FTSE 100 Live: London stocks flat as Wall Street lurches into the red

• FTSE 100 up 28 points at 10,600
• Burberry sinks 5.4%
• Tech stocks continue to sell off
• Brent crude eyes $85/bbl

5.15pm: In the green

London stocks finished Friday’s session higher, adding 28 points at 10,600. Meanwhile, US stocks were on track for a negative week as investors turned away from tech stocks.

“Major US indices are heading for a weekly loss as the broad technology sell-off gathered pace, with stretched AI valuations and concerns over future spending dragging chipmakers lower, while SpaceX's slide below its IPO price underscored the market's waning appetite for high-growth names,” IG chief technical analyst Axel Rudolph said.

“US data was mixed with unexpectedly rising import prices, housing starts soaring to their highest level in three months and US industrial output growth coming in slightly weaker than expected while consumer sentiment topped forecasts."

3.10pm: Wall Street lurches lower

The FTSE 100 held onto modest gains on Friday, standing apart from a heavy session on Wall Street.

US stocks fell, leaving the major indices on course for weekly losses as the semiconductor sell-off deepened.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1%, the S&P 500 fell around 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite shed about 1.6%.

The PHLX Semiconductor Index tumbled more than 3%, entering a bear market, after Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 4%.

The tech-led rally from March lows has stalled as investors question the scale of corporate spending on artificial intelligence.

Adding to the jitters, China's Moonshot unveiled Kimi K3, an open model it says is the world's largest.

Netflix dropped 12% in early trading after third-quarter revenue guidance fell short, with the streaming group citing a "dynamic and competitive" entertainment landscape.

1.30pm: level-par

The FTSE 100 was treading water on Friday as London shrugged off a fresh bout of selling in US technology stocks.

Wall Street looks set to end the day in the red, with futures pointing lower and the major US indices on course for weekly losses as the semiconductor sell-off rolled on.

Dow Jones futures slipped 0.6% and S&P 500 contracts dropped around 0.8%.

Nasdaq-100 futures were the weakest, down about 1.6%, after a soft session on Wall Street and the launch of the world's most powerful open AI model by China's Moonshot.

Netflix shed more than 10% in premarket trading after third-quarter revenue guidance fell short, with the streaming group pointing to a "dynamic and competitive" entertainment landscape.

The tech-led rally from March lows has stalled as investors question the scale of corporate spending on artificial intelligence.

The PHLX Semiconductor Index tumbled over 4% on Thursday, and Japan's Nikkei 225 followed with a 4% fall.

Truist Financial and Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) close out the week's earnings, alongside the University of Michigan consumer sentiment reading.

12.12pm: Listless drift

A listless session has seen London stocks fall marginally deeper into the red, with the top stocks index down 19 points at 10,553.

Elsewhere, Panmure Liberum has upgraded Dunelm to 'hold' from 'sell' and nudged its target price up to 820p from 810p, saying the homewares retailer's fourth quarter brought relief that trading did not deteriorate further.

The broker described the outcome as respectable given challenging conditions and adverse weather, though it remains cautious about calling the turn after weaker news flow through the second and third quarters.

Fourth-quarter sales rose 2.9% to £428 million, an improvement on the weaker third-quarter exit rate, when Panmure Liberum estimates sales were declining by around 1% following a broad-based softening in March.

Growth was achieved despite two weeks of exceptionally warm weather reducing store footfall.

10.30am: FTSE 100 capitulates

The FTSE 100 has dipped into the red as the morning progresses and is now 4 points lower at 10,567.79, with early signs of a poor start to the day for US stocks.

Wall Street futures are pointing to a 2% decline for the Nasdaq when trading gets underway in a few hours' time, while those for the S&P 500 are down 1% and Dow Jones futures are 0.7% lower. 

