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Stock prices in London were lower at Tuesday midday, as defence and energy stocks were down as the Brent oil price declined amid Ukraine peace talks; meanwhile Tavistock shares jumped after a favourable court ruling. The FTSE 100 index was down 40.34 points, 0.4%, at 9,710.97. The FTSE 250 was up 12.40 points, 0.1%, at 22,061.56, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.84 points, 0.1%, at 748.39. The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.6% at 974.37, the Cboe UK 250 was marginally higher at 19,149.21, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.2% at 17,337.91. The pound was quoted at $1.3417 at midday on Tuesday in London, higher compared to $1.3390 at the equities close on Monday. The euro stood at $1.1756, lower against $1.1764. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥154.86, lower compared to JP¥155.24. BP and Shell weighed on the FTSE 100, with both shares down 1.5%, after the price of Brent crude fell below $60 a barrel as prospects for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal appeared to strengthen. Brent oil was quoted at $59.56 a barrel at midday in London on Tuesday, down from $60.39 late Monday. Adding to pressure on the sector, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Shell’s head of mergers and acquisitions has left the company following disagreements with Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan over a proposed takeover of rival oil major BP. In June, Shell denied it was in talks over a potential bid for BP after a Wall Street Journal report suggested early discussions had taken place, triggering a six-month bidding restriction that prevents Shell from making an offer before December 26. According to sources cited by the FT, Shell is now unlikely to approach BP once the restriction period ends. The newspaper reported that CEO Sawan and CFO Sinead Gorman halted the proposal due to concerns over scale and viability. Defence stocks also dragged on the FTSE 100, with Babcock International and BAE Systems among the biggest losers, down 5.6% and 2.4% respectively. European leaders on Monday proposed a European-led ‘multinational force’, backed by US support, to enforce a potential peace deal in Ukraine, according to a joint statement. The force would form part of ‘robust security guarantees’ aimed at preventing Russia from violating any agreement to end the war. The statement, signed by leaders including those of the UK, France and Germany, was released after talks in Berlin involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. It also outlined points of agreement reached between a dozen European leaders and US officials on the framework of a peace proposal. Ukraine’s military should continue receiving extensive support and maintain a peacetime force of 800,000 troops, the statement said. Peace would also be overseen by a US-led ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism designed to identify violations and provide early warning of any future attack. The Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire-based mechanical and refractory engineering firm said pretax profit rose to £36.8 million in the half year to the end of October from £16.7 million a year earlier. Revenue climbed 27% to £135.6 million from £106.4 million, while cost of sales increased 13% to £68.7 million from £60.7 million. Basic and diluted earnings per share more than doubled to 351.70 pence from 150.91p. In October, Goodwin shares had surged after the company said it expects pretax trading profit of £71 million for the year ending April 30, doubling from £35.5 million in financial 2025. On Tuesday, the company reiterated that it expects financial 2026 profitability to exceed £71 million. Among smaller caps, Tavistock jumped 27% after saying a court ruled fully in its favour in ongoing litigation with Titan Wealth Services and Titan Asset Management. The ruling allows Tavistock to expand counterclaims relating to alleged misuse of its model portfolio service and rejected attempts by Titan to strike out parts of the case. The court also ordered Titan to pay Tavistock an interim £250,000 toward legal costs within 28 days. Tavistock said it continues to pursue its claims and will ‘vigorously’ defend the proceedings. SulNOx rose 10% after being granted an Australian patent for its fuel-saving technology. In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.3%. The eurozone trade surplus remained unchanged month-on-month in October, according to figures published by Eurostat on Tuesday. The single currency area recorded a trade surplus of €18.4 billion in October, unchanged from September. Eurostat said a decline in the surplus for chemicals and related products was offset by improvements in other sectors. Compared with October 2024, the euro area surplus increased by €11.3 billion from €7.1 billion. The improvement was driven by the energy sector, where the deficit narrowed to €17.0 billion from €24.7 billion a year earlier. Imports fell 3.6% year-on-year to €239.6 billion, while exports rose 1.0% to €258.0 billion. In Germany, investor sentiment improved in December, although the assessment of current economic conditions worsened more than expected, according to ZEW survey data. The ZEW economic sentiment index rose to 45.8 points from 38.5 points in November, beating consensus expectations of 38.5 points in December. However, the current conditions index fell to minus 81.0 points from minus 78.7, worse than forecasts of minus 80.0 points in December. ZEW President Achim Wambach said: ‘Expectations have become more positive. After three years of economic stagnation, chances for a recovery of the economy are good and this is reflected in the sentiment.’ Stocks in New York were called lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called down 0.2%, the S&P 500 index down 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.4%. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.18%, widening from 4.17%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.85%, narrowing from 4.83%. Gold was quoted at $4,278.40 an ounce, down from $4,296.68 late on Monday. Still to come on Tuesday’s economic calendar are US nonfarm payrolls, retail sales data and the US flash composite PMI. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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