Fed's rate cut outlook dampens the mood in London

London stocks opened lower on Thursday as the Federal Reserve projected fewer rate cuts this year. The central kept rates unchanged yesterday and indicated only one quarter-point cut this year, pushing the start of rate cuts to possibly December. Investors are awaiting US producer price figures later today.

Weaker-than-expected inflation data in the US sparked a global rally on Wednesday that lifted rate sensitive stocks such as real estate.  The FTSE 100 was up 0.8%, also boosted by Rentokil, which saw its shares climb 15% after activist investor Nelson Peltz took a stake in the company.

In corporate news, Halma is up 8% after beating full-year revenue and profit estimates. BT Group rose following Carlos Slim's acquisition of a 3.16% stake, while Crest Nicholson dropped 12% after warning of a significant profit drop.

Virgin Money UK reported an 18% rise in pretax profit but warned of higher costs due to the Nationwide deal, while PayPoint reported revenue that surged 83% and announced a three-year share buyback program. Wise's revenue jumped 24%, with pretax profit more than tripling.

In other news, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced up to £242 million in bilateral assistance to Ukraine at the G7 summit.

Things to read today:

• The dollar doomsayers have it all wrong (Financial Times).
• According to the IEA, the world will face a staggering oil glut by 2030 (Financial Times).
• Why some stories are so easy to fall for (The Atlantic).
• Microsoft’s Nadella Is Building an AI Empire. OpenAI Was Just the First Step. (WSJ)