London open: Stocks gain but B&M tanks after another profit warning

20th Oct 2025 08:24

(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Monday as worries about the trade spat between the US and China eased, but B&M tanked after another profit warning.

At 0845 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.5% at 9,399.87, having fallen sharply on Friday amid worries about US regional banks.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "As we start a new week, early indications suggest that risk sentiment is picking up.

"Reports at the weekend suggest that President Trump will ease some of his reciprocal tariffs for dozens of products that cannot be easily made in the US. There is also hope that hundreds more products could be added to the list.

"This watering down of Trump's tarrif threats could be good for overall risk sentiment as we start a new week, and highlights the game being played between financial markets and the President: markets take what Trump says literally, risky assets swoon, the President backtracks and then stocks come back.

"This is another sign that trade developments can move in both directions, and it also suggests that President Trump would rather his policies do not interrupt the US stock market rally."

Investors were mulling a slew of Chinese data releases, which showed that GDP and retail sales growth both slowed to their lowest rates in a year, while fixed-asset investment unexpectedly fell.

On home shores, data released by Rightmove showed the housing market faltered in October as prices softened ahead of the Budget

Average house prices rose just 0.3%, well below the ten-year average for October of 1.1%. Year-on-year, prices dipped 0.1%.

The national average asking price now stands at £371,422.

Autumn traditionally benefits from a spike in demand as the market bounces back from the quieter summer months.

However, after years of constrained supply, the amount of property for sale has rocketed in recent months to a ten-year high, weighing on prices. Some movers are also increasingly cautious about committing to sales ahead of next month's Budget.

Rightmove's Colleen Babcock said: "Despite the overall resilience of the 2025 housing market, we've not got enough pent-up momentum or recent positive sentiment to spur the autumn bounce in property prices.

"Sellers who are serious about selling have had to acknowledge their limited pricing power and moderate their price expectations.

"In addition, speculation that the Budget may increase the cost of buying or owning a property at the higher end of the market has given some movers, particularly in the south of England, a reason to wait and see what's announced."

The number of new buyers contacting estate agents about homes for sale, and the number of new sellers coming to market were both down 5% in the full month of September, Rightmove noted.

However, in the year-to-date the market appeared more resilient. Agreed sales are 5% higher year-on-year, while new buyer demand is up 2% and new sellers 5%.

In equity markets, defence firms were on the front foot, with Babcock, Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems among the top performers on the FTSE 100.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said defence stocks were resuming "their bullish trend as the situation in Gaza remains on tenterhooks".

Banks and asset managers were also in the black, recovering from heavy losses on Friday, with Standard Chartered, St James' Place, Prudential and HSBC all up.

On the downside, B&M European Value Retail tumbled as it announced the departure of its finance chief after it discovered £7m of freight costs had not been correctly recognised, hitting profits and causing it to cut its full-year outlook.

The bargain chain said Mike Schmidt would stay with the business while it searches for his successor, to ensure an orderly transition.

Marks & Spencer fell after RBC Capital Markets downgraded the shares to 'sector perform' from 'outperform'.

"M&S should be well positioned, given its strength in premium food and it has been fighting to win back customers in fashion," the bank said. "However it remains a UK consumer proxy, we think execution risk is higher post recent cyber disruption, and we think valuation upside is less than for some other retailers."

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,399.87 0.48%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,890.24 0.49%

techMARK (TASX) 5,515.35 0.26%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,175.00p 2.80%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,406.00p 2.07%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,125.00p 1.99%

St James's Place (STJ) 1,328.50p 1.92%

Prudential (PRU) 1,009.00p 1.78%

HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 979.60p 1.59%

BAE Systems (BA.) 1,860.00p 1.56%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 397.10p 1.51%

Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 42.22p 1.50%

Informa (INF) 930.00p 1.40%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Tesco (TSCO) 435.50p -1.49%

Fresnillo (FRES) 2,318.00p -1.45%

Pearson (PSON) 1,105.00p -1.30%

Mondi (MNDI) 816.80p -1.04%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 397.90p -1.02%

ICG (ICG) 1,910.00p -0.98%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 335.20p -0.83%

Rentokil Initial (RTO) 396.50p -0.80%

United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,186.00p -0.79%

Persimmon (PSN) 1,165.00p -0.72%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 187.30p 5.34%

Inchcape (INCH) 716.00p 2.80%

Investec (INVP) 569.50p 2.71%

QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 474.00p 2.69%

Harbour Energy (HBR) 197.90p 2.49%

Senior (SNR) 189.60p 2.16%

IP Group (IPO) 56.90p 2.15%

Hill and Smith (HILS) 2,100.00p 1.94%

International Personal Finance (IPF) 211.00p 1.93%

JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 708.00p 1.87%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 190.65p -12.18%

Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 766.00p -2.30%

SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 56.60p -2.25%

Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 575.00p -2.21%

PayPoint (PAY) 716.00p -2.19%

VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 467.00p -2.10%

Anglo-Eastern Plantations (AEP) 1,265.00p -1.56%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 416.20p -1.47%

Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 243.50p -1.42%

Travis Perkins (TPK) 599.50p -0.91%