London's FTSE 100 hit its lowest level in over three weeks on Wednesday as investors digested results from U.S. tech giants Tesla and Alphabet, while Aston Martin surged after its half-yearly earnings update.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index (.FTSE), opens new tab was down 0.5%, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC), opens new tab lost 0.1% by 0720 GMT. The indexes were set to log a second straight session of losses.
Quarterly earnings from Big Tech companies Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab and Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab in the U.S. failed to impress investors, dampening risk appetite.
In London, personal goods stocks (.FTNMX402040), opens new tab declined 1.3%. Luxury group Burberry (BRBY.L), opens new tab slipped 2.1% after the world's biggest luxury group LVMH's (LVMH.PA), opens new tab sales growth slowed in the second quarter. The sector led broader losses in the market, with most sub-sectors, including financial stocks and energy companies, trending lower. Meanwhile, precious metal miners (.FTNMX551030), opens new tab rebounded with a 2% rise, leading gains, as gold prices firmed.
The sector was set to snap a five-session losing streak, its longest since February. Automobile and parts (.FTNMX401010), opens new tab followed with a 2.1% rise. Aston Martin (AML.L), opens new tab jumped 9.3% after the
luxury carmaker reported its half-yearly results and was set to log its best day since September 2023. easyJet (EZJ.L), opens new tab climbed 6.9% to top the FTSE 100 after the low-cost carrier reported a 16% rise in third-quarter pretax profit. Travel and leisure stocks (.FTNMX405010), opens new tab were up 0.7%.
Ascential (ASCL.L), opens new tab surged 25.8% to the top of the FTSE 250 after Informa (INF.L), opens new tab said it had agreed to buy the Cannes Lions Festival owner for 1.2 billion pounds ($1.6 billion).
Investors also await the domestic purchasing managers index report, due later in the day, which could shed some more light on the state of the British economy.
U.S. Inflation data, due Friday, will also be closely watched to gauge the Federal Reserve's stance on interest rate cuts as the central bank's next policy decision inches closer.
