FTSE 100 LIVE: London losing its mojo as Wall Street powers higher

After nudging towards a triple-digit day earlier in the day, the FTSE 100 ended with a whimper, bit still in the green, adding 23 points to 10,521.

The FTSE 100 was up just 23 points in mid-afternoon trading, fading after a brighter start, as Wall Street stole the limelight with the S&P 500 touching a fresh intraday record.

Over in New York, the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.6% in early New York trading, extending Monday's record close, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4% and the S&P 500 climbed 0.5%.

Nvidia shares rose more than 1% at the open, keeping the chipmaker's market capitalisation within striking distance of $6 trillion.

Stocks seem to have shrugged off elevated bond yields, with the US 10-year Treasury holding around 5.29% after closing Monday at its highest level in 24 years.

Foxconn, the Taiwanese manufacturing partner of Nvidia, added to the positive mood after reporting stronger-than-expected earnings, signalling robust demand for AI infrastructure.

Brent crude eased to around $98 a barrel as supply concerns receded.

The FTSE 100 eased back from its session high but remained in positive territory in early afternoon trading, as US stock futures continued to push higher despite a global bond sell-off and soaring diesel costs.

Contracts for the Nasdaq-100 rose 0.5% after the Nasdaq Composite hit a fresh record high overnight, driven by all-time highs in Nvidia and other technology stocks.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 each rose around 0.3% to 0.5%, with the S&P 500 sitting less than 1% from its own record high.

The FTSE 100 was up 94 points in late morning trading on Tuesday as investors took heart from a record-breaking session on Wall Street overnight.

The Nasdaq Composite rallied 1% to an all-time high, led by Nvidia, which rose 2% to $238.90, taking its market value close to $6 trillion.

US Treasury yields remained elevated, with the 10-year touching a fresh 2002 high of 5.349% on Monday before easing to around 5.3%, while the 30-year breached 5.7% for the first time in 24 years.

Brent crude dipped back below $100 a barrel, easing pressure on energy costs despite an ongoing geopolitical risk premium in oil markets.

In London, Clarkson topped the FTSE 250 after lifting its full-year profit outlook, citing record freight rates driven by geopolitical complexity, with underlying profit now expected to be not less than £135 million.

The FTSE 100 has built on a strong early start and is trading 86 points above Monday's close.

RELX, the information and analytics group, is leading the risers, which is interesting as it is a possible buyer of Taylor & Francis, the academic publisher Informa plans to spin off.

The sale or spin-out is part of a big rejig at Informa, the conference giant, which is spending £2.24 billion on rival Clarion.

Informa's shares were up 2.2% in early trading, suggesting the market likes the deal.

That is notable given the £940 million share placing to part-fund it, which would normally depress the stock.

Tom Ward, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said the deal is Informa's biggest since UBM in 2018 and accelerates its shift towards business-to-business events.

He said the price is about 11x expected 2027 EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), falling to about 8x with targeted synergies.

Ward called the placing and the pause to Informa's buyback near-term trade-offs, consistent with its long-term capital allocation strategy.

London's blue-chip index opened its account 60 points higher in the first few minutes of trading as traders took their cue from the US, where the Nasdaq ended in record territory.

Closer to home, the big news came from Informa, which is buying a German events business for £2.24 billion and raising around £940 million from investors to fund the deal.

There is also some City reaction to the news that Sainsbury held talks with Morrison's earlier this year. The top line: don't go there.

The FTSE 100 looks set to open 47 points higher on Tuesday, shrugging off a mixed session in Asia and taking its cue from a record close on Wall Street.

The Nasdaq finished at a fresh peak after rallies in Nvidia, SpaceX and Meta, although analysts noted that gains are increasingly concentrated in a handful of stocks. The Dow and S&P 500 also ended higher.

Asian markets struggled to match that mood, with Tokyo and Hong Kong rising while Seoul, Singapore and Taipei edged down.

Traders remain anxious about the Middle East crisis, which has lifted energy costs and inflation, and with it bond yields to levels not seen for decades.

Heavy AI-related borrowing by tech giants is adding to the pressure on bond markets, with sector experts expecting issuance to reach $1.2 trillion in 2027.