"The market is ending the week with two bruises: AI fatigue and Hormuz heat," commented Tickmill Group's Patrick Munnelly. "The semiconductor selloff has gone from profit-taking to position-clearing, dragging Asia toward its worst levels in months, while Brent’s rebound toward $85/bbl keeps the inflation-risk premium alive."

Munnelly noted that soft US CPI and PPI data this week were enough to cool expectations for interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, but not enough to boost sentiment.

"The message from markets is blunt: rate expectations have softened, but risk appetite has not been rescued," he added.

9.45am: Footsie loses ground

Mid-morning, the FTSE 100 has given up most of its early gains and is now just 10 points higher at 10,581.88. Still, it's faring better than its European counterparts, with Frankfurt's DAX down 0.7% and the Paris CAC 40 shedding 0.8%.

"The FTSE 100 managed to shake off a big sell-off in Asian markets to trade modestly higher on Friday morning,” said AJ Bell's Russ Mould. “The index’s contingent of defensive utilities and tobacco stocks, as well as its big energy names, helped it advance when many of its global counterparts are stuck in the mud."

A better indicator of the local market may be the FTSE 250, which is 0.6% weaker at 23,582.45.

“With sentiment brittle, investors are becoming increasingly wary of valuations in the AI and technology sector – most notably in the memory chip space, where share prices have surged to unprecedented levels this year," Mould added. “This is particularly evident in Asian markets, which have also had to absorb weak Chinese growth figures this week and which are particularly exposed to disruptions to global energy supply.”

9.15am: No semis to worry about 

The FTSE 100 continues to trade higher, with "no semis to worry about," according to Neil Wilson at Saxo Markets. London's blue chip index is now up 38 points at 10,610.45.

Elsewhere, the picture is not as pretty. 

"We're seeing a bit of a shakeout in markets led by semiconductor stocks," Wilson noted. "Asia took the cue from a sharp fall on Wall Street, with the Nikkei 225 down 4%, while the Kospi would have been rattled had it not been for a holiday."

The S&P 500 fell 0.5% on Thursday, after a slide in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (ADR) (NYSE:TSM) following its latest earnings weighed on the chip sector. Semis led the Nasdaq Composite down 1.5%, while the Nasdaq-100 broke down further below its 50-day moving average and fell below recent horizontal support under 29k. TSMC slumped 7% in Taiwan. 

Vodafone is lending its weight to the Footsie this morning, now up 3.7%, while Severn Trent PLC (LSE:SVT) has picked up 3%.

Tech investors Polar Capital Technology Trust and Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust are still amongst the biggest losers, down 3.7% and 3.3% respectively.

Burberry has overtaken them, though, sagging 5.4%, as "investors weighed steady but unspectacular progress in the group’s turnaround," according to etoro market analyst Adam Vettese.

"The market had hoped for clearer evidence of accelerating momentum or more bullish commentary on the outlook," Vettese added. "With store traffic remaining challenging and the macro environment still uncertain, the update was viewed as in-line rather than a catalyst for upgrades."

8.15am: Positive start for the Footsie 

The FTSE 100 has shrugged off a global sell-off tech and AI-related stocks, rising 16 points to 10,588.36 in the first 15 minutes of trading. 

Cigarette-makers British American Tobacco PLC (LSE:BATS) and Imperial Brands PLC (LSE:IMB) led the charge, gaining 3.1% and 1.8% respectively. Information and analytics group RELX PLC (LSE:REL) rose 1.4%, while Vodafone Group PLC (LSE:VOD) and drinks group Diageo PLC (LSE:DGE) both added 1.2%.

On the loser board, Polar Capital Technology Trust PLC (LSE:PCT) and Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC (LSE:SMT) bore the brunt of the shift out of technology stocks, sinking 3.3% and 2.5% respectively. Antofagasta PLC (LSE:ANTO) shed 2.5% and St James's Place PLC (LSE:STJ) was down 2.1%. 

Burberry Group PLC (LSE:BRBY) also lost 2.1% in early dealings despite reporting what brokers described as positive results.  

