Lunchtime market roundup: Stocks lower ahead of flash US PMI data

Stocks were mostly lower at Tuesday midday in London following the release of flash purchasing managers’ index data for the UK; meanwhile Ramsdens shares surged after accepting a bid from Texas-based pawnbroker rival Firstcash Holdings.

The FTSE 100 index was down 35.06 points, 0.3%, at 10,402.79. The FTSE 250 was down 367.61 points, 1.6%, at 22,829.40, and the AIM all-share was down 12.63 points, 1.6%, at 781.64.

The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.4% at 1,032.66, the Cboe UK 250 was down 1.4% at 19,534.42, and the Cboe small companies was down 0.8% at 18,123.97.

Meanwhile, in New York, SpaceX was called down 3.8% after falling 16% on Monday, marking its third straight day of losses following an historic IPO on June 12.

Stocks in New York were called lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called down 0.5%, the S&P 500 index down 1.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 2.8%.

‘The FTSE 100 was lower on Tuesday after yesterday’s tech sell-off in the US,’ said AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould. ‘The selling in SpaceX, as its trajectory starts to reverse following a blockbuster market debut, has had a knock-on effect on some of the UK vehicles with stakes in the business. The mining sector in London was also lower amid concern about the global economy.’

On the FTSE 100, Scottish Mortgage, an investor in SpaceX, was down 4.6%. Fellow backer Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust, on the FTSE 250, was down 3.9%.

In smaller caps, Ramsdens surged 31% after accepting a bid from Fort Worth, Texas-based Firstcash Holdings Inc.

The offer, to be facilitated through the acquisition vehicle Chess Bidco Ltd, comprises 600 pence per share cash and 9p in dividends that were announced earlier this month.

The bid values the financial services provider and pawnbroker at up to £206 million on a fully diluted basis and implies an enterprise value on a pre-IFRS 16 basis of up to £203 million.

As for the UK economy, private sector activity contracted for a second consecutive month in June, S&P Global reported on Tuesday.

The S&P Global flash UK composite output index fell to 49.4 points from 49.7 in May, missing the FXStreet-cited consensus forecast of 50.6 points.

The downturn was driven by the services sector, where the business activity index fell to 48.7 points from 49.3, its lowest level in 41 months and below the FXStreet-cited consensus of 50.0.

The headline manufacturing PMI eased to 53.1 points from 53.9, a three-month low and below the FXStreet-cited consensus of 53.6. However, manufacturing output growth strengthened, with the output index rising to 53.6 from 52.2, its highest level since September 2024.

In global geopolitical news, an Iranian ambassador said Tuesday that Tehran alone will decide how to use its frozen assets once they are unfrozen under a US-Iranian deal towards ending the Middle East war, contradicting US claims.

‘Iran is the only country who will decide what to do with its assets, which are going to be defrozen,’ Ali Bahreini, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, told reporters at a briefing hosted by the UN correspondents’ association ACANU. ‘I reject any claim by [Washington] about that there should... be any role for any other country to have an influence on those decisions or on those processes.’

Also on Tuesday, Iran said that the UN’s nuclear watchdog will not be able to inspect key nuclear sites bombed by the US and Israel last year.

US Vice President JD Vance has said that Tehran had agreed to invite International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back. But Bahreini told reporters that ‘there hasn’t been such a decision’.

‘We have not had a meeting with the director general of the IAEA, nor do we have any plans for the agency to inspect Iran’s nuclear facilities damaged by the US and Zionist military aggression,’ foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, meanwhile, told a press briefing attended by AFP.

Also on Tuesday, AFP reported that at least 36 commodity carriers transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, a record level since the start of the Middle East war in late February, citing data from maritime tracking firm Kpler.

The 36 passages represent nearly a third of normal peacetime traffic, around 120 a day, through the strait, which normally sees around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas exports.

The total count for Monday crossings is expected to rise further as ships are detected later by maritime trackers.

Brent oil, however, was quoted higher at $77.85 a barrel at midday in London on Tuesday from $77.38 late Monday.

The pound was quoted at $1.3219 midday Tuesday, falling from $1.3254 on Monday. Against the euro, sterling softened to €1.1584 from €1.1587 a day prior. The euro stood at $1.1406, lower against $1.1440. Against the yen, the dollar was trading lower at JP¥161.38 compared to JP¥161.41.

The 10-year yield on UK gilts narrowed to 4.78% from 4.81% near the close on Monday.

‘The market reaction to the latest political news in the UK is relatively measured after Keir Starmer’s decision to step down as prime minister,’ Mould commented. ‘Gilt yields held firm despite uncertainty around whether there will be a smooth succession for Starmer’s replacement or a leadership contest.

‘Andy Burnham has already made attempts to address concerns he might rapidly increase borrowing and/or abandon fiscal rules should he become PM.’

In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.9%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 1.3%.

The eurozone private sector remained in contraction territory in June, although the pace of decline eased.

The flash Hamburg Commercial Bank eurozone composite purchasing managers’ index rose to 49.5 points from 48.5 in May. The FXStreet-cited consensus had pencilled in a 49.1-point reading.

The improvement was driven by the services sector, where the business activity index increased to 48.9 points from 47.7, also a three-month high and above FXStreet-cited expectations of 48.1. Manufacturing activity remained more resilient, although momentum softened slightly. The manufacturing PMI fell to 51.3 points in June from 51.6 in May, also above the FXStreet-cited consensus of 51.2.

‘The eurozone economy is showing enough resilience to just about stay out of recession,’ said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Meanwhile, German private sector activity deteriorated at the fastest pace in 18 months.

The HCB flash Germany composite PMI output index fell to 48.0 points in June from 48.8 in May, marking an 18-month low and coming in below the FXStreet-cited consensus of 49.9 points.

The reading reflected a sharp slowdown in services activity, with the services PMI business activity index dropping to 46.8 points from 48.1, its lowest level in 43 months and below FXStreet-cited expectations of 48.7 points.

Meanwhile, in France, the downturn in business activity softened slightly.

The composite PMI flash reading came in at 47.6 points, marking the sixth consecutive month in decline, but the pace of that decline eased from 44.9 in May, which had marked a 28-month low.

The manufacturing PMI edged into growth territory, registering 50.7 points, up from 49.7 the month prior, and just ahead of FXStreet-cited consensus, which had forecast 50.4. The service sector remained in contraction, though the rate of decline eased to 47.4 points in June from 44.3 in May, and was ahead of the 45.9-point consensus.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.48%, narrowing from 4.51% late on Monday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.94%, narrowing from 4.95%.

Gold was quoted lower at $4,131.40 an ounce against $4,184.04.

Still to come on Tuesday’s economic calendar, the US has several releases due, including jobs data, flash composite PMI and the Richmond Fed manufacturing index.

Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.