10th Nov 2026 09:08
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Tuesday, tracking gains across European and Asian markets after a strong rally on Wall Street, as oil prices fell on growing hopes of an end to the conflict between the US and Iran.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 56.19 points, 0.5%, at 10,839.06. The FTSE 250 was up 130.07 points, 0.5%, at 24,836.01, and the AIM all-share was up 2.84 points, 0.4%, at 764.23.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.5% at 1,075.54, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.7% at 21,969.82, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 18,647.38.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 1.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt also gained 1.2%.
UK grocery price inflation accelerated in early November, according to figures from market research firm Worldpanel by Numerator, adding to pressure on household budgets ahead of the festive period.
Grocery price inflation rose to 2.6% in the four weeks to November 1 from 2.5% in the preceding four-week period, as Halloween-related spending and a public awareness campaign encouraging households to stock up on essentials supported supermarket sales.
Worldpanel's Fraser McKevitt said: "Grocery price inflation continued to increase after slowing over the summer. While prices are rising at a slower rate than at the beginning of the year, the direction of travel has changed. Household budgets have already taken a hit after the latest increase to the energy price cap arrived with the cold weather in October, and shoppers will be keeping a close eye on prices at the tills this winter."
The pound was quoted at USD1.3454 early Tuesday, higher than USD1.3415 at the London equities close on Monday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR1.1967 from EUR1.1974 a day earlier.
The euro rose to USD1.1243 from USD1.1203 late Monday. Against the yen, the dollar edged up to JPY158.09 from JPY158.05.
In the FTSE 100, oil majors were among the leading fallers as crude prices declined amid renewed optimism over diplomatic efforts to end the conflict between Washington and Tehran.
Shell fell 1.1%, while BP declined 1.0%.
Brent oil was trading at USD90.62 a barrel early Tuesday, lower than USD94.27 late Monday.
US President Donald Trump said momentum was building towards ending the war with Iran, describing the country's military as "effectively over", although he did not rule out further US military action.
Trump met Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the White House, marking his first meeting with a foreign leader since Republicans suffered heavy losses in last week's midterm elections.
Qatar has played a central role in mediating efforts to bring the conflict to an end.
Following the meeting, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the two leaders had held "an excellent conversation", adding that "much was discussed with respect to the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Back in London, Marks & Spencer fell 0.8% as the retailer outlined the next phase of its transformation strategy at a capital markets day, targeting medium-term sales growth in the mid-to-high single digits, with profit growth expected to outpace revenue.
M&S said it aims to double Food sales over time and achieve an operating margin of around 5.0%, while increasing online sales towards 50% of its Fashion, Home & Beauty business.
The retailer is also targeting operating margins above 10% across both online and store operations, alongside further international expansion through capital-light channels.
M&S said it remains on track to deliver GBP600 million in structural cost savings by financial 2028 and expects to generate positive free cash flow in each of the next three years.
The company also plans to double its dividend for financial 2027 to 8.4 pence per share from 4.2p, with subsequent dividends intended to grow at least in line with earnings.
Vodafone edged up 0.3% after upgrading its full-year 2027 profit and cash flow guidance following a strong first half, despite swinging to a pretax loss due to a substantial impairment charge in Germany.
The telecommunications company now expects adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation after leases of between EUR13.2 billion and EUR13.4 billion, alongside adjusted free cash flow of EUR2.8 billion to EUR3.0 billion.
Vodafone highlighted progress in simplifying its operations and reducing costs, having cut 3,000 roles across Europe and shared operations during the first half of its financial year.
Chief Executive Margherita Della Valle said: "I am very happy about our overall group performance, but Germany is not yet where it needs to be. We have a clear action plan in progress, which is structurally simplifying our German operations and improving customer satisfaction across all of our services."
In the FTSE 250, Funding Circle Holdings jumped 12% after upgrading its full-year 2026 expectations, citing resilient demand from small and medium-sized enterprises.
Playtech rose 2.7% after raising its 2026 earnings expectations following stronger-than-anticipated trading in the four months to October 31, supported by continued growth in the Americas.
However, the gambling technology provider flagged potential headwinds for next year, including increasing competition in the US, regulatory developments in Brazil and higher UK gaming taxes.
Chief Executive Mor Weizer said: "Looking to 2027, we expect performance to reflect growing competition from third-party PMR suppliers in the US, political and regulatory developments in Brazil and the first full-year impact of increased remote gaming duty in the UK."
At the other end of the mid-cap index, Avon Technologies fell 6.2% following the release of its annual results, as Peel Hunt downgraded the company to 'add' from 'buy', despite raising its price target to 2,600 pence from 2,500p.
In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo closed up 2.9%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended up 0.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong gained 0.4%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 1.1%.
In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended sharply higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 2.2%, the S&P 500 gaining 2.4% and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite advancing 2.8%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.86% early Tuesday, narrowing from 4.88% on Monday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury narrowed to 5.26% from 5.27%.
Meanwhile, negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the US are due to begin talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, marking the first such meeting in more than nine months.
European representatives will also attend the talks amid concerns over Trump's willingness to negotiate directly with Moscow on European security arrangements.
Trump has repeatedly pushed for an end to the conflict since returning to the White House, although previous negotiations failed to produce a breakthrough, while diplomatic efforts were subsequently overshadowed by the US-Israeli war against Iran.
European governments and Kyiv remain concerned that Washington could pressure Ukraine into accepting a settlement that would amount to a de facto capitulation, amid perceptions that Trump has shifted closer to Moscow this year.
Gold was quoted at USD4,116.50 an ounce early Tuesday, marginally lower than USD4,116.80 on Monday.
Still to come on Tuesday's economic calendar, the US releases the NFIB small business optimism index, ADP employment figures and Consumer Prices Index inflation data.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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