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The FTSE 100 opened 48.47 points higher at 10,733.35 as slower UK shop price inflation eased, which offset the uncertainty between the US and Iran regarding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures rose 1.26% to USD 106.6 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) advanced 1.08% to USD 93.60 per barrel.
Sterling was quoted at USD 1.3233 early Tuesday, lower than USD 1.3256 at the London equities close on Monday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR 1.1651 from EUR 1.1658 a day prior.
On the upside, GSK gained 2.07% to 1,898.50p, while Antofagasta advanced 2.00% to 3,725p. AstraZeneca rose 1.99% to 12,740p, Halma added 1.73% to 3,526p, and Anglo American increased 1.72% to 4,033p. Spirax Group also traded higher, gaining 1.61% to 7,255p.
On the downside, SSE fell 2.36% to 2,400p, while National Grid declined 1.38% to 1,112p. British American Tobacco dropped 0.78% to 4,190p, Admiral Group slipped 0.65% to 3,650p, and Shell lost 0.60% to 3,632.50p. Unilever also moved lower, falling 0.45% to 4,650p.
BRC shop price inflation eased to 1.4% year-on-year in September from 1.5% in August, below the 1.5% forecast but above the three-month average of 1.3%.
Food inflation slowed to 2.5% from 2.8%, and non-food to 0.8% from 0.9%. The British Retail Consortium said retailers were absorbing higher business rates, employment costs, energy bills and packaging taxes, but there was a limit to what they could shoulder. Broader CPI rose to 3.1% in August and is expected to top 4% in early 2027 as the Iran war lifts energy prices.
AstraZeneca has invested USD 2 billion in US pharmaceutical firm Summit Therapeutics as part of a blockbuster cancer research tie-up. The company has agreed to buy 109,000 shares in Nasdaq-listed Summit for USD 18.36 per share as part of the deal.
Dr Maky Zanganeh, co-chief executive of Summit, described the deal as the start of 'an exciting new chapter in the advancement' of its new cancer treatments. Shares of Summit jumped by more than 15% in after-hours trading, following news of the deal.
Andy Burnham is set to signal that he is open to reconsidering the triple lock on pensions in his conference speech today, a move that could divide the Labour Party.
In his maiden conference speech as Prime Minister, Burnham will suggest the triple lock, in which the state pension rises by inflation, wages or 2.5%, is not sustainable in its current form and should be reviewed ahead of the party’s next manifesto, the Telegraph reported.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite union, told the Times: 'I think it would be almost electoral suicide.' But Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for Scotland, told Times Radio that young people were getting a 'really raw deal'.
In the US, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined 0.12%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.7%, while Nasdaq-100 futures inched 0.04% lower.
In Asia on Tuesday, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 0.6% to 65,481.27, while China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.18%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.40%, and South Korea’s Kospi edged down by 0.27%. In India, both the Nifty 50 and the Sensex fell by 0.46% and 0.49%, respectively.
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