The FTSE 100 opened 78.81 points higher at 10,576.75 after technology stocks drove Wall Street towards fresh records. Brent crude futures fell 0.66% to USD 99.66 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined 0.87% to USD 88.65 per barrel. 

Sterling remained steady at USD 1.3217 on Tuesday, from Monday’s USD 1.3218. Against the euro, it traded at EUR 1.1777, down from EUR 1.1792.

Gainers & Losers 

On the upside, AstraZeneca gained 2.21% to 12,024p, while Marks & Spencer Group advanced 2.15% to 384.30p. Weir Group rose 1.94% to 2,632p, and Whitbread climbed 1.90% to 2,472p. RELX added 1.89% to 2,584p, while Imperial Brands gained 1.80% to 2,494p.

On the downside, BP fell 1.15% to 556.70p, while BAE Systems declined 0.91% to 1,916.50p. IG Group Holdings dropped 0.86% to 977.50p, and Coca-Cola HBC slipped 0.33% to 4,240p. Fresnillo edged 0.29% lower to 2,734p, while Endeavour Mining declined 0.17% to 4,243p.

Rate Hike to be Skipped

Jefferies economist Mohit Kumar said that he expects both the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank to skip a hike in October, with the next hike likely in December. 

He said recent central bank commentary, including from the Fed’s Jefferson and Hammack and the ECB’s Lane, had ‘moderated’ on the need for hikes. 

On bonds, Kumar said the market was ‘going after the weakest link in the deficit picture, which is France and the UK.’ French spreads had tightened to 136 basis points from an intraday high above 150bp, but he said a ‘buyers strike’ rather than a sovereign crisis was the concern

Informa Acquired Clarion Events

Research giant Informa acquired event and exhibition organiser Clarion Events for GBP 2.3 billion. The group revealed on Tuesday it had snapped up Clarion Events from private equity firm Blackstone. The deal brings over 100 B2B live event brands under the Informa umbrella. It expects annual revenues to surpass USD 6 billion following the move. 

The group also laid out plans on Tuesday to separate its academic markets arm, under the moniker Taylor & Francis. It said the division was approaching USD 1 billion in revenue and growing at four per cent annually and would benefit from greater independence and flexibility.

Berkeley Urged Healey to Cut Stamp Duty

Housebuilder Berkeley Group urged John Healey to cut stamp duty on newly built homes, in a move which it says would hand the Treasury a GBP 4.2 billion windfall. 

In its Budget submission, Berkeley Group told the Chancellor that urgent action was needed to prevent the housing market from ‘sliding over an economic cliff edge’. The housebuilder said cutting the 5% investor surcharge on new homes would unlock 30% sales growth, handing the Exchequer GBP 4.2 billion.

Also Read: Top Stocks to Watch in October 2026: Picks From India, US.& UK

Global Market View

In the US, the NASDAQ rose 0.46%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.25% and the S&P 500 dipped 0.26%. Treasury yields climbed steadily, with the 10-year Treasury briefly reaching a 24-year high near 5.34% before settling at about 5.28%.  

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 1.05% to 70,683.98, while China’s Shanghai Composite remained closed for Golden Week. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.77%, and South Korea’s Kospi edged down by 0.89%. In India, both the Nifty 50 and the Sensex rose by 0.62% and 0.63%, respectively.