London pre-open: Stocks seen up ahead of earnings deluge; Fed eyed

London stocks were set to gain at the open on Wednesday as investors eyed another raft of corporate news, with HSBC, GSK and Taylor Wimpey among those reporting.
The FTSE 100 was called to open around 20 points higher.

Investors were also looking ahead to the last policy announcement from the US Federal Reserve, as well as earnings from the likes of Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Amazon.

Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said: "Powell & Co. are widely expected to hold at 4.25-4.50%, but traders will be scanning every comma of the press conference for signs of a policy pivot - or signs that one won't come. And frankly, it makes little sense for the Fed to wax dovish given the inflation unknowns still lurking around the corner, particularly from tariff pass-throughs.

"The effective tariff rate may settle near 15%-20%, but the second-round effects haven't hit the data yet. Powell's best move here is strategic ambiguity- keep the door open but don't throw it wide."

In UK corporate news, HSBC reported lower-than-expected first-half profits as it took a large hit from its stake in China's Bank of Communications.

Pre-tax profit fell by $5.7bn to $15.8bn with the BoC charge coming in at $2.1bn. Second-quarter earnings were down 29% year-on-year to $6.3bn.

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey cut its annual profit guidance by £20m due to a one-off charge, but said it is on track to meet its completions guidance by the end of the year after a "good underlying performance" in the first half.

Group operating profits are now expected to come in at £424m over 2025, down from April's guidance of £444m, due to charges relating to principal contractor remediation works on a historical site.

Enterprise software group Sage said that total revenues had grown in the third quarter and reiterated its full-year guidance despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty.

Sage said Q3 revenues were up 9% at £1.86bn, with North American revenue up 11% at £846m, while UKIA and European revenues grew 9% to £539m and 6% to £477m, respectively.