8am: Cheaper and faster

Nearly 12 million people and businesses used Wise to move money across borders last quarter - and they paid less for it than ever before.

The global payments company posted first-quarter net revenue of $714 million, up 25% on last year, with cross-border volume jumping 26% to $69.3 billion. Active customers rose 21% to 11.9 million, while customer holdings grew 31% to $41.2 billion - a sign that people are increasingly trusting Wise for their everyday finances rather than just the occasional transfer.

The average fee dropped to just 0.50%, the lowest in Wise's history, and 77% of transactions now arrive instantly, up from 70% a year ago. The company also expanded into Chile during the quarter.

CEO Kristo Käärmann said Wise is building "the network for the world's money." Full-year guidance was reiterated, with revenue growth expected around the middle of its 15%-20% target range and margins near the top of the 20%-25% range.

7.55am: Good news for Smiths

Smiths News has had a very good few weeks. Hot on the heels of landing contracts with News UK and Associated Newspapers in June, the distribution company has now secured long-term deals with Frontline and Seymour Distribution - the UK's two biggest magazine distributors - locking in business through to April 2037.

The new contracts kick in from April 2030 and are expected to add around £105 million in annual revenue across expanded territories across Great Britain. Together, Frontline and Seymour account for more than 60% of the UK magazine market, so this is a significant vote of confidence in both Smiths News and the printed magazine category itself.

CEO Jonathan Bunting said the four contract wins combined give the company a solid long-term foundation across newspapers and magazines. More detail on the financial impact is expected when the company reports its preliminary results in November.

7.40am: Burberry back in vogue

Burberry is back in fashion - literally. The British luxury house has posted its best quarter in three years, with retail revenue climbing 5% to £455 million in the 13 weeks to 27 June, and growth across every single product category for the first time since 2023.

Outerwear led the way with double-digit growth, a "Portraits of an Icon" campaign brought in nearly a fifth more rainwear customers, and Gen Z shoppers are turning up in growing numbers. E-commerce also had a strong quarter, up by a mid-teens percentage.

The Americas were the standout region, up 12%, with Greater China close behind at 9%. Europe was softer, weighed down by Middle East tensions and fewer tourists.

CEO Joshua Schulman called it proof that the Burberry Forward strategy is working. The company is sticking to its full-year guidance of revenue growth and margin expansion — and for once, the momentum appears to be genuinely back.

FTSE 100 Live pre-open

London looks set to open lower on Friday as a global technology sell-off combines with renewed geopolitical tensions to sour investor sentiment heading into the weekend.

Futures traders have the FTSE 100 called around 26 points lower, reversing part of yesterday's 56-point gain to 10,572. The blue-chip index was supported in Thursday's session by stocks with limited AI exposure, but the broader mood has darkened overnight.

Wall Street ended lower as investors stepped back from the AI trade despite another round of solid corporate earnings. Semiconductor stocks bore the brunt of the selling, dragging the Nasdaq down 1.5%. The S&P 500 lost 0.5%, while the Dow Jones proved more resilient, slipping just 0.2%.

Adding to the unease, renewed tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices higher, raising fresh concerns about inflation and corporate earnings. Brent crude rose close to 1% to $84.96 a barrel, with traffic through the Strait of Hormuz reported to have fallen to wartime levels.

Swissquote's Ipek Ozkardeskaya warned that "the technology selloff is not the only reason markets are in a sour mood. Developments in the Middle East are getting worse by the hour. There is no easy resolution in sight, and the weekend could bring further escalation. All of that spells trouble."

Asian markets reflected the risk-off tone. Tokyo's Nikkei slumped 4.7%, Shanghai's SSE Composite fell 1.6% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 2%. Seoul's Kospi, which lost 6.4% yesterday, is closed today for a public holiday. Sydney's ASX 200 closed 0.5% lower.