The FTSE 100 showed the signs of caution you’d expect ahead of the Rachel Reeves widely feared Budget, with upbeat news from the tech sector across the pond helping offset any nervousness on the UK front.
London’s leading index had flipped between positive and negative territory during the morning session, though a strong overnight session for US stocks helped it 0.4% higher at the time of writing.
“UK stocks are shaking off a dicey end to last week as increased hopes of a pre-Christmas interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve give stocks on both sides of the Atlantic a boost,” says Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.
“Tech stocks powered the recovery on Wall Street yesterday and fostered hope of a Santa Rally as we approach the beginning of December. Google-owner Alphabet is closing in on a $4 trillion valuation as enthusiasm builds around its Gemini 3 AI model and its custom chips.”
It’s interesting to see Nvidia shares down and Google higher in the US premarket after reports that Meta will use Google chips in their AI push. Nvidia was down 3% while Google rallied 4%.
In the UK, Kingfisher charged to the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard after releasing an encouraging Q3 update. Strong sales in the UK and Ireland drove a more-than-welcome uptick in profit guidance and sent shares 5% higher.
“DIY conglomerate Kingfisher, the name behind B&Q and Screwfix gave an encouraging update, raised its full-year guidance despite softening market conditions in the UK where it remains mindful of inflation and tomorrow’s Budget,” said Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown.
“Strategic initiatives and a focus on efficiency saw the group raise its underlying pre-tax profit guidance from around £540 million to a range of £540-£570 million. Kingfisher is gaining share in a challenging market and despite the recent recovery in the share price still offers a dividend yield of over 4% as well as the potential for some modest capital appreciation.”
Miners were also among the best performers on Tuesday after a call between Donald Trump and the Chinese Premier raised hopes that the worst of the trade tensions are now behind us. Antofagasta and Anglo American both rose by more than 2%.
Insurer Beazley was the top faller, shedding 10%, on news that written insurance premiums rose only 1% as rates on renewal business fell 4%. The drop briefly took Beazley shares back to the lowest levels since 2024.
Next shares rose 1% after announcing the sale of land it no longer needed for £54m.