17th Mar 2026 09:14
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened mixed on Tuesday, as the FTSE 100 was helped by oil majors to outperform European peers, while Trustpilot shares jumped on strong profit growth.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 19.44 points, 0.2%, at 10,337.13. The FTSE 250 was down 39.91 points, 0.2%, at 21,982.56, and the AIM all-share was up 4.04 points, 0.5%, at 758.30.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 1,027.58, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.2% lower at 19,208.56, and the Cboe small companies was 0.2% higher at 17,542.30.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up slightly, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.2% lower.
Sterling was at USD1.3330 on Tuesday morning, up slightly from USD1.3293 at the London equities close on Monday. The euro was marginally higher at USD1.1515 from USD1.1480. Against the yen, the dollar was slightly lower at JPY159.07 versus JPY159.34.
Developments in the Middle East were in focus for investors on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump criticised US allies for their lukewarm response to his call to help protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz during the war against Iran.
Trump said a number of countries, that he did not name, had committed to help secure the waterway, a critical choke point for the global oil trade, but lashed out at others who were not "enthusiastic."
The EU has ruled out participation in a potential military operation, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany would not get involved.
Brent oil was trading higher at USD103.69 a barrel on Tuesday morning from USD102.83 on Monday evening.
Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya said: "Make no mistake: Europeans also want a resolution and are exploring options, but they want a solution outside the context of Nato, some of which include rerouting trade through the Red Sea. But nothing is clear yet.
"What's clear is that global uncertainty persists, opinions diverge, oil infrastructure is being targeted in the Middle East, and Russia continues to benefit from strong oil revenues thanks to easing sanctions. There are now rising calls in Europe to normalize relations with Russia — as the gas refill season approaches and Qatar's [liquefied natural gas] supply remains uncertain."
Oil majors were higher on the FTSE 100, as Shell rose 1.2% and BP was up 1.0%.
Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve starts its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, as one of a swathe of central bank decisions due this week.
Ozkardeskaya said: "Fed members have been leaning toward supporting a softening labour market despite inflation remaining above target. But now, inflation is not only expected to stay above target, it could also pick up again, while labour market softness remains a concern. Activity in Fed funds futures stopped pricing in a full 25 basis point cut this year, meaning the hawkish shift is largely priced in. That leaves us wondering whether the Fed's decision will be more or less hawkish than expected."
In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was down 0.1%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was 0.9% lower, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong gained 0.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was 0.4% higher.
In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.8%, the S&P 500 closed 1.0% higher and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.2%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury slimmed slightly to 4.23% on Tuesday morning from 4.24% at Monday's close. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury narrowed to 4.87% from 4.88%.
Back in London, Trustpilot led the way on the FTSE 250 index and jumped 20% after it said its profitability in 2025 was ahead of expectations.
The consumer review platform reported pretax profit of USD14.1 million in 2025, almost tripled from USD5.2 million a year earlier. Revenue climbed 22% to USD291.4 million from USD239.0 million, or 20% at constant currency.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation advanced 69% to USD40.7 million from USD24.1 million, with the margin up to 15.6% in 2025 from 11.4% in 2024.
Looking ahead, Trustpilot said it expects revenue to grow at a "high-teen" percentage at constant currency "reflecting strong 2025 bookings" with a two to three percentage point improvement in the adjusted Ebitda margin.
Trustpilot also said it will start a GBP22.5 million share buyback programme after the completion of the 2025 buyback programme.
"We enter the new financial year with clear strategic momentum and continued confidence in our growth roadmap," said Chief Executive Officer Adrian Blair.
Shares in IP Group were up 7.9%.
The investor in science and technology companies said its net asset value per share was 13% higher at 110.4 pence at the end of 2025 from 97.7p a year earlier.
Looking ahead, the investor noted the potential for meaningful future royalty income from its licensing activity. "We continue to believe the environment for high-growth science and technology businesses remains supportive and that IP Group continues to be well positioned," Chief Executive Officer Greg Smith said.
Close Brothers shares fell 4.7% after it said it will cut 20% of jobs as it reported a narrower pretax loss for the first half of its financial year, amid lower operating expenses.
The merchant bank said it expects to cut around 600 jobs by the end of the 2027 financial year, or around 20% of its approximately 3,000 employees.
It said its operating pretax loss narrowed to GBP65.5 million in the six months to the end of January 2026 from a GBP102.2 million loss a year earlier. Operating income fell 6.1% to GBP333.8 million from GBP355.4 million, with net interest income alone down 6.5% to GBP274.4 million from GBP293.6 million.
The net interest margin narrowed to 7.1% from 7.3%, while the CET1 capital ratio was up to 14.3% at the end of January from 13.8% at the end of July.
Close Brothers said it is "well placed" to "absorb a range of potential outcomes" from the UK Financial Conduct Authority's proposed motor finance commission redress scheme.
It now expects to deliver GBP25 million of annualised savings in the current financial year, and a total of GBP60 million annualised savings by the end of 2027 rather than 2028.
"This positions us well to reach double-digit returns by the 2028 financial year, rising thereafter," said Chief Executive Mike Morgan.
Among other companies, shares in Old Mutual were down 8.3% in London after it reported sharply higher annual profit, and announced the retirement of Chair Trevor Manuel.
The Anglo-South African financial services firm delivered a 47% surge in pretax profit to ZAR22.71 billion, around GBP1.02 billion, in 2025 from ZAR15.49 billion in 2024.
Old Mutual declared a final dividend of 56 rand cents, up 7.7% from 52 cents, bringing the total payout for 2025 to 93 cents, up 8.1% from 86 cents.
Old Mutual said that it has picked Roger Jardine as chair designate. Jardine, who was appointed as non-executive director in September last year, will assume the chair position at the company's annual general meeting to be held on June 5. Manuel will retire at the close of the AGM.
Looking ahead, Old Mutual said it remains committed to restoring its value of new business margin by focusing on enhancing business mix, retention and collections, supported by cost savings.
Gold was higher at USD5,021.70 an ounce early on Tuesday from USD4,983.55 late Monday.
Still to come on Tuesday's economic calendar is economic sentiment data from Germany and the eurozone, with pending home sales figures for the US later.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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ShellBPTrustpilotIp GroupClose BrosOld Mutual Lim.