FTSE 100 Live 18 February: Wage growth accelerates, InterContinental buys Ruby chain
BT Group shares are down 4% during a lacklustre session for the FTSE 100 index.
The telco's reverse of 7.4p to 144.15p was accompanied by a decline of 5.1p to 137.9p for Airtel Africa.
InterContinental Hotels dropped 170p to 10,525p, despite announcing a $900 million buy back of shares alongside annual results.
Others under pressure included Tesco, which weakened 2% or 7.3p to 389.7p.
The FTSE 100 index stood 5.09 points higher at 8773.10, led by NatWest and Barclays after their shares lifted by about 1%.
08:08 , Graeme Evans
BHP has cut its interim dividend by 31% to 50 US cents a share, reflecting the impact of lower iron ore and steelmaking coal prices.
The award, which is equivalent to 50% of earnings, follows a 23% drop in underlying profit to $5.1 billion in the six months to the end of last year.
Revenues fell 8% to $25.2 billion, despite increased sales volumes in key commodities of copper, iron ore and steelmaking coal.
The latest dividend award is worth $2.5 billion and means BHP will have returned about $50 billion to shareholders since the start of 2021.
Chief executive Mike Henry said demand for BHP products remains strong despite global economic and trade uncertainties.
He highlighted early signs of recovery in China, resilient economic performance in the US and strong growth in India.
Henry added: 'The trajectory of the world population growing from eight billion today to 10 billion in 2050, with more people living in cities, together with the energy transition and the growth of data centres and AI, will compound the need for more metals and minerals.
'Against this backdrop, BHP is well-positioned, with the ability to leverage our strong balance sheet, technical know-how and sustainable business practices to deliver growth and resilient shareholder returns.'
BHP's London-listed shares fell 14p to 2074p.
07:46 , Graeme Evans
The pound has climbed above $1.26 amid signs that today's labour market figures have done little to alter the Bank of England's gradual approach to rate cuts.
The Office for National Statistics said average base pay excluding bonuses rose by an annual rate of 5.9%, up from 5.6% in the previous quarter.
That means workers' real buying power, after taking inflation into account, rose by 2.5%, the fastest rate for four years.
Bank of England rate setters will be worried that persistent wage inflation will feed into shop prices and keep inflation above the 2% target for longer.
Read more here
07:29 , Graeme Evans
InterContinental Hotels, whose brands include Holiday Inn Express and Crowne Plaza, today unveiled the acquisition of European city centre chain Ruby.
The addition of its 20th brand was announced alongside annual results showing a 10% rise in operating profit to $1.12 billion (£890 million) for 2024.
Revenue per available room grew by 3% in the year, boosted by an acceleration to 4.6% in the fourth quarter.
IHG has over 6,600 hotels in more than 100 countries, with a development pipeline of over 2,200 properties.
Established in 2013, the Ruby brand currently operates 20 hotels or 3,483 rooms including three in London. IHG said it intends to expand the brand in the Americas and Asia.
The group also announced a 10% increase in its dividend, alongside the launch of a new $900 million (£719.4 million) buy back of shares.
Chief executive Elie Maalouf said: 'We enter 2025 with confidence in further capitalising on our scale, leading positions and the attractive long-term demand drivers for our markets.'
Read more here
07:07 , Graeme Evans
The UK's unemployment rate stayed at 4.4% in the three months to December, which compares with City expectations for a figure of 4.5%.
Average earnings including bonuses increased by a bigger-than-expected 6% on a year earlier, up from the previous month's 5.5%.
Excluding bonuses, the wage growth figure was in line with forecasts at 5.9%.
Read more here
07:01 , Graeme Evans
The FTSE 100 index last night closed 35.55 points or 0.4% higher at 8,768.01, a performance boosted by a rise of 9% for BAE Systems.
With no handover from US markets due to Presidents Day, London's top flight is forecast to open broadly unchanged this morning.
Asia markets have seen mixed trading, with the Shanghai Composite down by 1% and the Hang Seng index up 0.7%.
Earlier today, Australia's central bank cut interest rates for the first time since November 2020 with a quarter point reduction to 4.1%.
The pound stood at just below $1.26 ahead of today's labour market figures.
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