The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was flat on Wednesday while European stocks were mixed as fresh data showed UK inflation had eased in October, providing a boost for Rachel Reeves as she prepares for her budget next week.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said consumer prices index inflation had cooled to 3.6% from the 3.8% rate recorded in July, August and September, with a slower increase in gas and electricity prices the biggest factor weighing on the overall inflation rate.

Core inflation, which measures price rises minus volatile food and energy costs, fell from 3.5% to 3.4%.

Economists have pointed out that the data strengthens the case for an interest rate cut from the Bank of England.

Lindsay James, an investment strategist at Quilter, said: “With the budget now seemingly at risk of missing already low expectations, economic growth seems likely to come under further pressure.

“The flipside to this is that persistently above-target inflation may come down earlier than expected, ushering in larger rate cuts in its wake.

“Markets had already been pricing a strong 80% likelihood of an interest rate cut in December. Today’s data reinforces the view that inflation is now on a clearer downward trajectory and that the Bank of England will have scope to continue easing policy.”

Meanwhile, Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said: “The fall in CPI inflation from 3.8% in September to 3.6% in October is the second softish inflation release in a row and could well prompt the governor of the Bank of England to put on a red suit and white beard and cut interest rates from 4% to 3.7% on 18 December.”

On the back of the news, the yield on 10-year UK gilts, a benchmark for what the government promises to pay buyers of its debt, rose as much as four basis points to 4.6%.

  • London’s benchmark index (^FTSE) was hovering around the flatline in early afternoon trade

  • Germany’s DAX (^GDAXI) rose 0.3% and the CAC (^FCHI) in Paris was flat

  • The pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) was up 0.1% after posting its biggest daily decline since August on Tuesday

  • Wall Street is set for a positive start as S&P 500 futures (ES=F), Dow futures (YM=F) and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) were all in the green

  • The pound was 0.2% down against the US dollar (GBPUSD=X) at 1.3121

Follow along for live updates throughout the day:

LIVE 16 updates

  • Eurozone inflation falls slightly to 2.1% in October

    Eurozone inflation eased back in October, with growth coming in at 2.1%, down from 2.2% the month before. A year earlier, the rate was 2.0%.

    Meanwhile, European Union (EU) annual inflation was 2.5%, a decline from 2.6% in September. A year earlier, the rate was 2.3%.

    The final figures revealed on Wednesday by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, were widely expected and fell in line with its earlier estimate.

    Looking at the main components of euro area inflation, services had the highest annual rate during the month, at 3.4% — the highest level since April and 0.2 percentage points higher than in September. Inflation has has remained well above the European Central Bank’s (ECB) 2% target for more than three years.

    This was followed by food, alcohol and tobacco at 2.5%, compared with 3.0% in September. Non-energy industrial goods was 0.6%, compared with 0.8% in September, and energy fell 0.9% while in dipped 0.4% the month before.

    The lowest annual rates were registered in Cyprus (0.2%), France (0.8%) and Italy (1.3%). The highest annual rates were recorded in Romania (8.4%), Estonia (4.5%) and Latvia (4.3%).

    Compared with September 2025, annual inflation fell in fifteen member states, remained stable in three and rose in nine.

    In monthly terms, only Greece recorded a decrease in Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) among EU member states in Social Services Europe (SEE), at 0.1%, while Romania posted an increase of 0.5%, followed by Bulgaria with a 0.4% rise.

  • Jet2 shares fly higher helped by viral TikTok trend

    Shares in Jet2 (JET2.L) popped nearly 4% after the airline reported record passenger numbers in the first half of its fiscal year.

    This helped drive a 5% increase in revenue to £5.34bn ($7bn) in the six months to 30 September, with pre-tax profits edging 1% higher to £800.3m and earnings per share rising 8% to 300.4p,

    Jet2 said it was increasing its interim dividend by 2.3% to 4.5p per share and announced another share buyback worth £100m.

