Lunchtime market roundup: Stocks down ahead of UK spring statement

Stock prices in London remained lower at midday on Tuesday as the upcoming UK spring statement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves is being overshadowed by war in the Middle East which has sent natural gas prices surging.

The FTSE 100 index was down 282.09 points, 2.6%, at 10,498.02. The FTSE 250 was down 637.65 points, 2.7%, at 22,785.99, and the AIM all-share was down 23.17 points, 2.8%, at 792.72.

The Cboe UK 100 was down 2.5% at 1,045.46, the Cboe UK 250 was down 2.6% at 20,109.97, and the Cboe small companies was down 1.4% at 18,240.76.

‘Despite an initial sanguine response to the Iranian conflict seen on Wall Street on Monday, UK stocks recorded a meaningful drop on Tuesday morning,’ AJ Bell’s Dan Coatsworth commented.

He added: ‘Amid all the drama, [UK] Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement may struggle to get many eyeballs. The plans will likely have been finalised weeks ago although that hasn’t prevented calls for a move on fuel duty to try and mitigate the impact of surging energy prices.’

Smith & Nephew continued to lead the FTSE 100, rising 3.3% following the prior day’s release of its annual results. Also, Barclays on Tuesday raised the medical technology firm’s price target to 1,305p from 1,290p. Hikma Pharmaceuticals, which reported its annual results last week, came in second with a 0.9% increase.

On the FTSE 250, International Workplace shares were down 6.1%.

The Zug, Switzerland-based hybrid workspace provider increased its final dividend by 3.3% on-year to 0.93 US cents per share, bringing the 2025 total up 3.8% to 1.38 cents. However, pretax profit for 2025 fell 26% on-year to $43 million.

Looking ahead, the company said 2026 started as expected as it remains ‘cautiously optimistic’, and reiterated full-year guidance of adjusted Ebitda rising between 10% and 18% to between $585 million and $625 million.

In small caps, John Wood rose 11%.

The Aberdeen, Scotland-based oilfield services and engineering consulting firm said a court sanction hearing for its acquisition by Sidara is scheduled for Friday. It expects the takeover to become effective on Tuesday, March 10.

In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 2.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 3.7%.

Eurozone consumer price inflation surprisingly accelerated in February, a preliminary reading showed, as service price growth quickened.

Eurostat’s flash reading said the annual consumer price inflation rate in the single currency bloc picked up to 1.9% in February, from 1.7% in January. The rate of inflation had been expected to remain at 1.7%, according to consensus cited by FXStreet.

Despite the acceleration, the rate of inflation still sits below the European Central Bank’s 2% target.

The pound was quoted lower at $1.3287 at midday on Tuesday in London, compared to $1.3360 at the equities close on Monday. The euro stood at $1.1600, lower against $1.1672. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JP¥157.84 compared to JP¥157.73.

Stocks in New York were called lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called down 1.0%, the S&P 500 index down 1.0%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 2.4%.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.10%, widening from 4.05%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.72%, widening from 4.70%.

AJ Bell’s Coatsworth noted that ‘US futures suggest investors across the Atlantic are also starting to become more alarmed about the situation in the Middle East,’ adding: ‘The longer oil and natural gas prices remain elevated, the greater the risk of a meaningful impact on inflation which could mean higher interest rates, an event that’s typically negative for equity markets.’

Brent oil was quoted higher at $84.35 a barrel at midday in London on Tuesday, from $77.92 late Monday.

FTSE 100 oil majors BP and Shell were up 0.5% and down 0.5%, respectively.

British Gas owner Centrica lost 1.7%.

European natural gas prices have surged to their highest level in more than three years, DPA reports, driven by a halt in liquefied natural gas supplies from key producer Qatar. A major LNG export facility in Qatar was taken offline following an Iranian drone strike on Monday.

The benchmark TTF gas futures contract for delivery in one month rose at times to €59.44 per megawatt hour on Tuesday morning, DPA says, about 30% higher than the previous day.

Gold was quoted lower at $5,145.80 an ounce against $5,288.00.

Still to come on Tuesday’s economic calendar is the US Redbook index.

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