London midday: FTSE edges lower as investors digest inflation figures
19th Aug 2026 11:14
(Sharecast News) - London stocks had dipped into the red by midday on Wednesday after a steady start, as investors mulled the latest UK inflation figures.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 10,706.36.
Data released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that inflation rose as expected in July, pushed up in part by higher gas prices. Consumer price inflation increased to 2.9% from 2.6% in June, in line with economists' expectations.
Housing and household services, and furniture made the largest upward contributions to the monthly change, while transport made the largest, partially offsetting, downward contribution.
Within housing and household services, gas prices rose 14.7% in July, having fallen 7.2% a year earlier. The ONS explained that the jump in prices came mainly from higher standard variable tariffs, after Ofgem changed the energy price cap.
The energy regulator estimated that for an average household paying by direct debit for dual fuel, this equated to an annual bill of £1,862, up £221.
Core inflation - which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco - was 2.6% in the 12 months to July, unchanged from June and versus expectations for a small decline to 2.5%.
ONS deputy director for prices Mike Hardie said: "Inflation rose in July, driven by a sharp increase in gas prices following this month's change to the energy price cap. This was the largest rise in gas prices for almost four years.
"Other upward pressures included furniture prices falling by less than usual for this time of year, and also a smaller fall for clothing prices due to reduced discounting.
"The prices of raw materials and goods leaving factories slowed again, driven by a drop in the prices of crude oil and refined petroleum respectively."
Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill Group said the inflation report should not shift the Bank of England from its current steady stance. "The labour market remains softish in the background, which is weighing on private-sector wage growth, and there is no evidence of second-round effects from the energy-price increase," he said.
"Inflation is likely to rise further over the next few months, but the profile should turn lower again around October. That path should keep most rate setters comfortable with an extended hold, especially as the rise in market rates has already tightened financial conditions."
In equity markets, medical technology firm Smith & Nephew slumped as it said that chief financial officer John Rogers will be stepping down on 30 September, to take up an external position in the US. Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said Rogers was "seen as someone largely responsible for the group's margin improvement".
Trainline tumbled after the Competition and Markets Authority opened a formal investigation into the online ticketing group over concerns that customers were not being shown full prices upfront.
Rio Tinto was among the gainers following a Bloomberg report it's in talks about a potential $600m investment in McEwen Copper, which owns the Los Azules project in Argentina.
Oxford Nanopore Technologies shot higher as it announced a new 2030 revenue target of more than $700m and reported a narrowing of its interim losses as revenue ticked higher, driven by strong adoption in EMEAI and across Applied end markets.
Ithaca Energy jumped as it upgraded its 2026 dividend guidance and hailed another "strong" quarter and first-half performance.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,706.36 -0.20%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,481.82 -0.32%
techMARK (TASX) 6,147.50 -0.35%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Weir (WEIR) 2,610.00p 1.01%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 428.80p 0.87%
BP (BP.) 537.30p 0.81%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 332.60p 0.76%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,920.00p 0.67%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 11,874.00p 0.59%
Tesco (TSCO) 448.30p 0.58%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 7,160.00p 0.58%
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,875.00p 0.45%
BT Group (BT.A) 202.50p 0.40%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,065.50p -4.01%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 1,344.00p -3.17%
Entain (ENT) 535.60p -2.62%
M&G (MNG) 347.60p -1.86%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,137.50p -1.64%
Spirax Group (SPX) 6,900.00p -1.57%
Aviva (AV.) 725.60p -1.47%
Halma (HLMA) 3,520.00p -1.40%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,779.00p -1.39%
Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 310.80p -1.24%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 130.20p 7.20%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 261.70p 4.01%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,220.00p 3.12%
AEP Plantations (AEP) 191.60p 2.79%
Pan African Resources (PAF) 112.40p 2.27%
Energean (ENOG) 755.50p 2.03%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 257.40p 1.90%
Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 1,074.00p 1.90%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 421.60p 1.73%
VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 436.50p 1.39%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Trainline (TRN) 204.00p -15.80%
Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 581.00p -4.99%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 240.80p -3.92%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 33.44p -2.45%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 273.80p -2.28%
Vistry Group (VTY) 266.20p -2.28%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 622.00p -2.12%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 416.60p -1.88%
GB Group (GBG) 159.60p -1.85%
JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 814.00p -1.81%