UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Nov 19 (updated)

Jet2

19/11/2025 07:53

Adds new items, updates futures

Nov 19 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening higher on Wednesday, with futures FFIc1 up 0.16%.

    * INFLATION: British consumer price inflation fell to 3.6% in October from September's joint 18-month high of 3.8%, official figures showed on Wednesday, the first drop since May and one which offers some relief to the government and the Bank of England.

* WH SMITH: WH Smith said CEO Carl Cowling has offered to resign following the findings of an independent review that revealed accounting failures in the company's North American operations.

* SEVERN TRENT:  Severn Trent SVT.L named James Jesic as its next chief executive officer, succeeding Liv Garfield, who is stepping down, effective January 1, 2026.

     *  SAGE: Britain's Sage SGE.L reported a better-than-expected 16% rise in underlying operating profit to 600 million pounds ($788 million)  after it grew both its top line and its margin, and said it expected another year of progress.

* SMITHS GROUP : Smiths Group SMIN.L launched a 1-billion-pound ($1.31 billion) share buyback on Wednesday and reported that double-digit growth in its Smiths Detection unit helped first-quarter organic revenue rise 3.5%.

* JET2: British low-cost airline and travel firm Jet2  JET2.L on Wednesday said it would report annual results in line with expectations after posting a rise in interim operating profit, helped by robust demand for its flight-only offerings.

* PAY: Median pay settlements granted by British employers in the three months to the end of October rose to their highest so far this year at 3.3%, up from 3% in the three-month period to September.

* COMMODITIES: Oil prices fell, copper nudged higher ,and gold edged lower on Wednesday.

* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: LIVE/

TODAY'S UK PAPERS
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(Compiled by Tuhina in Bengaluru)

((tuhina@thomsonreuters.com))