European markets remained downbeat on Tuesday around midday, as the prospect of a second Trump term and signs of economic weakness from China weighed on sentiment.
The FTSE 100 index was down 22.59 points, 0.3%, at 8,160.37.
In European equities, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.7%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.4%.
In the FTSE 100, Rio Tinto fell 3.3%.
The miner said iron ore production in the first half of 2024 at the Pilbara mine in Australia declined 2.0% to 157.4 million tonnes from 160.5 million tonnes a year ago. Iron ore shipments from Pilbara declined 2.1% to 158.3 million tonnes from 161.7 million tonnes on-year.
Rio Tinto left its production guidance for 2024 mostly unchanged, but lowered guidance for alumina due to setbacks at its Gladstone operations.
B&M European Value Retail was a top large cap performer at midday on Tuesday, rising 5.6%.
The chain of discount stores on Tuesday reported revenue of £1.35 billion in the first quarter of its financial year, the three months that ended June 29. This was up 2.4% at constant exchanges.
In the UK, revenue was up 1.5% in total, though like-for-like revenue was down 3.5%. B&M blamed a strong comparative from a year before, and poor weather in the UK in April and May.
The FTSE 250 was down 15.41 points, 0.1%, at 21,174.11 and the AIM All-Share was down 0.98 of a point, 0.1%, at 784.50.
In the FTSE 250, Ocado shares were up 13%, after the online grocer reported a narrowed loss and provided a positive revenue outlook.
Ocado said its pretax loss narrowed to £153.9 million in the first half of its financial year, the 26 weeks that ended June 2, from £289.5 million a year before.
Revenue grew by 13% to £1.54 billion from £1.37 billion overall, and rose by 22% in Technology Solutions, by 5.6% in Logistics, and by 11% in Retail.
For the full year, Ocado guided 15% to 20% revenue growth for Technology Solutions, stable revenue for Logistics, and ‘mid-high single digits’ percentage revenue growth for Retail.
‘Ocado’s shares are like a yo-yo, down one minute and up the next. A day after a broker downgrade knocked the share price for six, better than expected half-year results have put a rocket under the stock,’ said AJ Bell investment analyst Dan Coatsworth.
Bernstein had cut Ocado to ’underperform’ from ’outperform’ on Monday, with the stock closing down 10%.
‘Driving the positive market reaction is an upgrade to adjusted earnings and cash flow, together with guidance for better margins and cost reductions,’ the AJ Bell analyst added.
Shares in Trustpilot fell 9.7%, following news that Vitruvian Partners sold 12.5 million shares, a 3.0% stake, in a share placing. The price of 220 pence was a 6.2% discount to Monday’s closing price.
‘The stock has enjoyed a stellar run since last summer so investors might now be wondering if it’s time to take some profit, following the lead of its second biggest shareholder,’ Coatsworth considered.
On AIM, Metals One rose 5.6%.
The developer of strategic metals projects in Finland and Norway announced the maiden JORC inferred mineral resource for the P5 area of the Black Schist project in Finland.
At 29 million tonnes, it brings the total resource for the Black Schist project to 57.1 million tonnes - which is more than twice the previous estimate.
‘This represents a major milestone for the company as we transition to project development,’ Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Owen said.
Gunsynd, an investor with a 6.25% stake in the project, rose 5.2%.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 813.84, the Cboe UK 250 was somewhat higher at 18,441.88, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.6% at 17,234.09.
The pound was quoted at $1.2970 around midday Tuesday in London, down from $1.2984 at the equities close on Monday. The euro stood at $1.0901, down from $1.0912. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥158.41, up from JP¥157.85.
US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Monday said recent data lifts the central bank’s confidence that inflation is coming down towards its 2% target – a trend that signals interest rate cuts on the horizon.
‘We didn’t gain any additional confidence in the first quarter but the three readings in the second quarter, including the one from last week, do add somewhat to confidence,’ Powell said in an interview with David Rubenstein of the Economic Club of Washington DC.
Stocks in New York were called higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called marginally higher, and the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite were both called up 0.2%.
Meanwhile, in London, the market is anticipating Wednesday morning’s consumer price index data for the UK, and any bearing that could have on August’s interest rate call.
A Bank of England rate-setter said interest rates should be cut in order to stop squeezing the living standards of British households. Swati Dhingra, a member of the UK central bank’s nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee, said ‘now is the time’ for a reduction in the bank rate.
In commodities markets, gold was quoted at $2,441.13 an ounce midday Tuesday in London, up from $2,436.88 late Monday. Brent oil was trading at $84.24 a barrel, down from $84.83.
Still to come on Tuesday’s economic calendar, there’s US retail sales for June and the Canadian consumer price index for June both are due at 1330 BST.
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