- FTSE 100 ends almost flat
- Dow opens lower
- Whitbread and Persimmon lead the pack
- Games Workshop hit by mild profit-taking
Close: Much ado about nothing
A lethargic Footsie ended a session in which it zig-zagged between green and red, down 3.35 points at 10,137.35.
3.30pm: Listless in London
The Dow's 240-point fall appears to have dragged its UK-based 'old economy' counterpart into the red. A few blue-chip updates, but most fairly bland, other than an uncharacteristically upbeat statement from Whitbread (+6%). A similarly positive update from housebuilder Persimmon was greeted with a 'meh'.
2.40pm: Dow opens lower
The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened around 149 points or 0.3% lower, to 49,426, whilst the S&P 500 and Nasdaq made positive prints.
At 6,981, the S&P 500 was up 4.69 points or 0.12% and the Nasdaq tacked on 65 points, 0.27%, to 23,799.
It comes after the latest American inflation print, albeit there were no major surprises in the metrics.
1.10pm: Flat as a pancake
London markets were going nowhere fast on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 flat as investors sat on their hands.
Global cues were mixed. Asia was up, but US futures drifted lower as traders waited for a key inflation reading. That left little direction for UK stocks at the open.
Attention is firmly on US inflation data, which will shape expectations for interest rate cuts later this year. Markets are confident rates will stay on hold for now, with any easing pushed back to the summer.
Earnings season is also starting to stir, led by the big US banks. Early results have been mixed, reinforcing the sense that investors are in wait-and-see mode rather than rushing to take risk.
Geopolitics continues to rumble in the background, with fresh tariff threats from Donald Trump adding another layer of uncertainty. For now, though, it is not moving prices.
11.32am: Games Workshop fails to excite
There was some mild profit-taking for invest in Games Workshop (down 2.5%), as its latest results failed to excite after the shares surged more than 40% over the past year.
The business had a standout 2025, joining the FTSE 100 and repeatedly upgrading guidance. The latest numbers were solid and included a higher dividend, despite a hit from US tariffs.
However, licensing income remains uneven, and meaningful returns from its deal with Amazon are still some way off.
Management continues to tread carefully to protect the brand, including taking a cautious stance on the use of AI.
Elsewhere, Rentokil has finally appointed a new chief executive. Mike Duffy brings experience running large, complex businesses and is based in the US, a key but problematic market for the group.
His skillset fits the task at hand as turnaround efforts continue. The muted market reaction likely reflects the fact he is not yet a familiar name to many investors.
9.30am: Sales well below the average
Britain’s retailers limped through a disappointing Christmas, with sales growth slowing sharply in what is usually the most important trading month of the year.
Figures from the British Retail Consortium show total retail sales rose just 1.2% in December, well below the 12-month average of 2.3%. The slowdown was driven by weak demand for non-food items such as clothing and electricals, where sales slipped 0.3%, compared with growth of 4.4% a year earlier.
Food sales proved more resilient, helped by higher prices rather than rising volumes. Grocery inflation reached 4.3% in December, pushing average supermarket spending up to £476, around £15 more than last year.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, described it as a “drab Christmas”. She said shoppers held back on gifting purchases and waited for discounts, with spending picking up only after Boxing Day as the January sales began.
The caution was also visible in card data. Barclays said card spending fell 1.7% year on year in December, the steepest drop since early 2021. Many households are now planning to tighten their belts further in 2026, with groceries, clothes and eating out all in the firing line.
One bright spot was the discount end of the market. Lidl posted a 10% rise in sales, while Aldi's grew by 3%, as shoppers continued to trade down in search of value.
The message from December is clear. Consumers remain under pressure, discretionary spending is weak, and only the cheapest retailers are seeing real festive cheer.
8.32am: Tiny little steps
The Footsie crept innocuously into positive territory in early trading, though the momentum was muted. Not quite the record session seen in Japan earlier.
The blue-chip index was led by Whitbread, which had some good news for a change. Its trading update suggested the impact of higher business rates will be less profound than anticipated, while it also upped its cost savings target.
Persimmon also provided a reasonably upbeat report, suggesting its earnings will be in the upper echelons of market consensus.
The fallers were led by the precious metals stocks as gold and silver took a breather.
Quiet start predicted
Morning all. Zero excitement expected here in London, at least early on. The FTSE 100 is set to open little changed on Tuesday, according to spread betting firms, after edging to a fresh record high at the start of the week.
Overnight, Asian markets pushed higher, led by Japan, where equities surged after a holiday break. The Nikkei jumped to a new peak, helped by a sharply weaker yen and renewed optimism around artificial intelligence-related investment. Stocks in South Korea and Taiwan also touched record levels, while Chinese blue chips climbed to their highest point in four years.
Currency moves were central to the mood. The yen slid to fresh historic lows against several major currencies, a development that continues to underpin Japan’s export-heavy equity market while fuelling unease among policymakers in Tokyo. The dollar was broadly steady, weighed down by lingering questions over the future independence of the Federal Reserve.
Gold hovered just below record territory after briefly pushing above $4,600 an ounce, as investors sought shelter from political and monetary uncertainty. Oil prices rose to multi-week highs on concerns that unrest in Iran could disrupt supplies, adding another layer of geopolitical risk.
In the US, later, inflation data will be keenly eyed by economists and analysts and the opening salvos of the quarterly earnings season from Wall Street’s largest banks.