- FTSE 100 drops three points
- Retail footfall down in December
- Oil, gold remain on front foot
9.55am: Airlines stocks face pressure on oil strength
Airline stocks came under pressure on Friday ongoing strength for oil prices raised the prospect of higher fuel prices ahead.
easyJet PLC led the FTSE 100’s fallers come mid-morning, having fallen by 1.8%, while British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG) slipped 1.1%.
Wizz Air Holdings PLC (AIM:WIZZ) and Ryanair Holdings PLC (LSE:RYA) also fell, despite both reporting an increase in passenger numbers through December earlier in the day.
Declines followed an increase in the price of benchmark Brent crude to a peak of US$76.54 a barrel on Thursday, which equated to a two-month high.
Oil eased back on Friday morning to US$75.57, but remained well above the US$70.97 mark seen in early December.
AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould noted airlines had enjoyed easing cost pressures in 2024 as oil prices receded.
“However, with oil creeping higher in the first knockings of 2025, fuel costs could still return as a meaningful headwind for the industry,” he said.
9.41am: Mortgage approvals drop faster than expected
The number of mortgages approved for new house purchases declined by more than expected in November, Bank of England figures showed on Friday.
Net mortgage approvals fell to 65,700, missing estimates for 68,500 and against October’s 68,300.
Net borrowing of mortgage debt declined by £1.0 billion to £2.5 billion month on month in the meantime, while gross lending climbed from £20.3 billion to £20.7 billion.
Mortgage approvals remained above the previous year’s average of 60,400 though, while the effective interest rate on newly drawn mortgages hit its lowest since April at 4.5%.
9.06am: Downbeat mood sweeps across London
Stocks across London headed lower on Friday in a slight reverse on Thursday’s rally.
The FTSE 100 remained off the mark, down 0.12% at 8,249, while the wider-spanning FTSE 350 headed 0.14% lower to 4,545.
London’s junior market fared little better, with the AIM 100 dropping 0.08% and the AIM-All Share slipping 0.07%.
“Stocks are struggling for a sense of direction in early trade in London, with the New Year rally losing steam,” Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter commented.
8.52am: Wizz Air, Ryanair grow passenger numbers
Low-cost carriers Ryanair Holdings PLC (LSE:RYA) and Wizz Air Holdings PLC (AIM:WIZZ) recorded stronger passenger figures in December as travellers headed on festive trips.
Irish airline Ryanair reported Friday that passenger numbers ticked by 8% to 13.6 million over the month and that load factors improved from 91% to 92%.
European rival Wizz noted in the meantime that it carried 5.06 million people in the meantime, marking a 1.9% increase year on year… Read more
This was despite a 3.1% decline in its seat capacity but as load factors improved from 82.1% to 86.5%.
Shares in both fell on Friday, alongside peer easyJet PLC, coinciding with ongoing strength for oil prices.
8.32am: Bars enjoy boost in run-up to Christmas
Bars enjoyed a surge in trading in the run-up to Christmas as festive parties helped provide a much-needed boost for the pressured sector.
According to CGA by NIQ’s Hospitality Business Tracker, cited by Propel, sales grew by 20.5% across Britain’s managed bars year on year over the week from December 16.
“This will be a welcome boost for the beleaguered sector, which has spent most of the past year in decline,” CGA by NIQ said.
“It is also a welcome reminder that although spending may be currently restrained, there is still remarkable consumer desire to make the most of special occasions.”
Bars saw the strongest growth across Britain’s hospitality sector over the key pre-Christmas week as a result, as overall sales ticked up by 2.7%.
Food-led operators also enjoyed stronger sales, with growth among on-the-go traders up 3.4% against a year earlier and climbing by 2.1% at restaurants.
Pubs faced muted growth in the meantime of 0.7% year on year.
This meant sales growth outdid inflation, after six of the previous 11 months saw figures fail to keep up with price rises.
8.05am: Stocks open on back foot
London’s blue chips failed to hold on to Thursday’s strong gains as trading got underway on Friday.
The FTSE 100 dropped nine points to sit at 8,250 at the open.
Entain PLC (LSE:ENT) led the early fallers with a 0.8% drop, followed by the likes of BAE Systems PLC (LSE:BA.) and HSBC Holdings PLC (LSE:HSBA).
Unite Group PLC headed the risers in the meantime, up 0.5%, ahead of Vodafone Group PLC (LSE:VOD) and Fresnillo PLC (LSE:FRES), which had been buoyed by optimism around gold on Thursday.
Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL) and BP PLC (LSE:BP.) were also among early gainers, in line with ongoing strength for oil.
7.53am: Oil holds near two-month high
Oil largely held onto gains on Friday morning after having hit a two-month high on Thursday.
Benchmark Brent crude was trading at US$75.89 a barrel early on, which was off Thursday’s peak of US$76.54 but in line with levels last seen in late October.
Thursday’s rise had lifted shares in FTSE 100 heavyweights BP PLC (LSE:BP.) and Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL), aiding the index to an 87-point gain over the first trading day of the year.
IG Index analysts noted oil had been buoyed by confidence in Chinese president Xi Jinping’s New Year address around the world’s second-largest economy.
Figures on Thursday also showed a drop in US crude oil stocks by 1.178 million barrels.
7.32am: Retailers see poor December to cap off disappointing Golden Quarter
Retailers’ hopes for a Christmas-fueled revival were never met as footfall fell in December to cap off a poor Golden Quarter and tough year as a whole, figures on Friday showed.
According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), footfall in UK shops declined by 2.2% year on year last month.
Though this marked an improvement from the 4.5% drop seen in November, a further fall meant footfall was down by 2.5% over the Golden Quarter in the three months to December.
High street footfall decreased by 2.7% in December, while shopping centre’s faced a 3.3% drop as shopper numbers across retail parks remained flat year on year.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson noted “a drab December” had capped off a “disappointing year” in which retail footfall dropped by 2.2% against 2023.
Footfall across UK shops had fallen for two consecutive years as a result, she pointed out.
“High streets and shopping centres were hit particularly hard throughout the year as people veered towards retail parks to take advantage of free parking and the variety of larger stores,” Dickinson added.
“Shopping habits have been changing fast and customers are increasingly looking for more experiential shopping, as well as a variety of cafes, services and things to do.
“Unfortunately, investment in town centres and high streets is held back by our outdated business rates system, which penalises town and city centres.”
7.13am: Stocks to climb further
Futures pointed to another positive start for London’s blue chips on Friday as the FTSE 100 was seen adding 11 points to reach 8,251.
The FTSE 100 had rallied by 87 points on Thursday to mark a strong start to the new year’s trading, while Endeavour Mining PLC (LSE:EDV, TSX:EDV, OTCQX:EDVMF) and Fresnillo PLC (LSE:FRES) led gains.
Both had benefited from continued optimism around gold prices heading into 2025, with the precious metal trading up 0.85% at US$2,657 an ounce on Monday.
Elsewhere, Asian markets were mixed overnight as South Korea’s Kospi racked up the biggest gain of 1.8%, while China’s Shenzhen was the largest faller, down 1.9%.