Adding at best 0.27%, the FTSE 100 was sat just below 7,100 after the bell, kept from that level by the 0.6% and 1.2% losses for BP and Shell respectively.
“The summer slowdown felt in effect this Tuesday, with Europe barely able to raise its head from the pillow,” said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex.
The index benefited from sterling’s retreat. Cable was down 0.3%, and back below $1.414, while against the euro the pound dipped 0.1% to €1.1619.
The Eurozone was even more lethargic, with the DAX down 0.1% and the CAC up the same amount.
“There’s still a flurry of data from the region that could case a shift. The Eurozone-wide ZEW economic sentiment reading is set to rise from 84.0 to 85.5, while the German-specific equivalent is eyeing a jump from 84.4 to 86.0. The revised Q1 GDP reading, however, is set to remain at -0.6%,” said Campbell.
“At present the Dow Jones doesn’t look interested in upping the ante this afternoon. The futures have the index down 0.1%, and hovering around 34,600. That leaves the Dow within reach of its 35,000 all-time highs, but perhaps reticent to near that level until it gets a gander at Thursday’s inflation data.”
FTSE 100 Top Movers
Intermediate Capital Group (5.64%), Aviva (3.55%) and Flutter Entertainment (3.01%) are the top risers on the FTSE 100 during the morning session.
While Smith and Nephew (-1.33%), Shell (-1.17%) and Evraz (-0.85%) make up the bottom three.
British American Tobacco
British American Tobacco has upgraded its revenue forecasts for the current year on better than expected sales of its non-tobacco products.
The FTSE 100 cigarette company is now anticipating its revenues will grow by 5% on a constant currency basis during 2021, as it saw record growth in the amount of customers for its non-tobacco products. Exchange rates will skim off some of BAT’s gains as it expects an “8% currency headwind” during H1 and the full year.
Aviva
Cevian Capital, an activist investor, confirmed on Tuesday it had acquired a 4.95% stake in Aviva, and that the UK insurer should now be able to return £5bn of excess capital next year.
As an alternative to ousting chief executive Amanda Blanc, Cevian is encouraging the FTSE 100 company’s boss to work on a number of disposals she announced when she took over the company nearly 12 months ago.