Business
Stocks end down as Fed policy meeting begins
Stock prices in London closed mostly lower on Tuesday as expectations of a rate cut from the US Federal Reserve continue to dominate.
It follows the release of industrial and retail data in the US.
The Fed started its two-day key policy meeting on Tuesday, AFP reported, hours after Stephen Miran narrowly won confirmation to join the central bank.
Stephen Miran, who has been a key advisor to US President Donald Trump, took the oath of office as a Fed governor on Tuesday after narrowly winning a senate vote on Monday night to become one of the FOMC’s 12 voting members.
It remains to be seen if he will push for larger rate cuts as the US president has repeatedly demanded, with markets widely expecting a 25 basis points cut at the end of discussions on Wednesday.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 81.37 points, 0.9%, at 9,195.66.
The FTSE 250 ended down 154.72 points, 0.7%, at 21,491.87, and the AIM All-Share closed up 0.48 points, 0.1%, at 767.87.
“A barrage of US companies are expected to announce big investments in the UK to coincide with Donald Trump’s state visit,” said AJ Bell’s Russ Mould.
“Google-owner Alphabet is the latest name in the frame, with news it will spend £5 billion in the UK on AI-related infrastructure investments and scientific research… (but) the expected wave of US investment wasn’t enough to lift the UK stock market.
“The FTSE 100 gets more than two-thirds of its earnings from overseas, so even policies that can potentially boost growth domestically may not have the impact on the constituents of the UK’s leading stock market index that some might expect.”
Anglo American, on the FTSE 100, gained 0.6%.
The miner has formally completed its copper tie-up with the Chilean state-owned mining company Codelco.
It comes after the two companies back in February this year signed a memorandum of understanding for a framework to implement a joint mine plan for their adjacent copper mines of Los Bronces and Andina in Chile.
Student accommodation provider Unite Group lost 1.7%.
The UK Competition & Markets Authority has invited comments on Unite’s proposed acquisition of Empiric Student Property, in the first step ahead of a potential formal investigation into the deal.
Empiric, whose shareholders are set to own 10% of the combined firm if the deal goes ahead, was down 1.1% on the FTSE 250.
Also on the FTSE 250, Pollen Street Group closed 3.0% higher.
The London-based asset manager said it was encouraged by growing demand for mid-market alternatives and asset-based lending, as it announced first-half pre-tax profit growing 28% annually to £29.6 million while total income climbed 17% to £63.8 million.
Pollen Street also declared an interim dividend of 27.0 pence, up 1.9%.
Chief financial officer Crispin Goldsmith said the firm “is trading in line with expectations”, adding: “The group remains in a strong position and is strategically well placed and well resourced for further growth through H2 2025 and beyond.”
On AIM, Focusrite closed 15% higher.
The music and audio products hailed a “resilient performance” in the face of tough market conditions, with revenue rising to £87 million for the six months to August 31 and to £168 million for the 12 months.
Focusrite has changed its year-end to February 28 from the end of August.
It expects adjusted Ebitda for the 12 months to August to be within the market forecast range, which it puts at £24.5 million to £26.0 million.
Stocks in New York were lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4%, the S&P 500 index down 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.1%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.05%, widening from 4.04%.
The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.66%, widening from 4.65%.
US industrial production rose 0.1% on-month in August after a downwardly revised fall of 0.4% in July, the Fed reported.
It outperformed the FXStreet-cited consensus of a 0.1% decline in August.
Also, according to the Census Bureau, US retail sales rose 0.6% in August from July, unchanged on-month but beating the FXStreet cited consensus of a 0.2% rise.
Separate data showed that the export price index rose 0.3% in August from July, though it had been expected to be flat.
The import price index advanced 0.3%, beating consensus of a 0.1% fall.
In other US news, Mr Trump said that the US and China had reached an agreement over TikTok, which Washington says must pass to US-controlled ownership.
“We have a deal on TikTok, I’ve reached a deal with China, I’m going to speak to President Xi on Friday to confirm everything up,” Mr Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a state visit to the UK.
“Neither side wants to be seen as weak, but there is also a desire to keep trade flowing between the two sides,” Mr Mould said.
“Progress on TikTok’s future in the US and US-China trade agreements more broadly have been slow, and they look set to drag on.
