Lunchtime market roundup: Stocks steady before US nonfarm productivity

Stock prices in London did not move much at midday Tuesday, ahead of US nonfarm productivity and flash US purchasing managers’ index data, as oil majors BP and Shell were up as the oil price remained elevated.

The FTSE 100 index was up 5.50 points, marginally higher, at 9,897.74. The FTSE 250 was down 80.71 points, 0.4%, at 21,167.83, and the AIM all-share was down 0.98 points, 0.1%, at 712.44.

The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 986.27, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.5% at 18,408.77, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.3% at 16,836.85.

Brent oil was quoted at $101.46 a barrel at midday in London on Tuesday, down from $102.07 late Monday.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: ‘For now, the fighting continues and that’s kept oil prices in alarm bell territory above $100 per barrel and natural gas elevated too. Though in both cases prices are below their recent highs.’

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet G7 counterparts in France on Friday on the war in Iran, the State Department announced.

US President Donald Trump said he had ‘very good’ discussions with an unidentified Iranian official after shelving plans for additional strikes, even as Israel pledged to continue its military action against Iran.

The White House told the BBC that any potential talks remain ‘fluid’ and that speculation should not be regarded as final. Tehran rejected Trump’s account and accused him of attempting to influence energy markets.

The comments came ahead of a Monday night deadline set by Trump for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face US threats to ‘obliterate’ its power plants.

Axios, citing an Israeli official, named the contact as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker. Reports from Axios and Reuters also suggested US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could meet an Iranian delegation in Pakistan as soon as this week, potentially joined by Vice President JD Vance.

In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.3%.

AJ Bell’s Coatsworth said the relative calm in markets on Tuesday compared with Monday ‘implies some faith on the part of markets that an off-ramp can be found for all parties in the Iran conflict before the economic damage becomes too acute’.

The pound was quoted at $1.3395 at midday Tuesday, higher compared to $1.3390 Monday. Against the euro, sterling slipped to €1.1562 from €1.1566 a day prior. The euro stood at $1.1586, up from $1.1579. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥158.78, little changed from JP¥158.79.

Stocks in New York were called lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called down 0.2%, the S&P 500 index down 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.1%.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.37%, narrowing from 4.38%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.94%, unchanged from Monday.

Eurozone business activity growth slowed sharply in March, according to flash PMI data from S&P Global. The composite output index fell to 50.5 points from 51.9 in February, a 10-month low and below market expectations of 51.1, though still above the 50-point threshold separating growth from contraction.

The slowdown was driven largely by services, where the business activity index dropped to 50.1 from 51.9. Manufacturing output growth eased slightly to 51.7 points from 51.9, while the headline manufacturing PMI rose to a 45-month high of 51.4 from 50.8.

S&P Global said output growth was ‘near-stalling’, reflecting a renewed decline in new orders, the first contraction in eight months. New export orders fell again, marking 49 consecutive months of declining foreign demand.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: ‘The flash eurozone PMI is ringing stagflation alarm bells as the war in the Middle East drives prices sharply higher while stifling growth.’

US flash composite PMI readings are due at 1345 GMT.

In the UK, the services sector underperformed expectations in March, while manufacturing growth softened but beat forecasts. The flash UK services PMI fell to 51.2 points from 53.9 in February, a six-month low and below expectations of 53.0, signalling a slowdown in activity growth.

Business optimism for the year ahead eased to its lowest since June 2025, as firms reported weaker demand linked to the conflict in the Middle East.

The flash manufacturing PMI edged down to 51.4 points from 51.7, beating expectations of 51.1. The manufacturing output index fell to 50.1 from 52.5.

Manufacturers signalled the sharpest rise in input costs since October 2022, while on-month acceleration of input price inflation across the UK manufacturing sector was the biggest since October 1992, following Black Wednesday the prior month. In September 1992, sterling depreciated sharply, known as the sterling crisis.

Oil majors Shell and BP were among the main supports for the FTSE 100, up 0.9% and 1.4% respectively, alongside Relx, which rose 1.5%.

On the FTSE 250, Trustpilot fell 12% after announcing it has hired Marcus Roy as chief financial officer, effective September 14, succeeding Hanno Damm. Roy joins from the Economist Group, where he has served as CFO since 2021.

Separately, Deutsche Bank confirmed that Advent Global Opportunities Master Ltd Partnership sold 21.6 million Trustpilot shares, a 5.6% stake, at 214 pence per share, worth £46 million. Trustpilot has a market capitalisation of £817.3 million.

Bellway was also among the biggest losers, down 11%. The housebuilder reported pretax profit of £139.9 million in the six months to January, broadly flat from £140.8 million a year earlier. Underlying operating profit rose 1.5% to £159.0 million but was below consensus of £170 million. Operating margin slipped to 10.5% from 11.0%. Bellway guided for full-year underlying operating profit of £320 million to £330 million.

Among smaller caps, PZ Cussons rose 7.8% after saying adjusted operating profit is expected at the upper end of guidance, supported by stability in the Nigerian naira and cost control.

Staffline gained 5.2% after reporting pretax profit of £7.4 million in 2025, up from £4.1 million in 2024, on revenue of £1.11 billion, up from £992.9 million. It also launched a share buyback of up to 5.0 million shares.

MobilityOne surged 39% after highlighting TETE’s US Securities & Exchange Commission-approved proxy filings and prospectus for the proposed Super Apps-related merger, confirming the documents have been mailed to shareholders.

Gold was quoted at $4,416.09 an ounce at midday Tuesday, up from $4,376.19 on Monday.

Still to come on Tuesday’s economic calendar are US flash composite PMIs, alongside Canada manufacturing sales and US nonfarm productivity.

Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.