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Stock prices in London were higher at Tuesday midday, with weak UK employment and earnings data boosting hopes for a potential December rate cut by the Bank of England, while across the pond moves towards the end of the longest US government shutdown in history are set to improve risk sentiment in US stocks. The FTSE 100 index was 82.14 points, 0.8%, at 9,869.29. The FTSE 250 was up 122.28 points, 0.6%, at 22,090.38, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.93 points, 0.1% at 758.47. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.7% at 984.46, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.4% at 19,108.63, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.1% at 17,939.10. The UK unemployment rate rose to 5.0% in the three months to September, its highest level since early 2021, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday. The rate was up from 4.8% in the prior quarter and 4.2% a year earlier, signalling further labour market weakness. The data reinforced expectations for a Bank of England rate cut in December, as cooling employment and wage growth suggest easing inflationary pressure. Sterling weakened after the figures as investors priced in earlier policy easing. The pound was quoted at $1.3147 at midday in London, down from $1.3160 late Monday. The euro traded at $1.1572, little changed from $1.1568, while the dollar firmed to JP¥154.12 from JP¥153.97. In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.7%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.1%. Investor sentiment in Germany deteriorated slightly in November, while assessments of current conditions improved marginally, survey data from ZEW showed Tuesday. The ZEW economic sentiment index for Germany fell to 38.5 points from 39.3 points in October, missing forecasts for an improvement to 40.0 points. The current conditions index rose modestly to minus 78.7 points from minus 80.0 points, though below expectations of minus 77.5 points. For the eurozone, investor sentiment improved, with the ZEW indicator of economic sentiment rising 2.3 points to 25.0 points in November from 22.7 points in October. The current situation index also ameliorated, climbing 4.5 points to minus 27.3 points in November from minus 31.8 points in October. Back in the UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer hinted the two-child benefit cap could be lifted, saying the government would take ‘a number of measures’ to drive down child poverty. His comments came after Chancellor Rachel Reeves signalled she was open to scrapping the limit in her November 26 budget. Reeves has also suggested that Labour’s election pledge not to raise income tax may be set aside to protect public investment and long-term growth. Starmer told ITV’s Lorraine programme: ‘I’m determined to drive child poverty down. It’s what the last Labour government did, and it’s one of the things we were proudest of.’ It follows Monday’s remarks from Reeves, who signalled that her upcoming budget could break Labour’s manifesto pledge not to raise income tax. Reeves said that maintaining the promise would require ‘deep cuts’ to public investment, which she warned could jeopardise the government’s plans to drive long-term economic growth. Tesco was the worst performer on the FTSE 100, down 3.0%, followed by Marks & Spencer, which fell 2.6%, while Sainsbury’s dropped 1.9% after industry data showed slowing sales growth. Worldpanel by Numerator reported UK grocery price inflation eased to 4.7% in the 12 weeks to November 2, from 5.3% in September, as supermarkets stepped up discounts ahead of Christmas. British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group rose 0.7% after Heathrow Airport, where the airline has its main hub, reported its busiest October ever, with 7.4 million passengers passing through, up 2.1% from 7.2 million last year. The airport attributed the record to a ‘bumper half-term’ period, with strong demand for flights to European cities including Brussels, Lyon, Marseille, and Vienna. Heathrow’s passenger numbers for the first 10 months of 2025 were up 0.5% year-on-year, with its runways operating near full capacity. On the FTSE 250, Oxford Instruments surged 14% after expanding its buyback and raising its dividend, even as interim profit and revenue declined. Pretax profit fell 39% to £20.3 million in the six months to September 30 from £33.3 million a year prior, while revenue dropped 9.2% to £185.5 million from £204.3 million. The firm said it was recovering from order repricing and shipment delays. Oxford Instruments declared an interim dividend of 5.4 pence per share, up 5.9% from 5.1p a year ago, and said its current £50 million share buyback will be doubled to £100 million. Among small caps, Mercantile Ports & Logistics dropped 23% after reporting widened losses despite revenue growth. Annualised revenue rose 34% to £39.5 million in the 15 months to June 30 from £24.4 million in the 12 months to March 2024, while adjusted Ebitda improved to £2.2 million from £900,000. However, its statutory pretax loss widened to £13.4 million from £3.3 million, with one-off costs of £11.3 million mainly due to a non-cash impairment. The company said competition, particularly from Microsoft Authenticator, made 2025 ‘challenging’ but noted trading for financial 2026 is in line with expectations. In New York, stocks were called mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was seen up 0.1%, while the S&P 500 was called down 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.3%. Disney will publish its full-year results before the US market opens. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.12%, widening from 4.11%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.71%, widening from 4.70%. Brent oil was quoted at $64.51 a barrel at midday in London, up from $63.45 late Monday. Gold was trading at $4,144.00 an ounce, up from $4,091.42. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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