FTSE 100 flat and US stocks upbeat as volatile week draws to a close

Shares of Nike (NKE) were down 10% in pre-market trading on Friday, after the sportswear brand reported continued weakness in China.

Nike posted second-quarter revenue of $12.4bn (£8.96bn) on Thursday, which was flat on a currency-neutral basis.

While revenue across North America, Europe, Middle East & Africa grew, sales were down 17% in Greater China in the second quarter and 4% in Asia Pacific and Latin America.

Net income for the quarter came in at $792m, which was 32% lower than the same period last year.

Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that a “a sharp decline in Chinese demand and the impact of tariffs on margins took the shine off the fact that second quarter revenue had beaten expectations.”

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has warned that the general feeling in Britain is that its economy is “stuck”, amid prolonged low growth.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, he said the problem extends back before when the Labour government took hold in 2024. He warned economic headwinds come in the form of an aging population, the end of the post-Cold War dividend on defence spending and climate change.

“I think Rachel Reeves is right to highlight the consequences of this extended period of low growth,” he said.

The comments come a day after a quarter-point rate cut by Threadneedle Street ratesetters. The bank’s key lending rate now stands at 3.75%.

“It is a challenging environment and I think it’s important that we are quite straightforward in explaining these issues and how best as a country we can tackle them,” he said.

“That’s why we need to increase the growth rate of the economy because that changes the picture.

“Then I think we do have to have some very clear assessment and discussion and consideration of how to deal with these structural headwinds.”

Following new retail sales data this morning from the Office for National Statistics, the organisation’s senior statistician Hannah Finselbach, said

On the public debt figures, chief secretary to the Treasury James Murray said:

Vicky McKeever writes:

UK government borrowing fell to £11.7bn in November but still came in higher than expected, in the same month that chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the autumn budget.

This figure was £1.9bn less than in November 2024, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Friday. However, this was higher than expectations of £10bn.

November’s public sector net borrowing figure was lower than the £17.4bn recorded for October and was the lowest for the month since 2021.

Borrowing for the financial year to November totalled £132.3bn, which was £10bn more than the same eight-month period last year. It was also the second-highest April-to-November borrowing on record after 2020.

Tom Davies, senior statistician at the ONS, said: “Despite an increase in spending this month’s borrowing was the lowest November for four years. The main reason for the drop from last year was increased receipts from taxes and national insurance contributions.”

Read more on Yahoo Finance UK

Our US team writes:

US stock futures traded mixed on Friday after snapping a recent losing streak, as signs of cooling inflation and waning AI worries buoyed Wall Street optimism toward the tail end of a topsy-turvy week.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) fell 0.2%, while those on the S&P 500 (ES=F) hovered near the flatline. Meanwhile, contracts on the Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) rose roughly 0.3%, as stocks steadied after Thursday’s roaring rally.

Investors have gotten through a catch-up week for economic data with next year’s rate-cut hopes intact, having embraced the outcome of this week’s delayed November reports on jobs and consumer inflation despite warnings over their reliability.

The inflation data on Thursday provided the latest spark Wall Street had been searching for. The Consumer Price Index found inflation cooling at a startling pace. The rally came even as some economists pointed to data collection limitations in the report, thanks to the federal government shutdown, and cautioned that January’s reading would give a better read on the overall state of price pressures.

Hi! Lucy Harley-McKeown here — about to close out a busy week of economics and finance news.

Off the back of a Bank of England 25 basis point rate cut on Thursday, this morning we had UK public sector finances data, as well as the latest on UK retail sales.

The OBR is also set to release its own public sector finance figures around midday.

In the US, traders will be looking for the latest PCE reading — the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge used to guide interest rates.

Let’s get to it.