- FTSE 100 up 21 points at 9,242
- Anglo American agrees to merger with Canada's Teck
- National Express owner Mobico tanks on interim loss
4.58pm: FTSE edges higher
The FTSE 100 added 21 points to finish Tuesday’s session at 9,242.
“A jump in Anglo American has failed to provide the spark for a broader FTSE 100 rally today,” IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp said.
“The index, along with most other global indices, seems to still be in search of a catalyst to renew the move higher. No doubt this is due to caution ahead of the vital US inflation print this week, which itself is just a prelude to next week’s expected Fed rate cut.”
3.53pm: US jobs picture deteriorating
US stocks are coming back, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both dropping around 0.2-0.3% in the past hour but coming back toward positive territory now.
"The jobs picture keeps deteriorating," says Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for US-based Northlight Asset Management, says following the BLS revisions.
"While that should make it easier for the Fed to cut rates this fall, it could also throw some cold water on the recent rally.
"Worse still, if the CPI shows a worsening trend of higher inflation on Thursday then the market will begin worrying about stagflation.
"The bull market has been extremely resilient this year, but we could be approaching an inflection point where it is tested again."
3.21pm: US jobs revised down
Wall Street stocks have dropped after the US Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that job growth had been overstated by 911,000 in the year to March 2025.
This cuts the average monthly rate that payrolls rose to about 71K, down sharply from the current 149K estimate.
The figure is a preliminary revision based on state tax records, with final numbers due in February.
3pm: Unimpressive start for Wall Street
Wall Street has started pretty flat, joining in with the indecisive mood in Europe too.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are both 0.1% higher, while the Dow Jones has wavered either side of the flatline.
Risers on the S&P are led by Phillips 66 and Valero Energy, up 3%, while biggest fallers are Albemarle and Fox Corp.
2.15pm: Anglo Teck will be an appealing takeover after the merger, says JPMorgan
Some heavyweight thoughts on the Anglo Teck merger.
JPMorgan analyst Dominic O'Kane says he believe the combination is "strategically excellent for Anglo American; it will unlock significant value and re-asserts control of Anglo’s strategic destiny".
The merger agreement, he notes, includes a $330 million break fee if either party accepts a competing offer, with both having been the subject of failed takeover attempts - Anglo rejecting BHP's advances in 2024 and Teck from Glencore in 2023.
"We expect that the takeover appeal of the proforma entity will be enhanced as a direct result of this combination (in due course)," he says, due to the consolidation of the pair's Collahuasi and Quebrada mines in Chile into a "world-class" copper project.
1.47pm: Anglo's UK future as HQ is moved to Vancouver
Anglo American will cut hundreds of jobs in its London head office as part of the £40 billion merger deal with Teck Resources.
The deal will see the enlarged Anglo Teck headquartered in Vancouver, meaning many of the 700 staff who work in its current London HQ will be at risk of redundancy.
Boss Duncan Wanblad told the media that most jobs will be moved to Vancouver, with the London office "streamlined".The
Telegraph reports that a "residual team" of mining specialists and corporate staff will remain in the UK capital, with Wanblad saying it is too early to give exact numbers.
Elsewhere in the UK, Anglo Teck will continue to progress the development of the Woodsmith polyhalite project in North Yorkshire.
In today's announcement, the company said it still sees the project as having ongoing "potential to be a generational asset in crop nutrients".
It added that full development "remains subject to meeting stringent investment criteria for risk-adjusted value, including syndication to one or more investment / strategic partners".
12.26pm: Blue-chips moving higher
London's blue-chip index has seen a bit more momentum as we've moved into the afternoonn, up 0.25%, though the FTYSE 250 is in the red.
Behind Anglo American, which continues to climb at over 9% now, are other miners and interest rate-sensitive names, includingh Airtel Africa, Phoenix Group, Segro, Land Sec, Vodafone and Prudential.
On the 250, Dunelm, WAG Payments, Gamma Communications and Burberry Group are all dragging, down 9%, 7.4%, 6.3% and 5.5%.
US stock futures are just above flat at the moment, with the Dow Jones up less than 0.1% and both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closer to zero than 0.1%.
11.56am: A retail gloomster speaks
August is rarely a blockbuster month for the high street, with half the country on holiday and little in the way of fresh shop openings.
Even so, the British Retail Consortium’s sales monitor showed a 3.1% rise in total sales, ahead of July’s pace, which Clive Black at Shore Capital calls "sound momentum".
This does not really disguise the reality of a fragile consumer mood, he adds, with savers sitting on cash rather than spending big.
