FTSE 100 Live: blue chips hold firm after a muted start on Wall Street

• FTSE 100 up 51 points
• Wall Street futures trade higher 
• Could JD be a take-private candidate?
• LandSec swings back to a profit
• Future falls on lower revenue forecast

16:59: FTSE finishes strongly

The FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.6% to close at 8,685, gaining 51 points today.

15.08: Slow end to the week 

The FTSE 100 has been around the 30-35-point gain mark since mid-morning and doesn't seem likely to shift - and shows no motivation in either direction after a lukewarm start in the States. The Dow is up 25 points, while the tech-focused Nasdaq has snail-paced it 31 points higher.

Across the Atlantic, the focus is very much on tariffs and trade, and the bipolar approach of the Trump administration.

Following progress with the United Kingdom and China, the mood music suggests a tougher stance with the rump. Rather than continuing one-on-one negotiations, the President said on Friday that the United States will soon set out its terms unilaterally.

Mind you, it was a bit of 'meh' moment for the markets, given the muted price action early on.

Meanwhile, fresh data pointed to continued weakness in the US housing market as 'starts' rose by just 1.6% last month, falling short of expectations, while building permits dropped 4.7%, a sharper decline than forecast.

12:56: Could JD Sports go private?

Here's a poser for you: could Britain's largest sports fashion retailer be the target for a take-private bid?

One bank has taken a look at the mechanics, rather than the possibility, and thinks there's certainly the financial scope for a leveraged deal.

In the last year, the stock is down 26% as its fortunes have tracked those of Nike, one of its biggest brands, but also increased cost and competitive pressures.

Citi, in a short research note, reckons that the depressed valuation, coupled with attractive financial incentives, could make a buyout both feasible and potentially lucrative.

The valuation gap, the bank suggests, could draw interest from private equity, particularly given JD's relatively clean balance sheet and cash generation.

The note points out that JD is already 52% owned by Pentland Group, its long-term controlling shareholder, which could help facilitate a transaction.

Citi calculates that if a private equity sponsor targeted a 25% annual return over four years, and assumed an exit at 5.4 times EV/EBITDA, the average of JD's three-year trading multiple and the multiple implied by the Foot Locker deal, the acquisition could be viable even at a 100% premium to JD’s current share price.

To finance such a deal, Citi estimates JD Sports could support debt equivalent to 4.0 times EBITDA, excluding lease liabilities under IFRS 16.

This level is consistent with typical private equity transactions. While the analysis is illustrative, it suggests the economics of a take-private bid are credible under reasonable assumptions.

With the shares still trading at a discount and sentiment on retail subdued, Citi believes JD is worth watching as a potential M&A candidate. The shares were up 2% in a subdued early afternoon session.

11.35am: Wall Street expected to open higher

US stock futures were in the green ahead of Friday's opening bell as investors continue to rotate back into blue chips. 

Futures for the Dow Jones were up 0.37%, while those for the S&P 500 0.27% higher and Nasdaq futures were 0.25% higher. 

The Dow led Thursday's gains with a 0.7% and the S&P 500 added 0.4%. Tech stocks took a bit of a breather, with the Nasdaq slipping back 0.2% as investors took some profits off the table after a strong run in major tech names.

"We have seen some questions emerge over the longevity of this recent run for US and China-related stocks, with the Nasdaq having gained over 30% from their April lows," commented Scope Markets Joshua Mahony.

"Indeed, yesterday did see the Nasdaq lag after leading the recent resurgence, with most of the mag7 names down on the day. Those recent tech gains have been largely centred on AI-related stocks that could benefit from the emergence of Saudi Arabia as a new market for AI products and services."

Ahead of the US opening, the FTSE 100 was 58 points, or two-thirds of a percent up at 8,691.57.

10.45am: Staffline surges on logistics contract

Staffline Group PLC (AIM:STAF) shares have jumped more than 15% after it bagged a major deal with a top UK food and drink logistics firm.

