The FTSE 100 inched higher on Wednesday as investors weighed Chancellor John Healey’s first budget, which balanced a message of fiscal restraint with targeted support for households facing cost-of-living pressures. Healey projected that fiscal headroom will shrink to £15 billion in 2029–30 before recovering to £22 billion the following year.
Banking stocks advanced after the government’s tax proposals turned out to be milder than many had anticipated. Standard Chartered climbed more than 4%, while Lloyds and Barclays each gained around 3.8%. Sentiment was bolstered by a temporary rise in the bank surcharge to 6%, lower than the 8% previously feared.
Betting firms also moved higher after the government increased machine games duty to 25% from 20%.
By contrast, GSK dropped more than 5% on the back of disappointing results, as weaker sales of its Shingrix vaccine stoked worries about the company’s longer-term growth prospects. Unilever declined more than 3%, with softness in North America overshadowing stronger trading in emerging markets, ahead of the planned separation of its food division.
