Must read: FTSE 100, US futures, Nvidia, JD Sports
ii’s head of investment rounds up the morning’s big news.
24th September 2025 08:35
by Victoria Scholar from interactive investor
GLOBAL MARKETS
The FTSE 100 has opened lower following declines on Wall Street last night. Defence stocks BAE Systems (LSE:BA.) and Babcock International Group (LSE:BAB) are at the top of the basket alongside silver miner Fresnillo (LSE:FRES) amid the cautious risk-off market mood.
- Invest with ii:Open a Stocks & Shares ISA | Top ISA Funds | Transfer your ISA to ii
US futures are pointing to a flat to modestly higher open after the Nasdaq closed down nearly 1% amid declines in the tech sector coupled with cautious remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell. He said the central bank was in a ‘challenging situation’ and there is ‘no risk-free path’ after the Fed cut rates last week for the first time this year.
Tech stocks were under pressure amid question marks around the NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA)/OpenAI tie-up, with both Nvidia and Oracle shares reversing course to close sharply lower.
JD SPORTS
JD Sports Fashion (LSE:JD.) reported a 13.5% drop in first-half profit to £351 million, down from £406 million year-on-year. However, sales rose by 18% to £5.94 billion. CEO Regis Schultz struck a cautious tone, admitting the trading environment is ‘tough’ and consumer finances are ‘strained’.
However, the company said the financial impact from US tariffs is expected to be ‘limited’ this year. The sportswear giant kept its full-year outlook unchanged.
JD Sports has been grappling with a series of headwinds including tariff uncertainty, an aggressive promotional environment with heavy discounts, weak demand for Nike products amid pressures from the growth of emerging challenger brands and rising unemployment that’s weighing on consumers’ propensity to spend. Year-on-year comparisons were particularly tough this summer after the blockbuster Euro 24 season the prior year. Consequently, shares have taken a hit, falling around 42% over the past 12 months.
However, there have been some positives, with gains from its acquisitions of Hibbett and Courir in the previous year starting to come through, a strong online performance in North America, and Nike taking significant steps to reshape its business.
Analysts are feeling mixed towards the stock with nine hold recommendations versus nine buys, and investors are also mixed over today’s update with the little change in JD Sports’ share price at the open.
These articles are provided for information purposes only. Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.
Full performance can be found on the company or index summary page on the interactive investor website. Simply click on the company's or index name highlighted in the article.