Stock prices in London, Paris and Frankfurt were in the green on Tuesday morning, as housebuilders in the UK enjoyed a boost after giving trading updates.
‘Markets’ sensitivity to major economic data will likely rise as policy uncertainties mount and appetite weakens,’ commented Swissquote’s Ipek Ozkardeskaya. ‘Due today, the US will release its latest PPI numbers, and the headline PPI may have risen from 3% to 3.4% in December and core PPI is seen rising from 3.4% to 3.7% during the same month.
‘Rising price pressures are not good news for the Federal Reserve doves, she continued. ’Stronger-than-expected inflation figures could further accelerate the US treasury selloff and support the US dollar.‘
The FTSE 100 index opened up 3.33 points at 8,227.52. The FTSE 250 was up 81.33 points, 0.4%, at 19,799.70, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.75 points, 0.4%, at 712.14.
The Cboe UK 100 was flat at 824.65, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.4% at 17,184.54, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.3% at 15,204.05.
On the FTSE 100, JD Sports lost 9.9% after decreasing its profit guidance. ’While footwear and international segments performed well,
JD Sports now expects between £915 million and £935 million in pretax profit for financial 2025. Also, it said like for like revenue decreased 1.5% on-year through November and December.
Its core UK and USA operations saw a lagging performance, although the footwear and international segments were less affected by the ‘challenging market’.
Games Workshop was down 2.7%.
The Warhammer owner declared a £1.55 per share interim dividend, bring the financial 2025 total so far to £4.20 per share, up from £3.15 the year before.
Pretax profit increased to £126.8 million from £95,2 million, while revenue rose to £299.5 million from £247.7 million.
However Games Workshop declared and paid 185p per share in dividends during the period, down annually from 195p.
Persimmon gained 5.1%.
The housebuilder said completions increased 7.5% on-year to 10,664 in 2024, and its forward sales position increased 8.5% to £1.15 billion from £1.06 billion.
Also, it expects underlying pretax profit ‘to be around the upper end of market expectations’, which range from £349 million to £390 million. This compares to an underlying pretax profit of £359.4 million Persimmon had reported for 2023, albeit this was a dive of 65% from £1.01 billion in 2022.
‘We are pleased with the progress we have made in developing our capabilities and we entered 2025 with an improved forward order book and strong land bank,’ Persimmon said, adding: ‘Overall, Persimmon is well positioned for 2025 and will continue to deliver high-quality affordable homes for our customers.’
On the FTSE 250, Crest Nicholson rose 2.0%.
The housebuilder announced a revised date for the publication of its preliminary financial results for the year ended October 31, which will now be released on February 4 instead of January 21.
It said it still expects adjusted pretax profit at the lower end of the £22 million to £29 million guidance range, down from £41.4 million in financial 2023.
The date change follows a request from its auditors for more time ‘to complete standard procedures and audit the appropriateness of the fire remediation provision’.
Among smaller caps, Hutchmed (China) gained 2.8%.
It announced that the supplemental new drug application for Orpathys or savolitinib has been granted approval by the China National Medical Products Administration to treat adults with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 1.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.7%.
The pound was quoted higher at $1.2224 early on Tuesday in London, compared to $1.2161 at the equities close on Monday. The euro stood higher at $1.0270, against $1.0209. Against the yen, the dollar was trading lower at JP¥157.52 compared to JP¥157.66.
‘The EURUSD remains under a decent selling pressure below the 1.03 mark, while Cable is in a freefall mode on another round of appetite loss in the government’s fiscal plans and amid rising bets for a further selloff,’ Ozkardeskaya said. ‘Positions in the options market suggest that some investors are betting that sterling could slip to 1.12 level against the US dollar if Rachel Reeves can’t restore confidence rapidly.’
In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 1.8%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 2.5%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 1.9%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.5%.
In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.9%, the S&P 500 up 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.4%.
Brent oil was quoted lower at $80.10 a barrel early in London on Tuesday from $81.25 late Monday.
Gold was quoted higher at $2,672.99 an ounce against $2,666.56.
Still to come on Tuesday’s economic calendar, as well as the PPI data the US releases the Redbook index reading.
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