“Finding a middle ground that satisfies both the authorities in the US and China has proved to be difficult to achieve, which makes the prospect of a framework deal on TikTok’s US somewhat curious.
“More information is expected on Friday, and the structure of any potential agreement could provide hints to how future deals are struck more broadly between the US and China.”
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed down 1.0%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended down 1.8%.
German industrial major thyssenkrupp was up 4.9% in Frankfurt, after announcing that India’s Jindal Steel International has made a “non-binding, indicative offer” for its steel business Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe.
Thyssenkrupp, which has been looking to split itself into standalone businesses to boost profitability, would “carefully review” the offer and pay “particular attention” to what it would mean for employment at its sites, it added.
The pound was quoted higher at 1.3642 dollars at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday, compared to 1.3597 dollars on Monday.
The euro stood higher at 1.1837 dollars, against 1.1765 dollars.
Against the yen, the dollar was trading lower at 146.65 yen compared to 147.34 yen.
Brent oil was quoted higher at 68.32 dollars a barrel at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday, from 67.37 dollars late on Monday.
Gold was quoted higher at 3,680.32 dollars an ounce against 3,668.27 dollars.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Fresnillo, up 92.6p at 2,288.6p, J Sainsbury, up 5.0p at 322.8p, Croda International, up 39.0p at 2,556.0p, Glencore, up 3.7p at 310.55p, and Mondi, up 11.1p at 1,007.5p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Haleon, down 17.0p at 339.7p, easyJet, down 15.8p at 457.2p, Barclays, down 9.8p at 374.85p, Coca-Cola HBC, down 92.0p at 3,598.0p, and NatWest, down 13.4p at 524.4p.
On Tuesday’s economic calendar, as well as the Fed rate decision and press conference, look out for UK and eurozone consumer inflation.
On Tuesday’s UK corporate calendar, Barratt Developments releases full-year results; IP Group has half-year results; and Games Workshop holds its annual general meeting.
– Contributed by Alliance News
NEW DELHI: The impact of pre-GST revamp pause in sale of several products, such as automobiles and white goods, and the lower rates rolled out from Sept 22 slowed down the growth in gross GST receipts but the mop up remained close to the Rs 2 lakh crore-level, data for October showed. Official numbers released on Saturday showed GST collections in Oct for transactions in Sept totalled 1.96 lakh crore, an increase of 4.6% compared to Rs 1.87 lakh crore in October last year.This was the slowest pace of increase this fiscal. In Aug and Sept, GST collection rose 6.5% to Rs 1.86 lakh crore and at 9.1% to Rs 1.89 lakh crore. Gross domestic revenue grew 2% to Rs 1.45 lakh crore, while tax from imports rose nearly 13% to Rs 50,884 crore in October. The data showed GST refunds rose 39.6% year-on-year in Oct to Rs 26,934 crore.In Sept, GST Council had unveiled reforms to GST rate structure, which led to a sharp reduction in rates on a raft of items, bringing relief to consumers, and the latest data showed apprehensions of decline in collections have been negated.The rate cuts, effective September 22, have revived consumption demand, and experts said GST revenues for Nov are likely to show a sharp rebound.“Despite massive rate cuts effective from September 22, a slight increase in domestic GST collection is very encouraging and shows that demand is steadily increasing,” said Pratik Jain, Partner at consulting firm Price Waterhouse & Co LLP.“Consistent increase in GST refunds (domestic as well as exports) shows confidence of tax administration that GST collections would show positive trend in future as well. Next month’s data would have the full impact of GST cuts and would be keenly awaited,” added Jain.On the back of a fillip provided by a reduction in GST on 375 items, consumers had flocked to stores and car dealerships resulting in highest Navratri sales in over a decade, government officials had earlier said, citing industry data.“The GST collections, while aligning with immediate expectations, reflect a muted momentum in Sept primarily due to rate rationalisation effect in the majority part of the Sept month and the deferred consumer spending ahead of the upcoming festive season. This anticipated lag is likely to be compensated by more robust numbers in the next month, driven by seasonal buoyancy,” said Saurabh Agarwal, Tax Partner at EY India. “The impressive, high percentage growth in collections from states and UTs like Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Lakshadweep and Ladakh is a tangible indicator of holistic economic development across India,” he said.
