London open: FTSE flat amid bond selloff; Trump-Xi meeting eyed

24th Sep 2026 08:15

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were steady in early trade on Thursday following a downbeat close on Wall Street and a selloff in bond markets, as investors eyed a meeting between US President Trump and China's Xi Jinping.

At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was flat at 10,706.57, while Brent crude was up 0.1% at $103.22 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was unchanged at $92.21.

Sentiment took a hit after stocks on Wall Street fell sharply amid a selloff in the bond market, as a survey showed that US business activity unexpectedly rose to a five-year high in September, lifting rate hike bets. S&P Global's flash US Composite PMI output index rose to 58.4 from 56.0 in August. This marked the highest reading since July 2021.

Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill Group said: "Global bonds remain under pressure as stronger US economic data and weak demand at a five-year Treasury auction forced another reset higher in yields. The US 10-year yield traded around 5.11% in Asia after rising 15 bps on Wednesday, its largest one-day increase since the tariff-driven market shock in April 2025.

"The move has quickly reaffirmed that, despite the optimism around lower oil prices and US-China diplomacy, the long end of the US rates curve remains the dominant cross-asset variable."

On Wednesday evening, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US and China had agreed to extend their trade truce by two months, as Xi Jinping arrived in Washington for a summit with Donald Trump. The truce had been due to expire on 10 November.

Munnelly said: "The US-China truce extension reduces near-term tail risk, but it does not remove strategic uncertainty. Investors will want to see whether the two sides can make tangible progress on tariffs, semiconductor restrictions and AI governance, rather than simply deferring escalation.

"That distinction matters for Asia's export-sensitive markets and global technology supply chains. A truce extension helps, but a credible roadmap would help far more."

In equity markets, Halma gained as the safety equipment and life-saving tech specialist boosted its full-year targets following a robust first half.

Updating on trading, the blue chip said it had made "strong progress" and broad-based growth despite economic, geopolitical and market uncertainty. As a result, it reiterated guidance for low double-digit percentage organic revenue growth on a constant currency basis, and boosted margin targets.

It now expects the adjusted earnings before interest and tax margin to be around 23.5% to 24%, up for previous full-year guidance for 22.7%.

Raspberry Pi surged to the top of the FTSE 250 as it hailed a record first-half performance.

On the downside, housebuilder Vistry tumbled as it unveiled heavy interim losses and trimmed its full-year profit guidance, as it launched a major overhaul of the business.

AO World was also under the cosh even as the online electricals retailer backed its full-year expectations and said it continued to perform strongly between 1 April and 30 September, with year-on-year revenue expected to be up 5.5% and pre-tax profit set to be more than 20% higher at around £21.5m.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,706.57 0.01%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,285.59 -0.31%

techMARK (TASX) 6,147.59 -0.05%

FTSE 100 - Risers

British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,287.00p 2.31%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 75.56p 1.94%

Bunzl (BNZL) 2,686.00p 1.28%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,764.00p 1.23%

Diageo (DGE) 1,638.00p 1.20%

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,430.00p 1.05%

BP (BP.) 563.40p 1.02%

Anglo American (AAL) 4,051.00p 0.99%

Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,489.00p 0.97%

Halma (HLMA) 3,604.00p 0.89%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Standard Life (SDLF) 885.50p -4.32%

Kingfisher (KGF) 329.40p -2.71%

United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,377.00p -2.06%

St James's Place (STJ) 1,082.50p -1.37%

Autotrader Group (AUTO) 460.80p -1.22%

ICG (ICG) 1,876.00p -1.21%

Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,556.50p -1.05%

Babcock International Group (BAB) 984.40p -1.02%

Computacenter (CCC) 5,420.00p -1.00%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,487.20p -0.95%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 764.75p 19.40%

Schroder Asian Total Return Investment Company (ATR) 746.00p 3.32%

Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 317.00p 2.46%

W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 96.30p 1.80%

Foresight Environmental Infrastructure Limited (FGEN) 89.40p 1.59%

Renishaw (RSW) 5,615.00p 1.44%

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,613.00p 1.38%

Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,360.00p 1.02%

Supermarket Income Reit (SUPR) 84.65p 0.95%

Harbour Energy (HBR) 276.60p 0.95%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

AO World (AO.) 85.50p -7.53%

Vistry Group (VTY) 249.00p -6.87%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 411.20p -5.34%

CVS Group (CVSG) 1,236.00p -4.22%

Schroder Asia Pacific Fund (SDP) 837.00p -2.67%

Pan African Resources (PAF) 125.60p -2.63%

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 2.09p -2.33%

Pollen Street Group Limited (POLN) 896.00p -2.18%

Drax Group (DRX) 803.50p -2.07%

Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited NPV (CORD) 122.50p -2.00%