The FTSE 100 opened 10.37 points higher at 10,730.67 as Brent surges past the $90-a-barrel mark again as Middle East tensions remain elevated. Brent crude futures rose 0.86% to $91.65 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) advanced 1.08% to $85.41 per barrel.
Sterling fell to $1.3537 on Tuesday, from $1.3557 at the time of the London equities close on Monday. Versus the euro, it fell to €1.1693 from €1.1702.
On the upside, Centrica climbed 2.05% to 159.25p. BP advanced 2.02% to 530.10p, while BT Group gained 1.51% to 201.30p. Marks & Spencer rose 1.49% to 387.30p, Shell added 1.46% to 3,378p, and Whitbread increased 1.35% to 2,470p.
On the downside, Lion Finance Group fell 1.73% to 13,090p. Endeavour Mining declined 1.69% to 4,124p, while Weir Group dropped 1.50% to 2,632p. Antofagasta slipped 0.97% to 3,581p, London Stock Exchange Group lost 0.73% to 8,416p, and Diploma edged 0.54% lower to 7,315p.
Made Tech shares are rallying after the firm was named as part of a consortium for a new four-year contract with a UK government department.
The stock jumped 13% after it said its total attributable share of the contract amounts to £40 million, making it the largest in its history. It also upgraded its profit target to between £6.3 million and £6.6 million from £6 million previously, as it expects the new win to make an impact on its balance sheet in the coming financial year.
Kainos Group upgraded its financial targets for the year after sales increased. The group said it expects revenue and profit for the financial year to be “comfortably ahead of current market expectations”.
The firm had previously projected £498 million to £514 million for revenue and a pre-tax profit of £75 million to £84 million.
The group said, “While the macroeconomic environment remains volatile, Kainos operates in markets driven by clear structural trends and remains well positioned to deliver on its strategy.”
According to ONS data, wage growth increased more than expected as pay growth in the public sector outpaced growth in the private sector.
Official statistics have shown that wage growth, including bonuses, reached 4.1% between April and June, compared to a market forecast of 4%. This was still lower than the 4.3% figure in the previous month.
Excluding bonuses, pay growth was 3.5%, which was also slightly higher than economists and investors expected. Average earnings growth was 5.5% for the public sector and just 2.9% for the private sector.
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In the US, stocks drifted further from last week's records, with the S&P 500 down 0.5% and the Dow shedding 272 points.
In Asia on Tuesday, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 2.54% to 67,460.73, while China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.25%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.11%, and South Korea’s Kospi edged lower by 1.55%. In India, both the Nifty 50 and the Sensex fell by 0.30% and 0.43%, respectively.