Source: Sharecast
At 0835 BST, the FTSE 100 was flat at 9,118.43.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The FTSE has rebounded slightly this morning after shedding 80 points on Tuesday. Storm clouds are gathering ahead of Rachel Reeve’s second Budget with long-term gilt yields hitting over 5.7%, nearly the highest levels seen in three decades and sterling having its weakest day against the Greenback since liberation day. Bond yields have pulled back a little this morning but it’s likely to be another nervy day ahead with Sterling weakness continuing this morning.
"The bond sell off has not just been confined to UK shores, with 30-year US Treasuries reaching nearly 5%, reflecting investor concerns about the ballooning US deficit and fiscal looseness under the Trump regime. So far, tariff revenue’s not been enough to start rebalancing the books.
"Futures for the major US indices are showing mixed signals with the broad-based Dow Jones pointing to an opening decline of around 0.3% but the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite up by about the same quantum, supported by strong out of hours trading for Google and YouTube parent Alphabet. This comes after the long-awaited antitrust ruling by the US Department of Justice steered clear of some of the more draconian possibilities such as the forced disposal of the Chrome web browser."
In equity markets, precious metals miner Fresnillo and gold miners Hochschild and Endeavour all shone as gold prices hit a new record high.
Equipment rental firm Ashtead advanced as it reiterated its full-year outlook despite a dip in first-quarter earnings.
Watches of Switzerland surged after saying it does not expect any material impact from US tariffs in the first half of fiscal 2026 as brand partners increased inventories.
The company held guidance despite US President Donald Trump slapping Switzerland with a shock 39% tariff on exports. WoS said trading had been consistently strong in the 18 weeks to 31 August.
On the downside, M&G fell even as it reported steady profits for the first half, as the investment manager saw strong net flows from open business.
Food manufacturer Hilton Food tumbled after releasing first-half results analysts described as "mixed". Hilton said it delivered a "robust performance and further strategic progress in the six months ended 29 June, despite "challenging" market conditions.
The company posted a 7.6% increase in interim revenue to £2.09bn, while pre-tax profits ticked up 0.3% to £33.6m.