The Starmer government, says the analyst, has hardly helped the sector: higher structural costs, a competitive retail environment and looming tax rises have all kept the tills quieter than shopkeepers would like.
With the November Budget around the corner, many retailers could hardly pick a worse time for policy uncertainty.
Grocery, the defensive mainstay of the sector, continues to see rational pricing and has attracted investors looking for steady cash returns.
Positive non-food sales in August were a modest encouragement, even if not yet enough to drive earnings upgrades.
11.25pm: Gold hits another high
Gold hit a new high of $3,659 in the early hours, as the safe haven demand mixes with a variety of factors.
Partly it is on traders' expectations for further rate cuts, retail demand, along with Trump’s attack on Fed independence and central banks like China and India adding to their gold holdings while shunning US Treasuries.
"The consistent rise in gold prices does start to cause some concern, and we wonder whether there is some geopolitical hedging going on," says John Meyer at SPAngel.
On copper, he notes that the Anglo Teck merger and suspension of Freeport’s Grasberg mine have lifted the copper price.
"Prices have edged over $9,900/t on worries over supply disruptions from one of the world’s largest mines."
Freeport suggested seven workers have been trapped underground following a large flow of wet material that blocked evacuation routes, with rescue crews working to clear the area.
"A lower dollar has also been lifting copper prices, with increased rate cut expectations weighing on the greenback," says Meyer.
Annabel Brodie-Smith, a director at the Association of Investment Companies, suggests investment trusts are "a good way of getting exposure to gold and silver in a diversified portfolio either through dedicated commodities trusts, or through some flexible investment trusts".
11am: M&S gets more love
Another analyst has shared their new-found appreciation for Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS).
UBS analyst Yashraj Rajani notes that M&S has lagged the sector, down 2% versus a wider 17% p/e re-rating amidst a "lack of anticipated upgrades for the year at the H1 results on 5th Nov given the material yet one-off nature of the Cyber incident alongside broader UK macro concerns".
With all operations fully restored by the second week of Aug, he expects the market to look beyond the "noisy" H1 results into Sept/Oct exit rates.
Before the cyber incident, MKS had the best market share momentum in both Food and Fashion in UK retail.
"We think circa one month of lower availability in Food and circa three months of disruption in clothing online may have caused a minor dent in customer perception/loyalty but not structural damage."
The analyst sees MKS offering "one of the best risk/reward in the retail sector".
10.39am: An 8,000% share price rise
An eye-catching story from last night - as ecommerce company Eightco Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:OCTO) saw its shares rise over 3,000% after announcing a crypto treasury strategy, with a $250 million private placement to adopt Sam Altman-backed Worldcoin (WLD) as its primary reserve asset.
This was alongside a $20 million strategic investment from BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) and the appointment of tech analyst Dan Ives as chairman of the board.
Shares of Eightco surged 8,000% to over $82 at one point on Monday.
“If we succeed on our mission, World might become the largest network of real people online, fundamentally changing how we interact and transact throughout the Internet,” Altman said.
10.15am: German DAX falls as Merz calls for auto overhaul
While the Footsie is hanging around just in positive territory, most of its continental European peers are slouching lower.
The DAX is down 0.6% in Frankfurt, in Paris the CAC is just below flat, while Spain's IBEX is down 0.3%.
Italy's FTSE MIB is another exception, up 0.2%.
German leading fallers are across various sectors: bank Commerzbank, retailer Zalando, chemicals group Bayer and defence contractor Rheinmetall.
Carmakers are rising though, as German premier Friedrich Merz is giving a speech, where he says the domestic auto industry will remain "key industry for prosperity of our country" but the "car industry must be comprehensively overhauled" and needs the right political framework.
"Our goal is that Ggermany is one of the leading car manufacturing industries instead of trailing the sector."
But he says he does not want to "limit ourselves to one goal, one technology", and in response to increased competition from China and the US, there must be innovation and quality.
He adds that Germany "would like to further de-escalate trade conflict" with the US.
9.09am: London stocks balancing each other out
After just over an hour of trading, the FTSE 100 is not going anywhere interesting.
The FTSE 250 was up but now it is back to flat.
Anglo American is keeping the blue-chip index in positive territory, along with Glencore and Antofagasta.
Dragging are Rolls-Royce, Entain, JD Sports, BAE and Rio Tinto.
Among the mid-caps Gamma Communications PLC (LSE:GAMA) is the top riser, first climbing 11% and now back to around 7% after the telecoms group reassured investors with solid half-year results and guidance.
Computacenter PLC (LSE:CCC) rose as much as 9% in early trading but is now down to 3.3% after the technology services group reassured investors with a confident outlook and a strong start to the third quarter, particularly in North America.
