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Stock prices in London were lower on Tuesday morning as UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves set the stage for tax hikes at the budget in about three weeks; meanwhile blue chip stock indices in Paris and Frankfurt also traded lower. The FTSE 100 index opened down 82.20 points, 0.9%, at 9,619.17. The FTSE 250 was down 182.38 points, 0.8%, at 21,926.51, and the AIM All-Share was down 7.81 points, 1.0%, at 764.21. The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.8% at 960.11, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.9% at 19,014.66, and the Cboe Small Companies was 0.3% lower at 17,910.85. In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 1.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt sank 1.4%. In a speech at Downing Street on Tuesday morning, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves refused to rule out tax rises as she said she will make the ‘necessary choices’ in her upcoming Budget. Reeves is expected to announce tax rises on November 26, though Labour pledged not to hike income tax, VAT or national insurance in its 2024 general election manifesto. ‘I have to face the world as it is, not the world that I want it to be,’ Reeves said. She said that ‘austerity, reckless borrowing, made up numbers’ were ‘the problem, not the solution’. The chancellor refused when asked to repeat the manifesto pledge. ‘I will set out the individual policies at the Budget,’ Reeves said. The Office for Budget Responsibility is expected to downgrade its productivity forecasts, meaning the chancellor could face a £20 billion gap in meeting her tax and spending rules. Sterling was at $1.3093 on Tuesday morning, down from $1.3146 at the London equities close on Monday. The euro was lower at $1.1513 from $1.1531. Against the yen, the dollar was lower at JP¥153.66 versus JP¥154.14. In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was down 1.7%. In China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.4%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was 0.8% lower. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was 0.9% lower. In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.5%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.5%. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury slimmed slightly to 4.09% on Tuesday morning from 4.12% on Monday. The yield on the 30-year narrowed to 4.67% from 4.70%. In London, shares in BP were down 0.4% as it said it continued to make good progress in the third quarter as it delivered better-than-expected profit and announced a new share buyback. The London-based oil major reported underlying replacement cost profit of $2.21 billion in the third quarter, down 2.6% from $2.27 billion a year ago, but ahead of $2.02 billion company compiled consensus. Underlying RC profit per share improved 2.5% to 14.24 US cents from 13.89 cents last year. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased 3.4% to $9.98 billion from $9.65 billion a year ago. Pretax profit jumped to $3.24 billion from $1.40 billion a year ago, while total revenue and other income advanced 1.9% to $49.25 billion from $48.33 billion. Chief Executive Murray Auchincloss called it another quarter of ‘good performance across the business’ with operations continuing to run well. BP said it expects total shareholder distributions of between 30% and 40% of operating cash flow over time. It intends to execute a $750 million share buyback programme prior to reporting the fourth quarter results, unchanged from the level seen in the second quarter. The dividend was increased to 8.32 cents from 8.00 cents a year ago, and unchanged from the prior quarter. Shares in Associated British Foods were down 2.2% as it said an ongoing review into its structure may lead to the separation of the Primark and Food businesses. The London-based food processing firm said the review is being conducted with its largest shareholder, Wittington Investments, which remains committed to maintaining majority ownership of both businesses. The company reported pretax profit of £1.41 billion for the twelve months to September 13, down from £1.92 billion a year prior. Revenue fell to £19.46 billion from £20.07 billion, while operating costs before exceptional items were down to £17.88 billion from £18.24 billion. The firm proposed a final dividend of 42.3 pence per share, giving a total dividend of 63.0p per share. In the previous financial year, AB Foods paid a full year dividend of 63.0p per share, along with a special dividend of 27.0p. ‘This was a year of intense strategic and operational activity within ABF. Most of our businesses delivered robust financial results, while navigating a challenging external backdrop,’ said Chief Executive George Weston. ‘I fully support the board’s review of the group structure and will be closely involved in the process and any outcome. Within ABF we have two great businesses but one strong culture of long-term value creation driven by the dedication and excellence of our people.’ On the FTSE 250 index, Diversified Energy led the way and jumped 11%. After the London market close on Monday, Diversified Energy Co hailed the strength of its portfolio of high-quality assets as it reported a much improved sales, earnings and cash flow performance. The Birmingham, Alabama-based oil and gas production company said adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation multiplied to $286 million in the third quarter from $115 million the year prior. Revenue more than doubled to $500 million from $244 million, while adjusted free cash flow improved to $144 million from $56 million. Chief Executive Rusty Hutson commented: ‘Our growing portfolio of high-quality assets continued to deliver exceptional results this quarter... demonstrating Diversified‘s ability to generate substantial value in volatile markets.’ Shares in Domino’s Pizza Group PLC were down 1.9% as it said system sales were up 2.1% in the third quarter to £382.7 million from £374.8 million a year prior. The company, which is the master franchise holder in the UK and Ireland for pizza delivery firm Domino’s Pizza, said like-for-like system sales were up 1.0% in the quarter, while total orders were down 1.5%. The firm left its financial 2025 guidance unchanged. It expects underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation between £130 million and £140 million. ‘We have delivered a solid Q3 performance with positive sales and operational momentum despite the continued challenging consumer backdrop. In particular I am really pleased with the initial results from the introduction of our exciting Chick’N’Dip brand,’ said CEO Andrew Rennie. ‘Our franchisees continue to lead the industry with fast delivery times and we continue to work with them to mitigate the impact of increasing costs and any potential impact of the UK budget on November 26.’ Kore Potash shares were up 13%. The London-based owner of the Kola and DX potash projects said it has started a formal sale process. The firm said it is possible that after the process, the board may concluded that Kore’s interests would be best served by ‘alternative strategic options’ including by continuing to trade as an independent entity. Kore Potash confirmed that it has received approaches from two suitors, each of which is in the early stages of evaluating the possible acquisition of the company. The company said it expects to require further funding no later than November. It it also considering possible sources of funding, including equity and debt, to fund the construction of the Kola project should a sale not occur. Gold was lower at $3,995.80 an ounce early on Tuesday from $3,997.03 late Monday. Brent oil was trading lower at $64.02 a barrel from $65.08. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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