Stock prices in London were lower at midday Tuesday, after data showed the UK unemployment rate fell unexpectedly, and ahead of a key inflationary print from the US in the afternoon.
The FTSE 100 index was down 20.74 points, or 0.3%, at 8,189.67. The FTSE 250 was down 1.46 points at 20,675.73, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.68 points, or 0.1%, at 766.31.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 817.33, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 18,115.19, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 16,799.02.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was little changed.
The next US PPI print is due at at 1330 BST, followed by the US Redbook index at 1355 BST.
‘The expected easing of inflationary pressures, particularly with the upcoming July CPI data, is a critical development. A decrease in core inflation would confirm that the Fed’s tight monetary policy is yielding results. Lower inflation could give the Fed the leeway to shift its focus from combating price increases to supporting growth,’ explained ACY Securities’ Luca Santos.
‘If the Fed delays easing monetary policy, the US economy could risk entering a deeper slowdown, leading to a potential recession. Conversely, if the Fed cuts rates too aggressively, it might reignite inflationary pressures or create financial market instability,’ Santos added.
Meanwhile, in the UK, the Bank of England looks likely to keep rates on hold in September following sticky wage growth data.
According to the Office for National Statistics, annual growth in employees’ average regular earnings, excluding bonuses, stood at 5.4% in the April to June period, a slowdown from 5.7% for March to May. The wage growth of just 5.4% was the lowest in two years. The last time it was lower was in May to July 2022, when it was 5.2%.
‘In the short term, we think the stickiness in wage growth will keep the Bank moving cautiously on rate cuts. But assuming there is further progress on both that and services inflation over the next few months, we think the Bank will accelerate the pace of cuts beyond November. We expect Bank Rate to fall to 3.25% by this time next year,’ said ING.
Separate data showed that UK grocery inflation accelerated for the first time since March last year, figures on Tuesday showed. Supermarket prices were 1.8% higher than a year ago in the four weeks to 4 August, picking up pace from 1.6% in July, according to retail analysts Kantar.
The pound was quoted at $1.2793 at midday on Tuesday in London, up compared to $1.2789 at the equities close on Monday. The euro fell to $1.0921, against $1.0937. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥147.63, up compared to JP¥147.61.
In the FTSE 100, AstraZeneca gained 0.2%.
The pharmaceutical firm’s shares enjoyed a small uptick, after announcing alongside Daiichi Sankyo that their joint product, Enhertu, has received a third approval in China.
Enhertu, for which the generic name is trastuzumab deruxtecan, has been given conditional approval from the National Medical Products Administration for the treatment of gastric cancer.
In the FTSE 250, Just Group built on gains from earlier in the day, rising 16%.
Despite seeing pretax profit fall to £74 million in the first half, down from £117 million a year prior, the firm posted retirement income sales of £2.47 billion, up from £1.90 billion. New business profit rose to £222 million from £161 million, while underlying operating profit was £249 million, up from £173 million the previous year.
Looking ahead, Just Group said its outlook is positive, noting a ‘strong and resilient capital base and low-strain business model’. It now expects to ‘substantially beat previous 2024 guidance’, which was doubling 2021’s £211 million operating profit in three years.
On AIM, Eden Research was up 8.4%.
The Oxfordshire, England-based company, which develops sustainable biopesticides and plastic-free formulation technologies, has received regulatory authorisation for use of its flagship biofungicide, Mevalone, in Germany.
Mevalone is authorised for professional use on grapevines and apples to control Botrytis on grapes and for the prevention of storage diseases on apples.
By contrast, Touchstone Exploration lost 4.0%.
The oil and natural gas exploration and production firm saw its shares fall on altered annual guidance, which now reflects a 15% reduction in the midpoint of Touchstone’s production forecast, driven by year-to-date production levels.
Original capital guidance in the fourth quarter of the year contemplated drilling one Coho development well and one Coho exploration well. In order to focus on the development of our Cascadura field, Touchstone says it has elected to postpone its Coho capital program and drill two additional Cascadura development wells from the Cascadura B site.
Stocks in New York were called predominantly higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was just about in the red, while the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite were up 0.3% and 0.4% respectively.
Donald Trump criticised the EU and his Democratic opponents during a delayed, two-hour conversation with Elon Musk on X. The interview, due to start after midnight on Tuesday, was put back by more than 40 minutes by technical problems with X owner Musk blaming a cyber attack on the platform.
Musk made no mention of his disagreement with Prime Minister Keir Starmer over Britain’s riots and free speech, but he did raise the open letter posted by EU internal market head Thierry Breton’s asking him not to spread disinformation when interviewing the former president.
Trump responded by claiming the EU is ‘bad’ on trade with the US and criticising Nato for not spending enough on defence. ‘That’s probably why they notified you,’ Trump said. ‘They don’t treat our country well.
Brent oil was quoted at $82.21 a barrel at midday in London on Tuesday, higher than $80.86 late Monday.
Gold was quoted at $2,462.50 an ounce, up from $2,458.10 on Monday.
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