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London stocks rose in early trade on the FTSE on Tuesday, taking their cue from positive sessions in the US and Asia, as investors eyed the start of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting and this week’s Bank of England announcement.
At 0835 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 8,712.22.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “UK markets have continued on the front foot, with yesterday’s close marking four consecutive days of gains for the FTSE 100, with another jump higher this morning.
“Positive earnings reports and growing optimism about China’s economic recovery helped lead insurers and miners to the forefront in yesterday’s session. This week, all eyes are on the Bank of England’s upcoming interest rate decision on Thursday, with markets pricing in a 90% chance of no change as policymakers navigate the challenging task of balancing slowing growth with sticky inflation.”
Before that, the Fed’s two-day policy meeting kicks off on Tuesday.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: “We don’t expect the Fed to change policy on Wednesday; but the updated economic forecasts and dot plot will be crucial for the direction of asset prices later this week.”
In equity markets, Anglo American rallied after an upgrade to ‘sector perform’ from ‘underperform’ at RBC Capital Markets. Miners more generally were doing well, with Glencore and Antofagasta also among the top gainers on the FTSE 100.
Bytes Technology surged as it reported double-digit growth across all key financial metrics over the year to 28 February, with gross invoiced income topping the £2bn mark for the first time.
IT firm Computacenter made solid gains as it posted lower annual profit in line with expectations amid an uncertain macroeconomic environment and softer market conditions in the UK, offset by stronger performances in the US and Germany, particularly in the second half.
Trustpilot jumped as it lifted its full-year outlook for 2025 following a “strong” performance in 2024.
STEM-focused recruiter SThree advanced as it held on to its full-year guidance despite a weak first quarter with double-digit declines in fees for both contract and permanent positions.
On the downside, Close Brothers tanked after the merchant banking group said it swung to a hefty loss in the first half on the back of a £165m provision for motor finance commissions.
Close Brothers reported a pre-tax loss of £103m for the six months to 31 January, compared with a £88.1m profit a year earlier. The £165m motor finance provision had already been well flagged.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Banco Santander S.a. | +3.23% | +17.00 | 544.00 |
| 2 |  |
Antofagasta Plc | +2.61% | +49.50 | 1,943.00 |
| 3 |  |
Barratt Redrow Plc | +2.03% | +8.70 | 436.80 |
| 4 |  |
Next Plc | +1.94% | +186.00 | 9,770.00 |
| 5 |  |
Anglo American Plc | +1.88% | +44.00 | 2,388.00 |
| 6 |  |
International Consolidated Airlines Group S.a. | +1.83% | +5.30 | 294.30 |
| 7 |  |
Marks And Spencer Group Plc | +1.78% | +5.70 | 326.40 |
| 8 |  |
Barclays | +1.71% | +5.05 | 299.90 |
| 9 |  |
Hsbc Holdings Plc | +1.69% | +14.80 | 892.50 |
| 10 |  |
Flutter Entertainment Plc | +1.68% | +305.00 | 18,465.00 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Ck Infrastructure Holdings Limited | -4.02% | -21.20 | 506.50 |
| 2 |  |
British American Tobacco Plc | -1.06% | -34.00 | 3,166.00 |
| 3 |  |
Unilever Plc | -1.02% | -47.00 | 4,549.00 |
| 4 |  |
Relx Plc | -0.79% | -30.00 | 3,784.00 |
| 5 |  |
United Utilities Group Plc | -0.63% | -6.20 | 982.40 |
| 6 |  |
London Stock Exchange Group Plc | -0.55% | -60.00 | 10,920.00 |
| 7 |  |
Severn Trent Plc | -0.53% | -13.00 | 2,439.00 |
| 8 |  |
Intertek Group Plc | -0.49% | -24.00 | 4,874.00 |
| 9 |  |
Haleon | -0.48% | -1.90 | 390.40 |
| 10 |  |
The Sage Group Plc | -0.46% | -5.50 | 1,186.50 |
US close: Stocks rise again as traders ‘buy the dip’
US stocks put in decent gains on Monday despite weaker-than-expected economic data, as investors went bargain-hunting following a mass sell-off over the past two weeks.
The Dow gained 1.1% with just one of its 30 constituents closing in the red; the S&P 500 rose 1.0%; while the Nasdaq finished 0.7% higher.
“Monday’s market action had a distinct green tint as stocks defied the ongoing tariff turmoil. The writing was already on the wall—volatility had been steadily retreating, with the VIX tumbling from its recent peaks,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
“Meanwhile, hedge funds were spotted aggressively buying the dip, capitalising on extreme negative sentiment, which, in hindsight, was a textbook contrarian buy signal.”