    In its results on Wednesday, the airline also noted the impact of its advert going viral on TikTok over the summer, saying that the “unprecedented activity” on social media had resulted in increased marketing reach and widened brand awareness among younger demographics.

    Mark Crouch, a market analyst at eToro, said:

  • Severn Trent boss to exit after 11 years

    Severn Trent boss Liv Garfield is to step down after 11 years at the helm, marking the end of the tenure for the FTSE 100’s longest serving female boss.

    The London-listed supplier – which provides water and sewage services to more than 4.7 million households and businesses across the Midlands and Wales – said Garfield will leave at the end of December.

    She will be replaced by James Jesic, who is currently capital and commercial services director at Severn Trent and managing director of Hafren Dyfrdwy Cyfyngedig in the north east and mid-Wales.

    Garfield will stay with the business until the end of March next year to help with a smooth handover.

    She is currently the longest serving female boss in London’s blue chip share index, followed by GSK chief executive Dame Emma Walmsley, who has notched up eight years heading the drugs giant.

    Dame Emma is stepping down from GSK at the end of the year, to be replaced by chief commercial officer Luke Miels, which will bring the number of FTSE 100 female bosses down to 10.

    Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said:

  • Gold price bounces back as investors eye Fed minutes

    Gold prices (GC=F) regained some composure on Wednesday, snapping four consecutive sessions of losses as uncertainty over the trajectory of US monetary policy kept investors on edge ahead of the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s October meeting.

    Gold futures climbed 0.7% to $4,096.20 per ounce, while spot gold gained 2% to $4,095.40 an ounce at the time of writing.

    The Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points last month, but chair Jay Powell has signalled caution over the prospect of further easing this year, citing limited incoming data. Markets are now assigning nearly a 49% probability to another cut at the central bank’s 9-10 December meeting, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

    Gold, which offers no yield, typically benefits from lower interest rates and periods of economic uncertainty, both of which tend to reduce the relative attractiveness of interest-bearing assets.

  • Verizon layoffs push global job slashes past 226,000

    As Verizon moves to cut between 15,000 and 20,000 roles amid leadership changes and continued subscriber stagnation, RationalFX has published a report showing that total tech-sector layoffs have now surpassed 200,000 this year.

    It comes as a stark reflection of ongoing automation and cost-cutting across the industry amid weaker demand, rising tariffs, and intensifying competition in AI and cloud services.

    According to the latest aggregated figures, 226,647 employees in the technology sector have been laid off in 2025. Roughly 72% of these layoffs, or 162,438 job cuts, have occurred in US-based companies.

    Nearly 66,000 layoffs have been directly attributed to company restructures, focusing on automation and AI adoption.

    Here are the 10 tech companies with the most significant mass layoffs since January 2025:

    1. Intel (US): 33,900 job cuts

    2. Amazon (US): 19,555 job cuts

    3. Microsoft (US): 19,215 job cuts

    4. Verizon (US): 15,000 job cuts

    5. TCS (India): 12,000 job cuts

    6. Accenture (Ireland): 11,000 job cuts

    7. Panasonic (Japan): 10,000 job cuts

    8. IBM (US): 9,000 job cuts

    9. Salesforce (US): 5,000 job cuts

    10. STMicro (Switzerland): 5,000 job cuts

  • Hotel adverts banned over misleadingly cheap rooms

    Adverts by four of Britain’s biggest hotel and travel firms have been banned for stating misleading minimum prices for rooms.

    The BBC has the details…

    The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld complaints against the Hilton hotel group, Travelodge, Booking.com and Accor over their use of eye-catching so-called “from” prices.

    The watchdog found only a small number of rooms actually available to book at the promoted price and concluded the adverts overstated the deals.

    It said this was unfair on those looking for good deals or seeking to make informed choices about where to book.

    ASA operations manager Emily Henwood said:

    The ASA used AI to identify the misleading adverts as part of a wider probe into the availability of advertised hotel prices.

