Lunchtime market roundup: FTSE 100 lifted by banks ahead of US data

London stocks were in the green at midday on Tuesday, helped by banking and mining stocks, as expectations for a US Federal Reserve rate cut before Christmas grew.

The FTSE 100 index rose 29.52 points, 0.3%, to 9,564.43. The FTSE 250 added 44.70 points, 0.2%, at 21,456.28, and the AIM All-Share was 2.00 points higher, 0.3%, at 739.16.

The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 956.15, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.1% higher at 18,601.40, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 17,078.92.

The CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was flat.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury narrowed to 4.02% midday Tuesday from 4.05% late Monday. The 30-year yield slimmed to 4.67% from 4.69%.

‘UK stocks are shaking off a dicey end to last week as increased hopes of a pre-Christmas interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve give stocks on both sides of the Atlantic a boost,’ AJ Bell analyst Dan Coatsworth commented.

‘Tech stocks powered the recovery on Wall Street yesterday and fostered hope of a Santa Rally as we approach the beginning of December. Google-owner Alphabet is closing in on a $4 trillion valuation as enthusiasm builds around its Gemini 3 AI model and its custom chips. Commentary from Fed officials has hinted investors might get the festive gift of a rate cut after all, despite hopes for such a move having started to evaporate in recent weeks.’

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 are called down 0.2%, returning some of Monday’s surge. The Nasdaq Composite is called down 0.4%.

President Donald Trump on Monday praised ‘extremely strong’ US-China relations after talking with his counterpart Xi Jinping, but made no mention of the contentious issue of Taiwan.

Trump’s statement confirmed that he will visit China in April and that Xi will come to Washington later in 2026.

However, unlike the official Chinese readout which described Taiwan as being prominent during the call, Trump did not refer to the dispute.

Miners, with a heavy exposure to the Chinese economy, traded higher in London. Antofagasta added 2.4%, while Anglo American rose 1.9%.

Against the dollar, sterling climbed to $1.3115 on Tuesday afternoon, from $1.3104 at the time of the London equities close on Monday. The euro was largely flat at $1.1526 from $1.1525. Against the yen, the buck slipped to JP¥156.44 from JP¥156.91.

Eyes on Wednesday will be on the budget announced by UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

The chancellor will deliver the budget statement to Parliament around 1230 GMT on Wednesday, after Prime Minister’s Questions. These start at 1200 GMT and usually last around 30 minutes.

The Financial Times reported that Reeves will spare the banking sector from a tax raid.

In London, NatWest rose 2.2% and Barclays added 1.5%.

Elsewhere in London, Kingfisher shares rose 5.7% and AO World added 6.6%. The retailers were the pick of the bunch on the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250, respectively, after raising profit guidance.

B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher now expects adjusted pretax profit in the range of £540 million to £570 million, lifting its view from the previous expectation, which was the upper end of a £480 million to £540 million range.

AO World in September upped its profit view to a £45 million to £50 million range. Since then, it has seen ‘continued positive trading’ and it now expects pretax profit ‘around the top’ of the outlook range.

Marston’s soared 21%. It reported annual profit growth, despite revenue edging fractionally lower, and the pub firm said ‘Christmas bookings are strong’.

Pretax profit in the year ended September 27 jumped to £88.3 million from £14.4 million, though revenue fell 0.1% to £897.9 million from £898.6 million. On a like-for-like basis, sales rose 1.6%.

‘We’ve delivered another strong year ahead of plan, executing on our strategy to be a high-margin, highly cash-generative local pub company. For the second consecutive year, we’ve delivered significant growth in profit, margin and free cash flow, underlining the strength of our market-leading pub operating model and the outstanding work of our teams,’ CEO Justin Platt said.

Marston’s says like-for-like sales in the eight weeks to November 22 are tracking in line with the prior year. Christmas bookings are ‘strong’, 11% higher than the prior year.

‘The group is well positioned for a strong festive period and FY2026, supported by ongoing format conversions and a robust calendar of demand-driving events, including the 2026 World Cup,’ it said.

A barrel of Brent rose to $63.01 on Tuesday afternoon, from $62.90 late Monday. Gold rose to $4,132.97 an ounce, from $4,097.64.

Still to come on Tuesday are US producer prices and retail sales at 1330 GMT.

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