The two-year contract, with an option to extend, puts Staffline in charge of all agency labour across the client’s UK and Ireland operations. Around 3,000 temps will be deployed in roles like driving, warehousing and security, starting later this year. The move strengthens Staffline’s grip in the logistics sector and replaces the client’s in-house team.

CEO Albert Ellis called it a “value-enhancing” win that should boost the group’s performance—and investors clearly liked the sound of it.

9.45am: Workspace warns of £7m hit

Workspace Group PLC said it’s on track to meet profit expectations for the year to March 2025 but flagged a £7 million hit to next year’s numbers from rising costs and tenant exits.

The post-close update sent its shares down 11%.

A dip in property values and occupancy also weighed on performance.

Looking ahead, Workspace has signed off on a new strategy to turn things around, with plans to boost occupancy, invest in its office spaces, and step up marketing. The company says it’s confident in its approach as it continues to back growing SMEs across London’s flexible workspace market.

9.30am: Future sinks on lower revenue forecast

Future PLC (LSE:FUTR) is among the top losers on the FTSE 250 this morning on the back of its first-half results and lowered full-year revenue forecast. 

After opening flat, the company's shares are now more than 6% lower. 

"Investors punished Future heavily for cutting its revenue forecast after a dip in March ad sales hurt its Q1 performance," commented SAXO's Neil Wilson.

"GoCompare got hit by a decline in car insurance pricing...which was evident yesterday with Admiral down sharpish. Given the Q1 softness and macro backdrop, it now expects a low single-digit decline in FY 2025 organic revenue."

9.15am: No froth from Vesuvius 

Shares in Vesuvius Plc (LSE:VSVS) are also under pressure this morning, dipping as much as 6% after it said profits are down so far in 2025.

The FTSE 250 engineering firm blamed higher raw material and labour costs and slower demand in its key steel and foundry markets.

Revenue held steady, but it’s had a tough time passing those extra costs on to customers. Weaker activity in Europe, North America and the Middle East didn’t help either.

Vesuvius now expects full-year profit to fall slightly short of earlier forecasts.

At the time of writing, its shares were down 2.6% at 365p. The Footsie is off its best levels but is still  26 points firmer at 8,659.41. 

8.35am: Land Securities targets retail and residential 

Back to those Land Securities results, and the company's shares have now dipped 2% in early trading despite reporting a 5% rise in like-for-like rental income for the year to 31 March. EPRA earnings hit £374 million, and profit before tax rose to £393 million.

Strong leasing in London and retail saw rents on relettings jump 8%, with occupancy at 97.2%. Portfolio value edged up 1.1%, while net debt climbed to £4.3 billion.

CEO Mark Allan plans to shift £3 billion out of offices and into retail and residential by 2030.

The dividend rose 2% to 40.4p, and total return on equity came in at 6.4%.

“Land Securities has swung back to profit as demand for prime retail and London office assets pushes through, despite the challenges in the sector," commented eToro's Adam Vettese.

“Despite achieving the highest occupancy rates in 5 years, Land Securities has opened down this morning. Shares have showed modest gains this year, but investors will now be looking for some meaningful progress beyond 600p, which seems to be a bit of a hurdle.”

8.15am: Footsie quick out of the starting gate

The pundits were right; the FTSE 100 got off to a strong start, jumping 49 points, or about 0.57%, to 8,633.75 in the first few minutes of Friday trading.

GSK PLC (LSE:GSK, NYSE:GSK), 3i Group PLC (LSE:III) and AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN) are top of the leaderboard, with gains of over 1%. No clear reason that I can see. 

Gold miners are under pressure, giving up some of their recent strong gains as gold retreats from its recent highs. 

Land Securities Group PLC (LSE:LAND) has also pulled back, down 0.9% now, after it released full year results. More on those shortly.  

Mulberry is up 3%, perhaps on the back of the Richemont results, but Watches of Switzerland is flat so far this morning. 

