London midday: FTSE stays up as BT Group, AstraZeneca rally

30th Oct 2026 10:46

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still in the black by midday on Friday despite disappointing earnings from Amazon and Intel overnight, led higher by strong performances from BT Group and AstraZeneca, as investors mulled the latest UK house price data.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 10,753.02, shrugging off an after-hours plunge in Amazon and Intel shares thanks to its minimal exposure to the tech sector.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The FTSE 100's lack of tech exposure has proved to be a blessing in disguise.

"Companies seen as victims of AI disruption in the software and data space, including Sage and Relx made progress, to outweigh a weak showing from miners and London's limited contingent of tech and AI-related plays. Miners are linked to the AI theme as copper is a key component for data centres."

On home shores, figures from Nationwide showed that house price growth was the slowest in October since 2024.

House prices rose 0.5% on the year, down from 0.8% growth in September. On the month, there was no change in October following a 0.3% decline the month before. The average price of a house stood at £273,566 this month, down from £274,251 in September.

Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner said October's annual house price growth marked the weakest since January 2024.

"Market activity and house price growth have slowed in recent months, in part reflecting the uncertain economic backdrop," he said. "Geopolitical tensions remain high, with the conflict in the Middle East exerting upward pressure on energy prices, fanning inflation concerns.

"This in turn has led to mounting financial market expectations of Bank Rate increases, which have maintained upward pressure on the market interest rates which underpin mortgage pricing."

In equity markets, BT Group surged following a Financial Times report that Virgin Media O2 is closing in on a deal to use its fibre broadband network.

AstraZeneca was also a high riser as it posted a 7% jump in total revenue for the first nine months, with double-digit growth in oncology, R&I and rare disease offsetting headwinds from loss of exclusivity for Farxiga and Brilinta. It also announced a $1.5bn savings plan.

On the downside, NatWest slumped as it reported attributable profit of £1.5bn for the third quarter, down from £1.6bn a year earlier, while return on tangible equity slipped to 21.6% from 22.3% and earnings per share fell to 19.3p from 19.8p.

BP reversed earlier losses to trade a touch lower despite posting a surge in third-quarter profit and a reduction in net debt amid rising refining margins.

Third-quarter underlying replacement cost profit - BP's core measure of income - rose to $8.46bn from $2.21bn in the same period a year earlier, beating expectations of $7.33bn. The oil giant said the jump is due mainly to significantly higher realised refining margins and a significantly higher gas and marketing trading result.

Airtel Africa slid despite reporting a rise in half-year revenue and profit.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,753.02 0.29%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,520.44 -0.62%

techMARK (TASX) 6,284.23 0.26%

FTSE 100 - Risers

BT Group (BT.A) 227.20p 6.57%

AstraZeneca (AZN) 13,648.00p 4.77%

Relx plc (REL) 3,031.00p 3.81%

Experian (EXPN) 3,032.00p 3.34%

WPP (WPP) 417.00p 2.99%

Diageo (DGE) 1,749.50p 2.70%

Unilever (ULVR) 4,905.50p 2.65%

Prudential (PRU) 928.40p 2.63%

GSK (GSK) 1,858.00p 2.62%

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 8,480.00p 2.61%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 585.80p -7.63%

Airtel Africa (AAF) 262.00p -5.42%

Fresnillo (FRES) 2,258.00p -4.45%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,139.00p -4.12%

Computacenter (CCC) 5,070.00p -3.52%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,233.20p -3.50%

Anglo American (AAL) 3,759.00p -2.94%

Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 95.32p -2.89%

Barclays (BARC) 419.20p -2.74%

Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,504.00p -2.72%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Rightmove (RMV) 522.40p 2.27%

Vistry Group (VTY) 264.00p 1.93%

Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 1,066.00p 1.71%

Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (FGT) 854.00p 1.67%

Travis Perkins (TPK) 616.00p 1.65%

B&M European Value Retail (BME) 275.60p 1.62%

Frasers Group (FRAS) 901.00p 1.58%

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 2.28p 1.51%

Cranswick (CWK) 5,370.00p 1.51%

Big Yellow Group (BYG) 938.00p 1.46%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 252.60p -8.18%

Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 283.00p -6.67%

Pan African Resources (PAF) 105.60p -5.30%

Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) 177.00p -5.25%

XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,720.00p -5.18%

Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 600.50p -4.68%

Fidelity Emerging Markets Limited Ptg NPV (FEML) 1,270.00p -4.37%

Amaroq Ltd. Npv (DI) (AMRQ) 98.90p -4.17%

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 558.25p -4.12%

Pacific Horizon Inv Trust (PHI) 968.00p -3.78%