6th Oct 2026 08:59
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in Europe opened higher on Tuesday, making a positive start as oil prices ease and government bond yields cool.
US tech shares shone on Monday, but in Europe, the start of the week was more challenging.
"Markets have had another volatile session over the last 24 hours, as investors grappled with European contagion risk and a fresh Treasury selloff. On the bright side, yesterday brought some initial signs that the pressure on France was stabilising, with a clear outperformance in French debt. Indeed, there was a big intraday turnaround that saw the Franco-German 10yr spread widen almost 10bps in the morning, before ultimately tightening -4.3bps on the day to 137bps. However, it was still a tough day in many places," Deutsche Bank analysts commented.
The FTSE 100 index climbed 78.70 points, 0.8%, at 10,576.64 early Tuesday. The FTSE 250 added 115.64 points, 0.5%, at 24,239.39, and the AIM all-share rose 1.82 points, 0.2%, at 782.13.
The Cboe UK 100 added 0.8% at 1,049.89, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.6% at 21,092.72, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.1% at 18,928.13.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.3%, having shed 0.8% on Monday amid concern over French public finances. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.8% higher on Tuesday.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 shot up 1.1%. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was up 0.7%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney ended up 0.6%. Financial markets in Shanghai are closed.
In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.2%, the S&P 500 up 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.1%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 5.29%, narrowing from 5.33% at the time of the London equities close on Monday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 5.64%, cooling from 5.68%.
Euro weakness amid fiscal nerves in France was a focus on Monday, though the single currency recovered some ground on Tuesday morning. The euro bought USD1.1222 Tuesday, up from USD1.1193 at the time of the London equities close on Monday. Sterling traded at EUR1.1783, down from EUR1.1792.
Against the dollar, the pound was up at USD1.3226 from USD1.3218. The dollar bought JPY158.19, up from JPY157.99.
ING analyst Francesco Pesole commented: "The euro started the week at the bottom of the G10 scorecard, a clear signal that turbulence in the French bond market remains firmly on FX investors' radars. The euro is being affected through two channels: a direct one, where a fiscal risk premium (so far not extreme) has been added, and an indirect one via a repricing lower in ECB rate expectations.
"Some relief in French bonds yesterday helped EUR/USD recover to just above 1.120 after a fall to 1.1160, but we don't have much confidence in a sustained rebound. The fiscal risk premium is still relatively limited, leaving scope for EUR/USD to test 1.110 or even 1.100 if bond market stress intensifies. Markets are now awaiting details from Marine Le Pen on a counter-budget."
A barrel of Brent eased to USD99.51 early Tuesday from USD102.32 late Monday afternoon. Gold traded at USD4,136.43 an ounce, down marginally from USD4,137.43.
Easing yields meant rate-exposed stocks in London were on the up. Among them, housebuilder Barratt Redrow climbed 2.1%.
Informa was the best performer, surging 2.7%. It said it was raising GBP940 million to part-fund a GBP2.24 billion acquisition of Clarion Events, and it eyes separating academic business Taylor & Francis, as it focuses on its business-to-business operation.
"Today's announcements mark the latest step in a growth strategy that has seen B2B revenues grow tenfold since 2014," explained Chief Executive Stephen Carter.
The business information and exhibitions group said it is buying Clarion, the UK-based owner of more than 100 B2B live event brands, from New York asset manager Blackstone.
The acquisition will be funded through a mixture of committed acquisition financing and the proceeds of a GBP940 million placing.
The share placing, around 9% of Informa's share capital, will be via an accelerated bookbuild, launched Tuesday. The price per share and final number of shares to be placed will be decided at bookbuild close. There will also be a separate offer to retail investors via the RetailBook platform.
Further, Informa said it intends to separate its Academic Markets business, Taylor & Francis, to focus on its core B2B business.
Informa said it has launched a separation process to review all options that will best support the business going forward. The outcomes of the review will be provided alongside Informa's 2026 full year results next March.
Clarkson was at the top of the FTSE 250, adding 6.3%. Shipping services provider Clarkson said trading in August and September was "very strong". Geopolitical worries have created "further volatility across commodity and freight markets", so some areas of its business have seen record freight rates.
"The Broking division has delivered revenues significantly ahead of previous expectations, while also adding to the forward order book. Alongside this, the Financial division has executed a number of transactions, resulting in performance also being significantly up on expectations," Clarkson said.
As a result, it now expects 2026 underlying pretax profit of no less than GBP135 million.
Elsewhere in London, Kenmare Resources jumped 41%. It has received a cash takeover proposal from Abu Dhabi-based International Resources Holdings RSC. The mining company, which operates the Moma titanium minerals mine in Mozambique, said talks with IRH are ongoing and there is no certainty that a firm offer will be made.
IRH has until November 17 to announce whether or not it plans to make a formal offer.
Also on the up, mining services provider Capital added 5.6%. It now expects annual revenue between USD435 million and USD455 million, its outlook raised from a USD430 million to USD450 million range.
The guidance hike comes as it seals the acquisition of Metres Down Under, for a total sum of USD16 million. It establishes the firm's "operating presence in the Australian drilling market, one of the world’s premier mining jurisdictions".
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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