15th Apr 2025 08:59
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Tuesday, following news that UK unemployment held steady on-quarter, while in the US Donald Trump has floated the possibility of temporary tariff exemptions for the motor industry.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 37.85 points, 0.5%, at 8,172.19. The FTSE 250 was up 97.15 points, 0.5%, at 19,075.66, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.01 points, 0.3%, at 661.03.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.6% at 814.10, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.9% at 16,642.96, and the Cboe Small Companies was flat at 14,926.69.
B&M European Value Retail was near the top of the FTSE 250, up 4.5%.
Group revenue increased 3.7% on-year to GBP5.6 billion in the year ended March 29, "with revenue growth from new store performance and positive like-for-like (LFL) sales in France offsetting negative LFL performance in B&M UK and Heron Foods", the Luxembourg-based variety goods retailer said.
B&M also said it expects full-year group adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be above the midpoint of its GBP605 million to GBP625 million guidance range.
European Smaller Companies Trust opened up 2.5%.
Saba Capital Management has entered into a standstill agreement with the London-based investor in smaller European firms.
"Under the terms of the agreement and subject to shareholder approval, the trust will conduct a tender offer for up to 42.5% of the ordinary shares in issue," Saba said. "This provides shareholders who wish to exit their investment in ESCT an opportunity to do so."
Saba has committed to tender 115.4 million of its shares in the trust.
Among small caps, De La Rue jumped 14%.
The Basingstoke-based firm, which prints banknotes for the Bank of England and other central banks, has accepted a GBP263 million cash takeover offer worth 130p per share from funds managed by Atlas Holdings.
On AIM, MaxCyte lost 4.6%.
The Rockville, Maryland-based cell engineering technology company has proposed delisting from AIM to enhance its liquidity, while retaining its US listing on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.
The UK unemployment rate held steady in the three months to February, while pay growth remained robust, numbers on Tuesday showed.
The Office for National Statistics said the UK jobless rate was 4.4% in the three months to February 2025, unchanged from the previous three-month period. The rate comes in line with the FXStreet-cited market consensus and above the 4.2% unemployment rate recorded a year earlier.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 1.0%.
The pound was quoted higher at USD1.3215 early on Tuesday in London, compared to USD1.3183 at the equities close on Monday. The euro stood at USD1.1348, lower against USD1.1375. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JPY143.38 compared to JPY143.21.
In US news, Mark Zuckerberg appeared in court on Monday to give evidence in a historic antitrust trial to defend Meta Platforms Inc against allegations it illegally monopolised the social media market.
The US Federal Trade Commission called Zuckerberg, the company's founder and chief executive, as its first witness on Monday as it seeks to prove that Meta acquired Instagram and WhatsApp – start-ups it bought more than a decade ago – to preserve its monopoly in the social networking space.
In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.8%, the S&P 500 up 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.6%.
"This morning, the futures are flat with Nasdaq futures under pressure," commented Swissquote's Ipek Ozkardeskaya. "Sentiment is fragile on [US announcements that are] taking a toll on companies' and investors' ability to make decisions...
"... except for China! China this week makes the decision of not reacting anymore...Instead of responding to the US, China's Xi visits Asian counterparts to convince them that whatever they will negotiate to avoid US tariffs – it won't be stable enough than sealing a deal with China.
"Appetite for Chinese stocks remains limited with the CSI 300 near flat today and the Hang Seng index giving back early gains."
In Asia on Tuesday, however, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.1%. The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.8%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.2%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.2%.
Trump has suggested that he might temporarily exempt the motor industry from tariffs he previously imposed on the sector, to give car makers time to adjust their supply chains.
The statement hinted at yet another round of reversals on tariffs as Trump's onslaught of import taxes has panicked financial markets and raised deep concerns from Wall Street economists about a possible recession. When he announced the 25% motor tariffs on March 27, he described them as "permanent".
Brent oil was quoted higher at USD65.18 a barrel early in London on Tuesday from USD64.83 late Monday.
Gold was quoted higher at USD3,221.52 an ounce against USD3,207.11.
Still to come on Tuesday's economic calendar, the US has Redbook index and export & import price data.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
B&MThe European Smaller Companies TrustDe La RueMaxCyte