ results are a very poor guide to where the company is now. Especially when GenIP was established that year, and it only started trading towards the end of the third quarter. 

Early-stage investors tend to be more concerned about where new ventures are going rather than the initial months of trading.

In that regard, CEO Melissa Cruz’s comments attached to the release offer the most insight into the momentum the company is building:

“GenIP has made strong progress in the short time since incorporation in February 2024 and listing in October 2024. The Company has secured multiple new orders and contracts for delivery in 2025 and cultivated strong relationships within the technology transfer and innovation community, paving the way for sustained growth,” said Cruz said.

“The introduction of Generative AI-enhanced products and services in September 2024 established a firm base for GenIP’s strategy to drive revenue growth and create lasting value for stakeholders.

“With several strategic initiatives underway, GenIP is well positioned for expansion and success. As we broaden our global presence and integrate more advanced Generative AI analytics into our services, these enhancements strengthen our offerings.”

Since the end of the period, GenIP has won at least two contracts totalling $415,000, expanded into Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, and launched a new product.

GenIP operates a model that is supported by cash flows for orders that are then later recorded as revenues when services are delivered.

We don’t know what the order book currently looks like in pounds and pence. But we do know that the company has closed deals worth at least $400,000 since the start of the year. 

This covers two announced orders with monetary values attached. There have been several other orders and contracts announced with no value attached.

Assuming there are additional orders secured in the natural course of business, a sensible estimate of the cash inflows so far this year would be in the region of $400,000 – $500,000.

This may not necessarily translate into revenue for the period, as order delivery and therefore revenue is driven by customer demand for orders, which could be months after the order is made.

That said, even if last year’s cost base were replicated this year, operating cash flow would be fairly steady. 

It’s worth noting that last year’s costs included non-cash share payments related to the IPO, which are likely to fall. Although more information is required to make an accurate assessment, the announcements of orders and indications of costs available to the market suggest the cash position should be fairly consistent with the beginning of the year. 

Whether GenIP makes a net profit this year isn’t clear – the market will need to see more in the half-year report. What is clear is that progress in 2025 materially outstrips the numbers found in GenIP’s 2024 results.

Defence and space technology firm Voyager Technologies has announced the commencement of its roadshow for a proposed initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company expects to price shares between $26.00 and $29.00 each and is expected to receive approval for listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “VOYG”, subject to notice of issuance.

A succesful IPO could value Voyager at $1.6bn.

Voyager describes itself as a national security and space solutions company delivering mission-critical technologies. The firm serves over 500 customers across 35-plus nations and has flown more than 1,240 customer missions to space stations.

The company is the leader of the Starlab joint venture, designed to expand human presence in low-orbit space. Voyager has partnered with Airbus to push the project forward.

The firm intends to deploy net proceeds primarily towards strategic growth initiatives, including investment in research and development programmes and acquisition of capital assets supporting its long-term innovation roadmap. A portion of proceeds may also fund potential mergers and acquisitions within Voyager’s core business areas.

The remaining funds will support general working capital and corporate purposes, including debt repayment, administrative expenses, system improvements, and operational requirements.

The FTSE 100 approached an all-time high on Wednesday as London’s defence shares helped the index shake off ongoing tat-for-tit US/China trade negotiations.

At 8,811, London’s leading index was less than 1% away from all-time closing highs at 8,871 at the time of writing.

“UK markets have made another step in the right direction this morning, albeit a small one. The FTSE 100 opened a smidge higher, as investors look eager to shrug off US trade drama. It’s perhaps a signal that markets have moved on from reacting to every new development,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

Although it’s too early to dismiss Trump’s trade war as noise, UK markets have certainly taken recent developments in their stride and found positive stories closer to home. Even US markets are taking less and less notice of Trump’s trade policies.

While the need to increase defence spending shouldn’t be seen as a positive, investors in defence stocks are feeling the benefits of the UK’s plans to boost defence spending. Babcock was back at the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard as optimism around the defence contractor built amid the plans to bolster our submarine fleet. Babcock shares are now 110% higher in 2025.

A strong showing from miners Antofagasta and Glencore helped support the index, which was surprising given deteriorating Chinese data and further headlines about a US/China trade deal.

“All eyes are on China given it is currently the biggest loser from Trump’s new trade policy, and it looks like we’re still some way off from a deal between the two countries, AJ Bell’s Russ Mould explained.

“Trump made comments on social media that imply China’s President Xi Jinping is a tough cookie with regards to making a deal. A potential stalemate situation means uncertainty prevails on the markets and asset prices remain volatile.”

The stalemate Mould mentions is, of course, a concern, but traders are preferring to sit back and hope the ‘TACO’ trade continues.

There is a risk of complacency creeping into markets with the very real threat of an economic slowdown due to Trump’s tariffs not going away. For now, at least, traders are happy to digest data as it’s released.