Oklo stock tumbles as Financial Times scrutinizes valuation
Investing.com -- British stocks extended their gains in Wednesday afternoon trade as fresh economic data showed that U.K. inflation held steady in September, while Barclays and Reckitt shares rose following their earnings reports.
The blue-chip index FTSE 100 rose over 0.9% and the British GBP/USD edges 0.03% lower against the dollar to 1.3364.
The DAX index in Germany dropped 0.7%, and the CAC 40 in France fell 0.6%.
UK inflation holds steady
U.K. inflation maintained its elevated level in September at 3.8%, the same level seen in both August and July, but had been expected to reach 4.0%. This is still almost twice the Bank of England’s 2.0% medium-term target.
In other news, a cyber attack on Jaguar Land Rover has caused an estimated £1.9 billion in financial losses across the UK economy, according to the Cyber Monitoring Centre. The attack, which began in late August 2025, forced JLR to shut down its IT systems and halt manufacturing operations at major UK plants for approximately five weeks.
UK earnings round-up: Barclays lifts guidance and launches buyback, Reckitt beats Q3 forecasts, Halfords surges on solid sales
- ITV PLC (LON:ITV) stock fell after Liberty Global Ltd sold half of its stake in the British broadcaster. Liberty Global’s wholly owned subsidiary, Liberty Global Ventures Limited, completed a block trade sale of 193,365,540 ordinary shares to institutional investors through an accelerated bookbuild process. The shares sold represent approximately 5% of ITV’s issued share capital. The transaction reduces Liberty Global’s overall ownership position in the British media company by half.
- Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) shares rose after raised its full-year guidance and announced a new share buyback after reporting third-quarter results that showed stable income trends and faster cost savings, despite higher provisions related to a car-loan redress probe. The bank said it now expects a return on tangible equity (RoTE) of more than 11% in 2025, up from around 11% previously, after posting a 10.6% RoTE for the third quarter.
- In other corporate news, Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (LON:RKT) reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter sales on Wednesday and reaffirmed its 2025 guidance. The consumer goods maker posted a 7% increase in like-for-like net revenue for the three months to September 30, ahead of the 6.4% forecast in a company-compiled consensus, supported by robust demand in emerging markets and a rebound in key developed regions.
- Halfords Group PLC (LON:HFD), the UK’s leading provider of motoring and cycling products and services, reported better-than-expected sales growth for the first half of its fiscal year, sending its shares up 7.2%. The company posted like-for-like sales growth of 4.1% for the 26 weeks to September 26, with its Retail division growing 4.0% and Autocentres increasing 4.3%. Total reported Group sales rose by 3.3% compared to the same period last year.
- Aberdeen Group PLC (LON:ABDN) reported assets under management and administration (AUMA) of £542.4 billion for Q3 2025, up 6% year to date, driven by strong performance in its interactive investor platform and positive market movements. The company’s interactive investor business continued its robust growth with total customers increasing 14% year-over-year to 492,000, including approximately 20,000 from the Jarvis acquisition.
- Fresnillo PLC (LON:FRES), the world’s largest primary silver producer and Mexico’s largest gold producer, reported third quarter production figures in line with expectations, with the company on track to meet its full year guidance. Gold production is trending toward the upper end of the company’s projected range, while silver production declined as anticipated. Quarterly attributable silver production totaled 11.7 million ounces, representing a 6.6% decrease from the second quarter and a 19.1% decline compared to the same period last year.
- Softcat PLC (LON:SCTS) reported record financial results for the year ended July 31, 2025, with gross profit increasing 18.3% to £494.3 million and underlying operating profit rising 16.9% to £180.1 million. The company achieved gross invoiced income growth of 26.8% to £3.62 billion, marking its 20th consecutive year of double-digit gross profit growth.
- Quilter PLC (LON:QLT) reported strong third-quarter results with core net inflows of £2.2 billion, a 48% increase compared to the same period last year. Assets under Management and Administration reached £134.8 billion as of September 30, 2025, a 7% increase from £126.3 billion at the end of June 2025.
- Hochschild Mining PLC (LON:HOCM) reported third-quarter attributable production of 70,308 gold equivalent ounces, down from 81,660 ounces in the second quarter, as the company continues to implement its turnaround plan at the Mara Rosa mine in Brazil. The mining company reaffirmed it remains on track to achieve its revised 2025 production guidance.