Blue chip stocks in London, Paris and Frankfurt were higher on Tuesday morning, as UK unemployment increased a notch as expected, while investors await US CPI data in the afternoon.
The FTSE 100 index was up 6.46 points, 0.1%, at 8,611.44. The FTSE 250 was up 110.01 points, 0.5%, at 20,737.39, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.80 points, 0.3%, at 731.10.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 859.71, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.5% at 18,148.60, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.1% at 15,712.05.
The UK unemployment rate increased slightly in the three months to March while pay growth declined, numbers on Tuesday showed.
The Office for National Statistics said the UK jobless rate was 4.5% in the three months to March 2025, in line with an FXStreet-cited consensus and up from 4.4% in the previous three-month period to February.
The employment rate for people aged 16 to 64 was estimated at 75%, unchanged from the previous quarter. Meanwhile, the economic inactivity rate was estimated at 21.4%, up slightly from 21%.
Vacancies fell by 42,000 to 761,000 during the quarter, which was the 34th consecutive quarterly decline. Reductions were seen in 13 out of the 18 industry sectors, and vacancies were 34,000 lower than the pandemic levels in January to March 2020.
Annual growth in regular pay, which excludes bonuses, was 5.6%, edging down from 5.9% in the three months to February, and falling short of an FXStreet-cited consensus for 5.7%. Annual growth including bonuses was 5.5%, slightly down from 5.6% and outperforming an FXStreet consensus for 5.2%.
Meanwhile, a commitment by pension funds to invest tens of billions in British infrastructure projects and businesses has been welcomed by Rachel Reeves. The UK chancellor said the agreement would help start-up firms access finance to grow.
Seventeen workplace pension providers have signed up to the voluntary initiative.
The Mansion House Accord aims to help defined contribution, DC, pension savers by harnessing higher potential net returns available in private markets, as well as strengthening investment in the UK.
Those signing up commit to allocating at least 10% of their DC default funds in private markets by 2030, with at least 5% of the total allocated to the UK, assuming that there is a sufficient supply of suitable assets.
That 5% commitment is expected to release £25 billion directly into the UK economy by 2030, with some pension funds indicating privately they will go beyond the targets agreed through the accord.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was marginally higher.
Economic growth in Central Europe and the Balkans is expected to be strained this year by US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, Europe’s development bank forecast Tuesday.
The London-based European Bank for Reconstruction & Development has downgraded its growth forecast for the regions, anticipating tariffs fallout owing to their heavy dependence on Germany’s struggling economy.
Overall, the economies of the countries in which the bank operates should grow by 3.0% this year, slightly lower than anticipated in February, according to the institution.
The pound was quoted slightly higher at $1.3209 early on Tuesday in London, compared to $1.3206 at the equities close on Monday.
The euro stood higher at $1.1121, against $1.1114. Against the yen, the dollar was trading down at JP¥147.86 compared to JP¥148.18.
DCC was the FTSE 100’s biggest loser at London’s market open, down 3.1%.
The sales, marketing, and support services provider reported an 18% decline in pretax profit for its financial year that ended March 31, falling to £294.9 million from £359.2 million the year before, as revenue comes in 4.5% lower at £18.01 billion against £18.85 billion.
DCC declares a final dividend of 140.21 pence per share, bringing its total dividend to 206.40p per share. This is 5.0% higher than 196.57p the year before.
Following the disposal of DCC Healthcare for an enterprise value of £1.05 billion, DCC intends to return £800 million in proceeds to shareholders, which it will begin ‘shortly’ with the launch of a buyback programme for up to £100 million. The company will return £600 million to shareholders in a form to be announced at the completion of the DCC Healthcare sale, with the final £100 million to be returned following receipt of the unconditional deferred consideration in around two years.
Looking ahead, DCC expects financial 2026 to be a year of ‘good operating profit growth on a continuing basis’.
Revolution Beauty tumbles 44%.
The cosmetics retailer said it expects to post revenue of around £141.6 million for its financial year that ended February 28, down 26% on-year as a result of product and brand portfolio rationalisation.
Underlying adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation is expected between £6.0 million and £6.5 million, against £12.6 million in adjusted Ebitda the year before.
Revolution said trading in March and April have been ‘softer than planned’ due to weakness in pure play digital retailers, as well as weakened consumer confidence in the US. It expects these factors to only impact performance in the short to medium term, however.
Cost and inventory management is expected to ‘significantly’ mitigate the impact of lower sales on Ebitda in financial 2026. The company has confidence in its medium-term prospects, but notes that it would benefit from a more robust capital structure.
At the other end, Eden Research rises 11%.
The developer of biopesticides and formulation technologies for the crop protection, animal health and consumer products industries said it has received approval for its fungicide Mevalone in California for the control of powdery mildew in grapes.
This is further to the approval already received for Mevalone in California for the control of Botrytis cinerea. While Eden Research believes the new approval increases its chance of achieving a greater market share among botryticides, it does not expect to change its revenue expectations in the near term.
In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was 1.4% higher. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong improved 1.9%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.4%
In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 2.8%, the S&P 500 3.3% higher and the Nasdaq Composite up 4.4%.
Brent oil was quoted lower at $65.02 a barrel early in London on Tuesday from $65.21 late Monday.
Gold was quoted higher at $3,255.81 an ounce against $3,236.25.
Still to come on Tuesday’s economic calendar, US consumer price index inflation data at 1330 BST.
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