UK stocks edged higher on Tuesday, helped by further records on Wall Street, though gains were limited as investors continued to digest conflicting reports from the Middle East.
London’s FTSE 100 finished 34.6 points higher (+0.3%) at 10,373.51, with just 66 points separating the intraday high and low.
The UK market was underperforming its European counterparts, with solid gains being registered in Paris and Milan in particular, while New York’s three benchmark indices extended gains after hitting all-time closing highs on Monday.
Oil prices were more or less flat, stabilising after a surge the previous session, after Israel halted strikes on Lebanon. On Monday, Iran had suspended peace talks with the US until Israel ends its operations in Lebanon, sending Brent up 4.2% to $94.98 a barrel.
The previous session, US president Donald Trump told CNBC that he didn’t care if the talks with Iran were over, adding that he thought the discussions had “started to get very boring”.
However, Trump also told ABC News that he thought there could be an agreement with Iran to extend the ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz “over the next week.”
“Looking good, looking good,” he reportedly told ABC News’ chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl in a telephone conversation on Monday. “There was a little glitch today, but I turned that one around very quickly, as you probably noticed earlier,” Trump said.
On home shores, figures from the Bank of England showed that mortgage approvals jumped in April by more than expected.
According to the central bank’s latest Money and Credit Report, there were 65,940 net mortgage approvals for house purchases, higher than the six-month average of around 63,100 and March’s 63,980. Consensus had been for a decline to around 61,700. Net borrowing of mortgage debt fell to £4.4bn from £6.8bn, while consumer credit was unchanged at £1.9bn.
Miners gain, BAT falls
Heavyweight mining stocks, Glencore, Rio Tinto, Antofagasta and Anglo American were among the best performers as metal prices advanced.
Housebuilders Persimmon and Barratt Redrow were also in the black after the positive mortgage approvals data.
On the downside, British American Tobacco fell after it said in a first-half update that it was on track to meet the lower end of full-year guidance. Peer Imperial Brands also fell.
On the FTSE 250, GB Group shares fell after the identity and location technology company said a one-off £6m investment in its GBG Go platform would hit margins next year, overshadowing higher underlying earnings and improving revenue momentum.
Shore Capital upgraded IntegraFin to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ and lifted the price target as it said the Transact owner is “an excellent business, properly undervalued”.
Elementis jumped after saying it will return around $35m to shareholders following completion of the sale of its pharmaceutical manufacturing business to Associated British Foods, while Raspberry Pi surged, rising in line with the broader global technology and AI rally.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,373.51 0.33%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,378.36 0.57%
techMARK (TASX) 5,965.18 -1.17%
FTSE 100 – Risers
Antofagasta (ANTO) 4,408.00p 6.47%
Glencore (GLEN) 615.00p 4.57%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,132.00p 4.37%
Anglo American (AAL) 4,225.00p 4.14%
Barclays (BARC) 470.20p 3.39%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 158.20p 3.30%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 8,308.00p 3.19%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 366.60p 3.01%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 2,063.00p 2.69%
Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 41.60p 2.67%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Airtel Africa (AAF) 334.60p -5.21%
The Sage Group (SGE) 870.80p -4.05%
Experian (EXPN) 2,588.00p -3.29%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,924.00p -2.85%
Relx plc (REL) 2,474.00p -2.71%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,280.00p -2.66%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,466.00p -2.51%
SSE (SSE) 2,256.00p -2.25%
Haleon (HLN) 320.90p -1.81%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 13,214.00p -1.64%
FTSE 250 – Risers
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 896.50p 10.27%
easyJet (EZJ) 465.30p 6.26%
HGCapital Trust (HGT) 395.50p 6.03%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 1,038.00p 4.53%
Marshalls (MSLH) 141.50p 4.43%
Genuit Group (GEN) 253.80p 4.36%
Applied Nutrition (APN) 282.50p 3.86%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 166.60p 3.74%
IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 349.50p 3.56%
WH Smith (SMWH) 513.00p 3.55%
FTSE 250 – Fallers
GB Group (GBG) 203.50p -17.44%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 575.00p -6.66%
Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 1,070.00p -4.63%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 248.20p -4.24%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 4,250.00p -3.78%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 875.00p -3.53%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 733.00p -2.40%
Currys (CURY) 147.00p -2.26%
Gamma Communications (GAMA) 962.50p -2.18%
Chemring Group (CHG) 500.00p -2.06%