    Read more here

  • UK house figures increase 2.6% in September

    Average UK house prices increased by 2.6%, to £272,000 in the 12 months to September 2025, down from 3.1% in the 12 months to August.

    That is the smallest annual rise since May this year, and compares to the August reading of 3.1% (following an upward revision to the figures).

    Meanwhile, average UK private rents rose by 5.0%, to £1,360 in the 12 months to October 2025, down from 5.5% in the 12 months to September.

    hat was helped by a drop in private sector rents in October, which were 5% higher than a year earlier but lower than the 5.5% annual increase recorded in September.

    That is also the smallest increase in over three years, in August 2022.

    Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, the membership organisation for estate agents, said:

  • FTSE risers and fallers

    Here are the FTSE risers and fallers this morning:

  • WH Smith boss steps down after US accounting probe

    WH Smith (SMWH.L) chief executive Carl Cowling has stepped down after an investigation into an accounting blunder in its US division and as the retailer warned over profits once again.

    Mr Cowling has been replaced by Andrew Harrison – chief executive of the group’s UK division – on an interim basis until a permanent successor is appointed.

    It follows an independent review by Deloitte found a number of “shortcomings” which saw the group overstate profits in the US business by as much as £50m.

    WH Smith warned it now expects profits in its US business for delayed full-year results in the range of £5m to £15m – down from the £55m originally expected in the market and the £25m revised guidance when the accounting issue was first uncovered.

    Profits for the wider group are now expected to be between £100m to £110m for the year to August 31, which is lower than the £110m in its previous earnings downgrade.

    WH Smith chairwoman Annette Court said:

    It brings to an abrupt end Cowling’s six-year tenure at the helm and his 11-year career at the company.

    He said: “Whilst the issues identified in the Deloitte review arose in our North American division, I recognise the seriousness of this situation and as group chief executive feel it is only right that I step down from my position.”

  • Nvidia to report high-stakes third-quarter earnings

    Nvidia (NVDA) will report its highly anticipated third quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday, its first such announcement since the company’s market capitalization briefly eclipsed $5 trillion last month.

    The earnings reveal comes as Wall Street grows increasingly anxious over the state of the AI trade, with investors and analysts flagging bubble concerns amid high valuations. Nvidia’s stock was down nearly 3% on Tuesday, and shares have lost some 12% since its latest all-time high.

    Even as other tech behemoths have reported strong earnings, the chip giant is the most important bellwether for the AI trade. Any miss or beat on projections set to impact price action on a wide array of AI stocks. The report could also trigger a $320 billion swing in the chipmaker’s market value, according to data from analytics firm Option Research & Technology Services (ORATS). That would be the largest post-earnings move ever for Nvidia.

    According to Deepwater Asset Management managing partner Gene Munster, a beat and raise scenario may not necessarily be a good thing for the broader AI trade.

    “The cross currents … set up a Catch-22 for the AI complex, because stronger guidance can amplify worries about overspending, while a modest raise can be read as the first sign that growth is normalizing faster than expected,” he wrote in a note to investors.

    The report comes after Peter Thiel’s hedge fund sold off its entire roughly $100 million stake in Nvidia. SoftBank Group (SFTBY) also unloaded all of its Nvidia stock, valued at $5.8 billion, as the company seeks to fund its own enormous AI bets.

    It also follows remarks from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) CEO Lisa Su during the company’s Financial Analyst Day, during which she said that she believes the data center market will be worth as much as $1 trillion by 2030.

  • Bets rise for Federal Reserve cut

    Given the growing magnitude of the recent stock market selloff, investors have moved to price in a stronger chance of the US Federal Reserve cutting rates again.

    The likelihood of a December rate cut moved back up to 45%, having been at 41% the day before. In turn, that meant front-end Treasury yields rallied, with the 2-year yield (-3.7bps) falling to 3.57%, whilst the 10-year yield (-2.6bps) also saw a decent decline to 4.11%.

