- FTSE 100 up 134 points at 10,823
- Wall Street makes strong start
- Next tweaks earnings higher
- Man Group boosted by UBS upgrade
The FTSE 100 powered to a triple-digit gain on Thursday afternoon after the Bank of England left interest rates untouched and paused its sales of government bonds.
The central bank held its main rate at 3.75%, in line with what traders had expected.
It also halted sales of gilts, as UK government bonds are known, for six months, calming nerves after a recent run-up in borrowing costs.
A softer pound added to the lift. Sterling slipped against the dollar, which flatters the FTSE 100's many international constituents, since their overseas earnings are worth more once converted back into pounds.
12.25: Blue-chips off their session highs
Heading into lunch, the FTSE 100 is up 23 points but off its session high. Wall Street, by contrast, looks set to open up firmly, with futures trading suggesting the Nasdaq will power ahead around 300 points, or 1%.
11.00: Man Group boost
Man Group jumps 6% as UBS backs hedge fund's black-box rebound
Shares in Man Group jumped 6% to 334.8p after UBS upgraded the hedge fund manager to "buy", betting that a rebound in its computer-driven strategies will force forecasts higher.
The Swiss bank raised its price target to 365p from 335p.
At the heart of the call is AHL, Man Group's suite of trend-following funds, which use algorithms to ride momentum across markets.
After five flat months, AHL's funds have climbed 7% since early August, lifting all four key strategies above the high watermarks they must clear to charge performance fees.
Analyst Michael Werner pushed UBS earnings forecasts for 2027 and 2028 nearly 30% above consensus.
The risk is that AHL's fortunes reverse, since returns are nearly impossible to forecast.
9:05: Blue-chips firmly in the green
The FTSE 100 made a bright start with defence and technology stocks at the vanguard.
The big corporate news came from Next, which weighed in with another earnings upgrade.
It's become such a regular event for the retailer that the market shrugged and moved on. The shares rose barely 1% in early trading.
Sticking with the sector, boohoo also, to use the vernacular, surprised on the upside. Again, traders were unmoved.
Man Group was among the mid-cap winners following an upgrade by UBS, which is now a 'buyer' (we'll have more on this later).
Footsie set for a positive start
The FTSE 100 is set to open 38 points higher, a rare flash of optimism after a jittery session.
The lift comes despite the US Federal Reserve raising interest rates for the first time in three years, a quarter-point nudge that takes its key rate to a target range of 3.75% to 4%.
The move is the Fed's latest attempt to wrestle down American inflation that has stubbornly refused to behave.
Wall Street took the news badly on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 slipping 0.5% and the Dow shedding 1.2%.
Asian markets could not agree on a mood, as Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's Kospi crept higher while Hong Kong and Shanghai drifted lower.
Morningstar, the research firm, reckons the reaction was muted because the hike was widely flagged, though the Iran war keeps a floor under inflation.
Oil, meanwhile, edged up as supply worries linger around the Strait of Hormuz.