8am: Mixed fortunes for Future 

Future PLC (LSE:FUTR) faces an uncertain start to trading on Friday after it trimmed its revenue forecast after a wobble in March ad sales hit its early 2025 performance.

The publisher of PC Gamer and Homes & Gardens now sees a slight drop in full-year organic revenue. First-half sales dipped 3% to £378.4 million, with adjusted profit down 5%. Its B2C arm was flat, B2B fell, and Go.Compare saw a small dip as car insurance quotes slowed.

Still, Future boosted earnings per share by 31% and cut net debt. It handed £43 million back to shareholders and says ad sales bounced back in April.

The mood’s cautious for now, but growth is expected to return next year.

7.50am: American Axle eyes London listing 

American Axle & Manufacturing is hitting the road to London with plans for a secondary share listing after snapping up FTSE 250 car parts maker Dowlais for £1.2 billion. 

The Detroit-based car parts maker says the move will open the door for more investors to hop on board. The deal gives it more muscle in a tough EV market and helps it keep pace with fast-moving Chinese rivals.

Regulatory green lights are on track, and the company says recent global shifts make the timing even better.

Over in the US, Trump’s 25% auto import tariffs are getting a bit of a tune-up, with a two-year grace period to boost homegrown car parts—good news for a group now straddling both sides of the Atlantic.

7.30am: Luxury goods may sparkle on Friday

Luxury goods groups like Watches of Switzerland Group PLC (LSE:WOSG) and Mulberry Group (AIM:MUL) could be in for a good day if they take their cue from Richemont. 

The Swiss giant behind Cartier and Van Cleef just squeezed out a 7% sales bump—slightly beating forecasts and flexing some bling muscle despite China’s luxury slump.

Turns out, rich Americans are still partying like it's 2019, scooping up high-end jewellery while shrugging off economic doomscrolling. Jewellery sales sparkled with an 11% jump, while the watch division tanked by the same percentage—because apparently no one's buying fancy timepieces in post-property-crash China.

It’s not all champagne though—growth slowed from Q3’s 10%, and April’s new tariffs have the whole luxury gang twitching. But for now, Richemont’s riding high on iced-out wrists and deep US pockets.

7.15am: Footsie prepares for a bright start to the day

The FTSE 100 is likely to build on Thursday's gains when trading gets underway.

The futures market is betting on a gain of about 30 points, or a third of a percent, adding to yesterday's 49-point (0.57%) increase, which took the blue-chip index to a six-week high.

Overnight, the main US stock indices were mixed, with a reversal of the performance seen on Wednesday. The Dow Jones was the standout as investors continued to rotate into blue chips, pushing the index 0.7% higher. The S&P 500 added 0.4%, but tech stocks took a bit of a breather, with the Nasdaq slipping back 0.2% as investors took some profits off the table after a strong run in major tech names.

Asian markets are flat to weaker this morning. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 is down a few points, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng has shed two-thirds of a percent and Shanghai's SSE Composite Index is down just over half a percent. 

5am: What to watch on Friday 16 May

Friday brings the first update from media group Future PLC (LSE:FUTR) since February, when it backed guidance for the year despite ongoing challenges across the UK advertising market and a slowdown in its Go.Compare business.

Since then, new CEO Kevin Li Ying has told analysts of his plans to evolve the publisher's existing strategy, which may form a major part of the interim results announcement.

Land Securities Group PLC (LSE:LAND) also has final results, which analysts at UBS said should bring certainty around several factors. 

Announcements due:

Trading updates: Vesuvius

Interims: Future

Finals: Land Securities

Overseas earnings: Aegon, Foot Locker, Richemont, Swiss Re

AGMs: CLS Holdings, Derwent London, H & T Group, Proteome Sciences

Economic announcements: Balance of Trade (EU), Building Permits (US), Housing Starts (US), Import and Export Price Indices (US), U. of Michigan Confidence (Prelim) (US), Retail Sales (CHN), Industrial Production (CHN)