    President Donald Trump said on the next Fed chair that “I think I already know my choice”, although it is currently uncertain as to who that will be.

    According to Polymarket, Kevin Hassett is considered the favourite with a 46% chance, and he is currently the director of the National Economic Council. He is followed by Fed governor Chris Waller, who was 19% chance.

  • Rachel Reeves on UK inflation data

    Chancellor Rachel Reeves has indicated that fiscal caution will shape her autumn budget, saying she will seek to avoid tax and spending decisions that might “add to inflation” when she delivers the statement on 26 November.

    In a statement, Reeves said:

  • Inflation drop strengthens case for BoE rate cuts

    Services prices inflation, which is watched closely by the BoE, fell to 4.5% in October from 4.7% in September.

    Economists have pointed out that the data strengthens the case for an interest rate cut from Threadneedle Street.

    Lindsay James, an investment strategist at Quilter, said:

    Meanwhile, Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said:

    Monica George Michail, an associate economist at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), added:

  • UK inflation rate falls to 3.6% in October

    UK inflation dropped to 3.6% in October, providing a boost for Rachel Reeves as the chancellor prepares for her budget next week.

    The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said consumer prices index inflation had cooled from the 3.8% rate recorded in July, August and September, with slower increase in gas and electricity prices the biggest factor putting downward pressure on the overall inflation rate.

    That was alongside hotels, where monthly prices fell by 2.2%, compared with a fall of 0.2% a year ago.

    Ofgem raised the energy price cap by 2% in October, but that was significantly less than the 9.6% hike last year.

    ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said:

    Core inflation, which measures price rises without volatile food and energy costs, fell from 3.5% to 3.4%.

    Food and drink inflation remains high at 4.9%, with the BoE expecting it to reach a peak of 5.3% next month. Food and non-alcoholic drinks increased 4.9%, with bread and cereals leading a rise in prices, up 0.02 percentage points.

  • Asia and US overnight

    Stocks in Asia were lower overnight as investors were nervous ahead of the crucial third quarter earnings update from chip giant Nvidia (NVDA).

    The Nikkei (^N225), which has declined more than any other major market for November so far, with a loss of around 7% in US dollar terms, fell 0.3% on the day in Japan, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) was down 0.4% in Hong Kong.

    The moves come as investors anticipate further issuance as new Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to unveil a stimulus plan.

    The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 0.2% lower by the end of the session, and in South Korea, the Kospi (^KS11) lost 0.6% on the day.

    Across the pond on Wall Street, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.8% to 6,617.32, in its fourth day of losses in a row.

    The tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) was 1.2% down to 22,432.85, notching a second straight day of losses. Valuation jitters have knocked it more than 6% below a record peak hit late in October. The Dow Jones (^DJI) slipped 1.1% to 46,091.74.

    Nvidia will report its latest earnis update after market close today in the US and is expected to deliver a 56% jump in revenues to $54.9bn (£41.8bn) in the three months to October, according to data compiled by LSEG.

    Wong Kok Hoi, founder and CEO of APS Asset Management in Singapore, said:

  • Coming up

    Good morning, and welcome back to our markets live blog. As usual we will be taking a deep dive into what’s moving markets and what’s happening across the global economy.

    To the day ahead, and the main highlight will be Nvidia’s (NVDA) earnings after the US close. From central banks, we’ll get the minutes from the FOMC’s October meeting, and hear from the Fed’s Miran, Barkin and Williams. Data releases will include the UK CPI report for October.

    Here’s a snapshot of what’s on the agenda:

    • 7am: Trading updates: Sage, Smiths Group, Severn Trent, British Land, Jet2, Workspace, Hill & Smith, IG Design, Rotork

    • 7am: UK CPI inflation for October

    • 9.30am: ONS house price and rents data

    • 10am: Eurozone inflation (final reading) for October

    • 1.30pm: US Housing starts

    • 7pm: US Federal Reserve publishes the minutes from the October FOMC meeting

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