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FTSE 100 LIVE: Stocks lack direction as traders look to US Federal Reserve

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The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was lower on Wednesday morning, while European stocks lacked clear direction, as global markets attempt a modest reset.

With no major fresh catalysts, attention has now swung back to the US Federal Reserve, where investors are banking on a rate cut next week and an even more dovish regime if Kevin Hassett replaces Jerome Powell.

President Donald Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday that they would be announcing the new chair “probably early next year”. This was a bit later than many had anticipated given that Treasury secretary Scott Bessent previously said that there was “a very good chance” an announcement would come by Christmas.

Trump later referred to Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, as a “potential” Fed chair, while the Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration had cancelled interviews with a group of finalists for the role that were set to start this week.

The Polymarket probability of Hassett getting the role climbed higher after an initial drop, reaching 87%.

Money markets have also put the chances of a 10 December interest rate cut at around 90%, with another three forecast by the end of next year.

Fabien Yip, IG market analyst, said: “Friday’s core PCE index represents the final major inflation gauge before the Fed’s December policy meeting.

“Any deviation could alter expectations regarding the Fed’s policy stance, particularly as the central bank weighs inflation persistence against a softening labour market.”

“The release of personal income and spending data alongside the PCE will provide additional perspective on consumer resilience,”

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  • London’s benchmark index (^FTSE) was hovering around the flatline in early trade

  • Germany’s DAX (^GDAXI) rose 0.3% and the CAC (^FCHI) in Paris headed 0.1% into the red

  • The pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) was up 0.2%

  • Wall Street is set for a positive start as S&P 500 futures (ES=F), Dow futures (YM=F) and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) were all in the green.

  • The pound was 0.2% up against the US dollar (GBPUSD=X) at 1.3239

Follow along for live updates throughout the day:

LIVE 3 updates

  • Indian rupee hits fresh record low past 90 per dollar

    India’s rupee fell to a fresh record low on Wednesday, extending its recent declines, with traders partly blaming the delay in striking a trade deal with the United States.

    The currency weakened as much as 0.35% to a symbolic new low of 90.19, according to Bloomberg data, and is among Asia’s worst forex performers this year.

    It has also faced pressure due to India’s current account deficit and foreign outflows.

    New Delhi’s early trade negotiations with Washington sparked optimism that foreign capital would flow into the world’s fifth-largest economy — helping push the rupee to a nearly six-month-high of 83.75 against the dollar in May.

    But trade talk setbacks and weak corporate earnings have caused overseas investors to offload well over $16bn in Indian shares so far this year.

    Dilip Parmar, an analyst at HDFC Securities, told AFP the rupee’s fall was “first and foremost” an “imbalance of demand and supply” with foreign fund outflows and trade deal uncertainty adding fuel to the fire.

    Parmar added that another key factor was a lack of “big and impactful” intervention from India’s central bank.

    Analysts said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has this year sporadically defended the rupee through aggressive dollar sales to support key levels, but also appears of late to be allowing greater currency flexibility.

    Raj Gaikar, research analyst at SAMCO Securities, said:

    The central bank was intervening only to ease volatility, not to reverse a trend driven by fundamentals, Gaikar added, expecting the rupee to settle in a “88-92 range”.

  • Asia and US overnight

    Stocks in Asia were mixed overnight, with the Nikkei (^N225) rising 1.1% on the day in Japan, driven by technology and real estate stocks, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) fell 1.3% in Hong Kong.

    It came alongside the prospect of a Bank of Japan (BoJ) rate hike, which managed to spook the bond market. Japanese government bonds remain under pressure, with the five-year yield hitting a high not seen since 2008.

    The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 0.5% down by the end of the session and in South Korea, the Kospi (^KS11) added 1% on the day.

    Elsewhere, the Australian economy expanded less than anticipated in the September quarter, but with much stronger details below the surface which has increased expectations of rate hikes.

    Gross domestic product (GDP) increased 0.4% for the three months ending 30 September, falling short of the 0.7% growth expectations and slowing from the revised 0.7% rise observed in the previous quarter.

    It came as weak net trade and a significant reduction in inventories outweighed robust domestic demand.

    On a year-on-year basis, GDP grew 2.1%, compared to expectations of 2.2% and growth of 2.0% in the preceding quarter. Markets have seen it as a hawkish release due to the big inventory miss and one of the strongest final demand prints in the last 10-15 years.

    Across the pond on Wall Street, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.25% — a modest increase after its selloff at the start of the week, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) was 0.6% higher. The Dow Jones (^DJI) gained 0.4%.

  • Coming up

    Good morning, and welcome back to our markets live blog. As usual we will be taking a deep dive into what’s moving markets and happening across the global economy.

    To the day ahead we have US data releases include the ISM services index for November, the ADP’s report of private payrolls for November, and industrial production or September. Otherwise, will we get the final services and composite PMIs for November from the US and Europe.

    Finally, from central banks, we’ll hear from ECB president Christine Lagarde, the ECB’s Lane, and the BoE’s Catherine Mann.

    Here’s a snapshot of what’s on the agenda for today:

    • 7am: Trading updates: Paragon Banking Group, MONY Group, Victorian Plumbing

    • 9am: Eurozone services PMI

    • 9.30am: UK services PMI

    • 2.15pm: Treasury Committee hearing on the budget with leading economists

    • 4:30pm: FTSE reshuffle announced