Markets have rebounded strongly since the S&P 500 entered correction territory on Thursday – the index still remains down around 7% over the month – though analysts at Deutsche Bank reckon the recent sell-off has further to run. Chief strategist Binky Chadha said in a research note at the weekend that “we expect positioning to continue to unwind” as trade tariff uncertainty continues, which could see the S&P 500 hit 5,250 – representing a near-8% drop from Monday’s closing price.
Investors largely shrugged off weak economic data on Monday, with US retail sales rising by just 0.2% in February, according to data from the Census Bureau, while January’s decline was revised down to 1.2% (from -0.9% initially) – the biggest drop in more than two years. This was well below the 0.7% gain expected by a consensus of analysts.
Meanwhile, the New York Fed’s Empire State manufacturing survey slumped 26 points to -20 this month, down from +5.7 in February and the lowest level since January 2024. The consensus forecast was for a small contraction, with a figure closer to -1.9.
Geopolitics and data take centre stage
In the latest back-and-forth newsflow regarding Washington’s trade policies, Donald Trump said he would go ahead with reciprocal and additional sector-specific tariffs on April 2 with no exemptions for the steel and aluminium sectors. Speaking to reporters aboard the presidential aircraft Air Force One, Trump said “in certain cases” both types of levies would be placed on imports to the US.
In other news, the OECD cut its growth projections for the world economy for 2025 and 2026 as policy uncertainty hits investment and household consumption. After growing by 3.2% in 2024, global GDP is expected to rise by 3.1% this year and 3.0% next year, the OECD said in its Interim Economic Outlook report, compared with earlier forecasts of 3.3% growth in both years.
Later in the week, markets will be looking out for central bank meetings at the Bank of England, Bank of Japan, the Swiss National Bank and the Federal Reserve. For the Fed specifically, policymakers are expected to maintain interest rates for the second straight meeting, with further rate moves likely to be delayed until the summer amid significant economic volatility.
“With traders increasingly speculating that Trump could be engineering a recession in a bit to drive down boring costs, all eyes will be on Jeremy Powell as he lays out the Fed’s stance in the face of potential economic weakness,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.
Market movers
Intel‘s share price surged 7% on reports that its incoming chief executive Lip-Bu Tan has considered significant changes to the company’s chip manufacturing methods and artificial intelligence strategies ahead of his return to the company.
Reuters cited two people familiar with Tan’s thinking as saying that the new trajectory includes restructuring the company’s approach to AI and staff cuts to address what Tan views as a slow-moving and bloated middle management layer.
Netflix was trading higher after MoffettNathanson raised its rating on the streaming group from ‘neutral’ to ‘buy’, while cruise liner Norwegian was bolstered by a JPMorgan upgrade from ‘neutral’ to ‘overweight’.
Shares in PepsiCo rose on the news the soft drinks giant is to spend $1.95bn on fast-growing prebiotic soda brand Poppi, which it says is part of ongoing “portfolio transformation efforts” to adapt to changing consumer needs.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Thames Water, Ikea, FOS
A record 50% more raw sewage was discharged into rivers in England by Thames Water last year compared with the previous 12 months, data seen by the Guardian reveals. Thames, the largest of the privatised water companies, which is teetering on the verge of collapse with debts of £19bn, was responsible for almost 300,000 hours of raw sewage pouring into waterways in 2024 from its ageing sewage works, according to the data. This compares with 196,414 hours of raw effluent dumped in 2023. – Guardian
Ikea will be bringing its mix of meatballs, lampshades and kitchen planning to London’s Oxford Street from 1 May, when the world’s largest furniture retailer finally opens its store 18 months late. The company said its three-floor outlet, in the former Topshop base, would house a 130-seat Swedish deli and showrooms, as well as offering one-to-one design consultations. – Guardian
Audi plans to cut 7,500 jobs as the German car maker scrambles to find money to fund the “challenging transition to electric mobility”. The manufacturer, which is owned by Volkswagen, on Monday announced plans to axe around 8pc of its workforce by 2029. The job cuts are part of a series of measures aimed at saving €1bn (£840m) a year. – Telegraph
One of America’s biggest defence start-ups is planning to open a drone factory in the UK. Anduril Industries’ new facility is expected to serve as the European base of the company, which has a $1 billion factory in Ohio. The company designs and builds autonomous systems and weapons for the military and other government agencies. It is part of a new wave of companies building systems based on artificial intelligence technologies. – The Times
The Financial Ombudsman Service faces a Treasury investigation into whether the complaints adjudication body was overstepping its powers and landing the industry with huge compensation bills. The review will look at concerns over the service acting at times like a “quasi-regulator” and also whether it was wrongly applying today’s standards to practices that took place in the past, the Treasury said. It explicitly added that the review would look at “practices that have grown up over time on compensation”. – The Times
