Early market roundup: Stocks rise ahead of US consumer price data

Stock prices in Europe were higher on Wednesday morning, although the gain in London was more cautious ahead of US inflation data in the afternoon.

The data comes two weeks before the next Federal Reserve decision, and a hotter-than-expected reading could complicate matters for policymakers.

The FTSE 100 index edged up 8.38 points, 0.1%, at 10,658.71. But the CAC 40 in Paris shot up 0.6%, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 rose 0.4%.

The FTSE 250 in London was up 65.62 points, 0.3%, at 24,404.81, and the AIM All-Share was down just 0.75 of a point, 0.1%, at 770.41.

The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 1,058.20, the Cboe UK 250 climbed 0.5% at 21,320.88, and the Cboe Small Companies fell 0.1% at 18,816.88.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 5.19% early Wednesday, narrowing from 5.22% at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 5.55%, slimming from 5.56%.

An easing of bond market pressure has kept a lid on the dollar so far this week.

The pound was quoted at USD1.3262 on Wednesday morning, rising from USD1.3249 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. Against the euro, sterling eased slightly to EUR1.1831 from EUR1.1834.

However, it hit the best level against the euro since early June 2025, and had traded at a roughly one-week high versus the dollar.

The euro advanced to USD1.1205 from USD1.1194. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY158.24 from JPY158.42.

ING analyst Francesco Pesole commented: "The dollar had a soft session yesterday as stretched positioning and short-term overvaluation coincided with a recovery in global bonds. A dovish comment by the Fed's John Williams added a bit of weight to the dollar, more by supporting risk sentiment than triggering much dovish repricing in the front end."

In an interview with Bloomberg News, New York Fed President Williams said he still believes it "may be appropriate to have one more rate hike".

"I don't think at this time I have any reason to believe that we would need to do more," he added.

Wednesday's US consumer price inflation reading at 1330 BST could test that notion, however.

According to consensus cited by FXStreet, the pace of US consumer price inflation is expected to have accelerated to 3.6% in September, from 3.4% in August.

Analysts at Rabobank added: "Meanwhile, core CPI inflation is expected to cool to 2.5% y/y and 0.2% m/m from 2.45% y/y and 0.29% m/m, with energy likely to account for the divergence between headline and core expectations."

Away from data, Rabobank noted there is a host of central bankers speaking on Wednesday, including European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, and Michelle Bowman, who is on the Fed's Board of Governors.

The Fed also releases its latest Beige Book report on current economic conditions at 1900 BST.

In Tokyo on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 edged lower, succumbing to late selling pressure after sitting in the green most of the day. In China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.9%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was 0.1% lower in late trade. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 ended down 0.6%.

In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.4%, the S&P 500 marginally lower, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.2%.

In London, software names were among the early decliners on the FTSE 100. Sage Group shed 1.4% and Experian fell 0.9%. The duo came into Wednesday on winning streaks of nine and eight days, respectively, each adding some 12% during that run.

Share price progress for both has been hard to come by so far this year, on worries over what artificial intelligence could mean for their offerings. Enterprise software firm Sage is largely flat so far in 2026, while credit checking company Experian is down some 20%.

On the FTSE 250, Chemring rose 3.4%. The supplier of technology products for aerospace, defence and security won a deal worth at least USD170 million over the first five years with a "major" US defence prime contractor, which it doesn't name.

The agreement is for the supply of the COTS Nav-Sync Miniature Radar altimeter by UK subsidiary Roke Manor Research.

Big Yellow was the best mid-cap performer, however, adding 4.5%. Ancora Holdings Group called on the self storage provider to launch a comprehensive strategic review, including a sale process.

In a statement, Cleveland, Ohio-based wealth management and advisory firm Ancora said it believes that a sale of Big Yellow represents the best risk-adjusted outcome for shareholders.

On Tuesday, Ancora said it has taken a more than 4% stake in Big Yellow.

Elsewhere in London, Robert Walters shares rose 6.9%. The recruitment firm said net fees increased 1% at constant currency in the third quarter of the year, improving from a 3% decline in the first half.

"We delivered a good trading performance in the third quarter - made possible by great contributions from all our people. Among our largest specialist recruitment markets, the UK delivered another strong performance, while Japan, Spain and New Zealand were also up on the prior year. Over half of our specialist recruitment portfolio grew on the prior year and recruitment outsourcing also delivered another very good quarter," Chief Executive Toby Fowlston said.

80 Mile shone on AIM, surging 9.1%. US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that oil, gas and mineral exploration was preparing to begin in Greenland, and hailed the Arctic island's position for US and European security.

Greenland, which lies on the shortest route for missiles between Russia and the US, represents a highly strategic location for Trump's desired "Golden Dome" defence shield.

"Massive Oil, Gas, and Mineral Exploration is getting ready to begin in our new and beautiful Greenland!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Citing experts, Trump said "the amount of easily available Oil is far greater than that of almost... anywhere in the World."

Exploration and development firm 80 Mile describes itself as the "current custodian of the three largest commodity projects in Greenland".

It has a portfolio of polymetallic assets in Greenland covering titanium, nickel, copper, lead, zinc and platinum group metals.

Brent oil was quoted at USD105.80 early Wednesday, flat from USD105.83 late Tuesday afternoon. Gold traded at USD4,152.37 an ounce, down from USD4,163.06.

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