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London open: Imperial Brands leads gains after results
London stocks rose in early trade on Tuesday, with Imperial Brands leading the gains after well-received results.
At 0845 GMT, the FTSE 100 was 0.3% higher at 8,133.50.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “UK markets have a spring in their step with the FTSE 100 up 0.3% in early trading, building on a good session yesterday that saw the UK’s largest stocks outperform most major European peers.
“Broader European markets have also had a positive open as investors look ahead to inflation figures for October and comments from the European Central Bank for any insights into the monetary policy outlook.
“After last week’s whirlwind of activity, US markets took a breather yesterday evening with a more subdued session. While the market’s tendency to rebound remained intact, investor caution lingered as they weighed the implications of Trump appointees and potential tariff policies. With homebuilder sentiment hitting a 7-month high and major earnings from Wal-Mart and Nvidia on the horizon, yesterday’s measured tone reflected a market waiting for more direction.”
In UK equity markets, Imperial Brands shot to the top of the FTSE 100 after it posted a 4.5% rise in full-year adjusted operating profit as revenues from new products such as vapes and nicotine pouches surged by more than a quarter.
Bodycote gained as it said full-year operating profit was set to be in line with market expectations as it hailed a “resilient performance in challenging end markets”.
Vesuvius was also on the front foot as it said trading profit for the 2024 financial year was set to be slightly below 2023 levels on a constant currency basis, maintaining a return on sales margin of around 10.2%.
In broker note action, Sainsbury’s was boosted by an initiation at ‘outperform’ by RBC Capital Markets, while United Utilities was in the black after an upgrade to ‘outperform’ by BNPP Exane.
On the downside, Informa fell even as it reaffirmed its recently upgraded full-year guidance and said strong forward bookings were providing momentum into 2025.
Diploma and Big Yellow also lost ground after results.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Dcc Plc | +2.59% | +145.00 | 5,740.00 |
| 2 |  |
Bt Group Plc | +2.45% | +3.55 | 148.30 |
| 3 |  |
Imperial Brands Plc | +1.87% | +45.00 | 2,446.00 |
| 4 |  |
Smurfit Westrock Plc | +1.52% | +63.00 | 4,212.00 |
| 5 |  |
United Utilities Group Plc | +1.37% | +15.00 | 1,107.00 |
| 6 |  |
Smiths Group Plc | +1.01% | +17.00 | 1,708.00 |
| 7 |  |
National Grid Plc | +0.94% | +9.20 | 984.80 |
| 8 |  |
Bae Systems Plc | +0.93% | +12.00 | 1,308.00 |
| 9 |  |
Rio Tinto Plc | +0.86% | +42.00 | 4,908.00 |
| 10 |  |
Astrazeneca Plc | +0.86% | +85.00 | 10,000.00 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Diploma Plc | -5.60% | -254.00 | 4,282.00 |
| 2 |  |
Melrose Industries Plc | -2.62% | -13.80 | 512.80 |
| 3 |  |
Informa Plc | -2.10% | -18.00 | 837.20 |
| 4 |  |
International Consolidated Airlines Group S.a. | -1.43% | -3.50 | 241.10 |
| 5 |  |
Prudential Plc | -1.16% | -7.40 | 632.60 |
| 6 |  |
Investec Plc | -0.89% | -5.50 | 610.00 |
| 7 |  |
Ashtead Group Plc | -0.87% | -54.00 | 6,158.00 |
| 8 |  |
Pearson Plc | -0.83% | -10.00 | 1,196.50 |
| 9 |  |
Associated British Foods Plc | -0.82% | -18.00 | 2,170.00 |
| 10 |  |
3i Group Plc | -0.75% | -26.00 | 3,432.00 |
US close: Stocks mixed ahead of earnings flurry, Tesla lifts Nasdaq
US stocks finished mixed on Monday ahead of a busy week for corporate earnings, though the Nasdaq managed to push higher, led by gains from Tesla.