New Delhi: Home services provider Urban Company on Saturday announced a net loss of Rs 59.3 crore in Q2FY26, a significant drop from a profit of Rs 6.9 crore in the previous quarter. The loss was attributed to heavy upfront investments in its new daily-housekeeping vertical, Insta Help, which overshadowed strong revenue growth in its core services and products businesses, according to regulatory filings by the Gurugram-based firm.
The company posted a loss of Rs 1.82 crore in the July-September quarter last year, the company said. While revenue from operations increased 37 per cent year-on-year to Rs 380 crore, the total expenses rose to Rs 462 crore from Rs 384 crore in Q1. This resulted in adjusted EBITDA turning negative at Rs 35 crore, compared with a profit of Rs 21 crore in Q1.
Insta Help reported an EBITDA loss of Rs 44 crore, and excluding this segment, Urban Company achieved an adjusted EBITDA profit of Rs 10 crore, accounting for 0.9 per cent of net transaction value (NTV), the company noted.
“Early indicators for Insta Help are encouraging, with strong consumer adoption and repeat usage,” the company said in its shareholder letter. It added that it believed the segment holds “significant long-term opportunity and believes these investments are important to sustaining market leadership.”
The company expects its adjusted EBITDA losses to continue in the near term due to further investments in the Insta Help vertical, despite its core India and international businesses remaining profitable and cash-generating.
The company’s smart home products vertical, Native, which sells water purifiers and electronic door locks, recorded revenue of Rs 75 crore, up 179 per cent YoY, while losses narrowed to 9 per cent of NTV from 30 per cent in the previous year.
The home services provider closed the quarter with Rs 2,136 crore in cash and equivalents, up from Rs 1,664 crore in the previous quarter, mainly due to proceeds from its recent IPO.
New Delhi: Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has opened up about the company’s recent layoffs, which affected around 14,000 employees. Contrary to popular belief, he said the decision wasn’t about cutting costs or the rise of artificial intelligence. Instead, Jassy pointed to a deeper reason behind the move — company culture. “The announcement that we made a few days ago was not really financially driven, and it’s not even really AI-driven, not right now at least,” he said, as quoted by Business Insider. “It really — it’s culture.”
A Cultural Reset at Amazon
Andy Jassy’s comments reflect Amazon’s ongoing push to reshape its internal culture. As reported by Business Insider, he has been focused on raising performance standards, tightening discipline, and cutting down on unnecessary bureaucracy to make the company more efficient and agile.
During the earnings call, Jassy acknowledged that Amazon’s rapid expansion over the years had added “a lot more layers,” which ended up slowing down how decisions are made. He emphasised that the company now needs to “operate leaner and move faster,” particularly as artificial intelligence continues to reshape industries worldwide.
“Sometimes, without realizing it, you can weaken the ownership of the people that you have who are doing the actual work,” Jassy said. “And it can lead to slowing you down.” In a blog post on October 28, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, Beth Galetti, also confirmed that the company is “making organizational changes across Amazon that will impact some of our teammates.”
“While this will include reducing in some areas and hiring in others, it will mean an overall reduction in our corporate workforce of approximately 14,000 roles,” she said. This marks Amazon’s largest round of layoffs since 2022, when about 27,000 employees were let go. Interestingly, Jassy’s recent comments contrast with what other Amazon executives have previously said about the reasons behind the job cuts.
The decision also reflects a broader trend across Big Tech. Giants like Google and Microsoft are undergoing what many call the “Great Flattening” — cutting down layers of management to speed up decision-making and eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy.
Euro area unemployment stable at 6.3% in September: Eurostat
Blaze at Mexico store kills 23, including children
Diplomatic peak
-
Politics1 week agoTrump slams ‘dirty’ Canada despite withdrawal of Reagan ad
-
Tech1 week agoDefect passivation strategy sets new performance benchmark for Sb₂S₃ solar cells
-
Sports1 week agoAlleged mob ties in NBA scandal recall La Cosa Nostra’s long shadow over sports
-
Business1 week ago47.7% of Mutual Fund Assets Now Invested Directly, ICRA Analytics Says
-
Tech1 week agoHow Data Centers Actually Work
-
Tech1 week agoMicrosoft removing support for Windows 10 could increase e-waste, cybersecurity threats
-
Fashion1 week agoModerate momentum defines global fashion’s Q2 2025 results
-
Fashion1 week agoNew Balance expands India footprint with Surat store launch