Dunelm Group PLC (LSE:DNLM) is the faller of note on the 250, down 6.8% after results didn't seem to impress anyone but me.
8.34am: Big win for London
Anglo Teck’s decision to locate its primary listing in London is a "major win" for the Square Mile, says Victoria Scholar at Interactive Investor. #
"The City has been struggling with an image problem, given the fall in LSE flotations and the decision by a number of high profile companies to shift their listings abroad.
"Today’s announcement is a vote of confidence in the London market, proving that it remains an attractive listing location for stock market heavyweights.
"The FTSE 100 is best known for hosting companies within older industries like mining and banking rather than high-growth tech stocks which typically prefer the US."
8.29am: Anglo Teck merger looks 'compelling'
Anglo American's takeover of Canada's Teck Resources will "mark the largest mining deal in recent years" says market analyst Kathleen Brooks at XTB.
"There has also been concern about miners overpaying for acquisitions, however, Teck’s shares had fallen this year, so Anglo could dodge that criticism."
The deal is the "latest strategic pivot" by Anglo to cement copper at the heart of its portfolio, says Matt Britzman at HL.
With over 70% exposure to the orange metal and a top-five global position, the combined group is "positioned to ride the structural demand story tied to electrification and energy transition", while $800 million in annual cost synergies and a $1.4 billion EBITDA uplift from Chilean asset integration are "compelling".
"But the real prize is growth optionality, leveraging a pipeline of brownfield and greenfield projects across the Americas," he says.
"For Anglo investors, the $4.5 billion special dividend sweetens the near-term picture, while the long-term upside hinges on execution and a green light from the regulator."
Shares in the Canadian miner have soared 24% in after-hours trading in New York.
8.15am: Miners lead FTSE higher
The FTSE 100 has got out of bed on the right side, though still seems a bit lacklustre so far this week, up 16 points at 9,240.
Anglo American is top of the leaderboard as investors like the news about its merger with Teck, with the shares up 5.3% so far.
Other risers sitting behind include copper miner Antofagasta and commodities giant Glencore, as mining M&A is in the air.
8am: Dunelm CEO signs off with a win
Dunelm Group PLC (LSE:DNLM) has reported profits just above forecasts in the last set of results for CEO Nick Wilkinson, who hailed digital growth and new-store performance but said recent trading had yet to encounter "signs of a sustained consumer recovery".
Profit before tax increased 2.7% to £211 million for the 52 weeks to 28 June 2025, above the £210 million average analyst estimate, as margins for the homewares retailer held steady at 11.9%.
Sales came to £1.77 billion, up 3.8% on the year before, as revealed in a July update, with digital channels accounting for 40% of total sales, up from 37% last year.
7.36am: Anglo American to merge with Teck
Anglo American PLC's (LSE:AAL) restructuring has taken a turn, with the company announcing a merger with Teck Resources Ltd (USA) (TSX:TCK).
The all-share transaction is positioned as a "merger of equals", though Anglo American shareholders are set to own 62.4% of the new group and Teck shareholders 37.6%.
The boards of both companies have unanimously recommended the deal, which is expected to complete in 12 to 18 months.
Anglo Teck is expected to offer investors over 70% exposure to copper and be a top-five global copper producer (and the second-largest listed one), while retaining exposure to premium iron ore, zinc and other growth options.
Annual pre-tax synergies of US$800 million are targeted within four years of completion.
7.21am: Retail sales up
The British Retail Consortium's sales data shows total sales values rose 3.1% year-on-year in August, up from 2.5% in July and back in line with June's levels.
Like-for-like sales climbed 2.9%, the Retail Sales Monitor report shows, up from 1.8% in July and above the consensus forecast of 2.0%.
Food sales rose 4.7% after rises of 3.9% and 4.1% in the previous two months, while non-food sales were up 1.8% compared a rise of 1.4% in July and 2.2% in June.
Online non-food sales grew 2.7%, with penetration edging up to 35.8%.
7.15am: FTSE softness on the cards
A small decline is on the cards for the FTSE 100 on Tuesday, though retailer may buck the trend after a survey showed better performance last month.
The London index has been called 10 points lower on the futures market, a day after climbing just over 13 points to 9,221.4.
The monthly BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor for August showed total sales rose by 3.1%, above the 12-month average growth of 2%.
US markets were positive overnight, with the Dow Jones recovering from a faltering start to end 114 points or 0.25% higher, the S&P 500 adding 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite climbing 0.45%.
Asian markets are finely mixed this morning, with Tokyo, Shanghai and Seoul benchmarks in the red, but Hong Kong and Mumbai moving higher.