The Dow fell for the third straight session, falling 0.1% to 43,389.60; while the S&P 500 gained 0.4% to 5,893.62 and the Nasdaq finished 0.6% higher at 18,791.81, snapping a four-day losing streak.
“There are several important Q3 earnings updates to come, with retail giant Walmart tomorrow. But key amongst these is Nvidia, currently the most valuable company in the world by market capitalisation,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.
“The generative AI chip giant releases its earnings after Wednesday’s close. This has the potential to influence markets substantially, particularly as NVIDIA is a constituent of not just the NASDAQ and S&P 500, but also the Dow.”
Monday was a quiet day for economic data. The only major release was the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index, which rose to 46 in November, up from 43 in October.
November’s print was the highest reading in seven months and above market expectations for a reading of 44. Current sales conditions rose by two points to 49, while sales expectations went up by seven points to 64.
Market movers
Shares in electric carmaker Tesla surged following news that president-elect Donald Trump would look to establish a federal framework for fully self-driving vehicles and make it the Department of Transportation’s priority number one.
Telsa has previously revealed plans to launch a Robotaxi service in 2026 but current government regulations would limit the potential service. However, founder Elon Musk’s influence in the new White House could potentially lay the groundwork for mass deployment.
Trading in Spirit Airlines was halted after the budget carrier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it looks to restructure its debt after merger talks with Frontier collapsed.
Biotech giant Moderna was on the rise after HSBC lifted the stock to ‘buy’, trading platform Robinhood was boosted by a Needham upgrade to ‘buy’, while real estate group Redfin was hit with a downgrade by Goldman Sachs to ‘sell’.
Nvidia finished firmly lower ahead of the chipmaker’s quarterly earnings on Wednesday. Also scheduled to report before the end of the week are Deere and Palo Alto Networks, along with retail giants Dollar Tree, Lowe’s, TJX, Walmart and Target.
“It’s a big week for US retailers updating on earnings and the outlook for trading. These figures should tell us a lot about the state of the US consumer and who is willing, or not willing, to spend money,” said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.
“Dollar Tree, TJX and Target all report this week and they’re focused on the most cost-conscious shopper. This part of the market has been challenged of late. Lower-income consumers have felt the pain of interest rates staying relatively high and they’ve scaled back spending where possible.”
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Starling Bank, Asos, Morrisons
Staff have resigned at Starling Bank after its new chief executive demanded thousands of workers attend its offices more regularly, despite lacking enough space to host them. In his first major policy change since taking over from the UK digital bank’s founder, Anne Boden, in March, Raman Bhatia has ordered all hybrid staff – many of whom were in the office only one or two days a week, or on an ad-hoc basis – to travel to work for a minimum of 10 days each month. – Guardian
Asos has been accused of rewarding its chief executive for “spectacular failure” after giving him a £300,000 pay rise even as the online fast-fashion retailer cut jobs and recorded widening losses. José Antonio Ramos Calamonte’s total pay rose from £814,000 to £1.17m in 2024, a 44% increase, according to its annual report, published on Monday. – Guardian
Dozens of Britain’s biggest retailers have warned Rachel Reeves that her plans to hike National Insurance will cause staff to be laid off and shops to be shut. Major companies including Tesco, M&S, Boots and B&Q have written to the Chancellor saying that job losses were now “inevitable”, as a result of the “sheer scale” of the new costs on business. – Telegraph
The private equity-owned supermarket chain Wm Morrison has almost halved its hefty debt burden as part of a turnaround effort under its new boss. Britain’s fifth-largest grocer, which was saddled with debt after its takeover by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) in 2021, said it had paid down a further £200 million of borrowings and extended the maturity of its revolving credit facility to 2030, reducing its overall leverage levels. The restructuring also included extending its term loan facilities from 2027 to 2030. – The Times
Levying big fines on big tech companies is not an effective way of keeping them in line, the UK’s privacy chief has said, in comments that have prompted a backlash from data privacy experts and transparency campaigners. John Edwards, the information commissioner, said that issuing penalties in the hundreds of millions of pounds, as his counterparts in Europe do, would only tie up his office in litigation. – The Times
