08:42 — FTSE 100 starts Thursday on the front-foot but attention is on looming Big AI IPOs
London's blue-chip index began Thursday's session around 52 points, or 0.51%, higher, marked at 10,308, though traders are keeping an eye stateside - and not just for tonight's World Cup kick off.
Big Tech, and in particular the impending Big AI IPOs, are the ever-present theme that steers macro sentiments, well, that and the American-led geopolitics that continue to dominate the global headlines.
With historically huge IPOs now looming, market watchers are reckoning on a broad cash carving across portfolios, as investors get the funds together to follow Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Dario Amodei into the AI revolution, now as shareholders as well as being users and subscribers.
Richard Hunter, market analyst at ii, notes that London equities are largely shielded from the worst of the pre-IPO portfolio purge, because the Square Mile's "lack of tech exposure", but not a broader global shift to "risk off".
"The AI trade continues to pose more questions than answers, sending US and in turn Asian markets lower as investors mull the next steps," Hunter said in a note.
"At best, investors could simply be repositioning and raising funds in advance of the hugely anticipated IPOs for SpaceX, Anthropic and Open AI. It has already been reported that SpaceX has seen investor demand of $250 billion and these funds need to come from somewhere."
He added: "Another possibility is that some air is being let out of the tyres after what has been a stellar run for tech and chip stocks in particular."
08:01 — Wizz Air, Halma, RWS and Concurrent Tech write Thursday's early City headlines
Breaking down Thursday's early headlines in London, there was a mix of corporate news spans sectors from low-cost aviation to defence electronics, language services, and biotech, with Wizz Air (LSE:WIZZ) dominating the macro conversation after posting a near-wipeout of annual profit and declining to give full-year guidance, while Concurrent Technologies (LSE:CNC) landed its largest-ever contract win and Halma (LSE:HLMA) set out ambitious organic growth targets on the back of record results.
Funding rounds, asset disposals, and clinical data updates round out a substantive pre-open agenda.
Wizz Air Holdings (LSE:WIZZ) reported a net profit of just €1.3 million for the full year, a near-total collapse in bottom-line earnings, as the low-cost carrier cited the weight of geopolitical uncertainty on its ability to forecast. The group expects significant capacity growth in the first half of its F27 financial year but said visibility beyond that point is too to commit to guidance. Read the story →
Halma (LSE:HLMA) set a target of low double-digit organic revenue growth for FY2027 following a year of record revenue and profit. The safety and environmental technology group said the photonics premium from its recent acquisition is expected to contribute around five percentage points to organic growth in the new financial year, providing a meaningful structural tailwind alongside its core operations. Read the story →
RWS Holdings (AIM:RWS) reported a 33% increase in profit to £24 million, with Chief Executive Ben Faes attributing the improvement to the early positive effects of a new operating model and progress across three strategic growth pillars. Revenue and AI-related sales both gained momentum during the period, signalling that the group's repositioning around language and AI services is beginning to convert into financial results. Read the story →
Concurrent Technologies secured a £17 million, four-year contract from a European defence prime, the largest single order in the company's history. Chief Executive Miles Adcock said the win demonstrated both the longevity of the group's product set and the strength of its long-standing customer relationships in the defence electronics space. Read the story →
06:00 — Wall Street selloff deepened overnight; VIX held above 20 into London open
Last night, Wall Street closed sharply lower, with the S&P 500 shedding 1.45% to 7,279 and the Nasdaq dropping 1.79% to 25,218. The Dow fell 1.72% to 49,996. The VIX closed at 21.83, up more than 15% on the day, a level that signals elevated near-term anxiety heading into Thursday's European open.
In Asia, the Nikkei added 0.27% to 64,355, offering a modest counterpoint to the US weakness.
The dollar index was little changed at 99.942, while gold sits at $4,103, down 0.73% from its previous close.
Crypto was something of an outlier on the upside: Bitcoin gained 1.84% to $62,587, and Ethereum was up 2.04% to $1,653, both moving against the grain of the broader risk-off tone.
05:01 — FTSE faces cautious open on Thursday
London equities face a subdued start on Thursday following a rough session on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 shed 1.45% to 7,279 and the Nasdaq fell 1.79% to 25,218 at the previous close.
The CBOE Volatility Index jumped 15.4% to 21.83, its sharpest single-session spike in recent weeks, pointing to a meaningful deterioration in risk appetite ahead of the European open.
After the FTSE 100 closed its previous session at 10,248 (a modest gain of 0.2%) premarket indicators were nudging lower on Thursday, and would need to demonstrate early resilience if indices are to hold ground against the US backdrop.
Gold retreated 1.11% to $4,087 overnight despite the equity weakness, with the dollar index holding near flat at 99.96, a combination that offers little in the way of a clear safe-haven signal.
Bitcoin edged up 1.82% to $62,574 and Ethereum added 1.94% to $1,652, a modest divergence from the equity selloff.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.32% to 63,971 in overnight trade.
With nothing of note in the economic calendar or the City diary, the direction of travel in London may largely be shaped by how traders read the Wall Street session.
