London open: FTSE nudges up as investors digest jobs data
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Tuesday 18 Feb 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were a smidgen higher in early trade on Tuesday as investors mulled the latest UK jobs data.
At 0835 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 8,772.00.
Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that pay growth accelerated in the three months to December, while the unemployment rate was steady.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.4%, versus expectations for it tick up to 4.5%.
Average earnings including bonuses rose by 6% on the year, up from 5.5% in November. Excluding bonuses, wages grew 5.9% - the fastest rate in eight months - up from 5.6%.
Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS said, said: "Growth in pay, excluding bonuses, rose for a third consecutive time, with increases in both the private and public sector."
The figures also revealed an estimated 819,000 vacancies in November 2024 to January 2025, down by 9,000 from August to October 2024.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Today's UK wage data came in mixed - December's growth was slightly stronger than the economists had expected but fell short of the Bank of England's forecast.
"There'll be debate about whether this is a signal to worry about inflation again, but reading between the lines, this shouldn't hinder the Bank of England's plans for a gradual reduction in rates over 2025, with markets still anticipating a couple of cuts by year-end."
In equity markets, Antofagasta gained as the copper miner reported an 11% jump in full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and said demand for copper remained strong.
Glencore rose as Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of the miner to 'overweight' from 'equalweight' and said it was its new "top pick".
On the downside, BT Group slid after a downgrade to 'sell' from 'buy' at Citi, which cut its price target to 112p from 200p as it noted that Openreach was facing a revenue decline. Airtel Africa also lost ground after a downgrade to 'neutral' from 'buy' by the same outfit.
InterContinental Hotels was in the red despite posting a rise in full-year profits, lifting its dividend, and announcing a $900m share buyback programme and the acquisition of the Ruby brand for $116m.
BHP was trading down as it slashed its dividend and reported a sharp fall in half-year profits as lower iron ore prices caused by weaker demand from China offset higher copper earnings.
Plus500 slumped even as it announced a $110m share buyback and hailed strong full-year results.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,772.00 0.05%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,923.28 -0.07%
techMARK (TASX) 4,774.46 -0.14%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Barclays (BARC) 309.95p 1.82%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 445.70p 1.53%
Glencore (GLEN) 354.70p 1.23%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 891.80p 1.19%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 650.40p 1.09%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 63.52p 0.95%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,540.00p 0.93%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,150.00p 0.74%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,849.50p 0.74%
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 507.50p 0.59%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
BT Group (BT.A) 143.50p -5.31%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 140.00p -2.10%
Tesco (TSCO) 389.60p -1.86%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 256.80p -1.76%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 10,550.00p -1.36%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,913.00p -1.14%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 4,300.00p -0.78%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,309.50p -0.76%
British Land Company (BLND) 368.40p -0.75%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 356.00p -0.70%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 405.60p 4.21%
Genus (GNS) 1,870.00p 2.30%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 230.00p 2.22%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 666.25p 2.19%
Just Group (JUST) 168.20p 2.06%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 398.20p 1.58%
HGCapital Trust (HGT) 527.00p 1.54%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 188.60p 1.51%
NCC Group (NCC) 138.00p 1.47%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 110.40p 1.47%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 2,694.00p -5.94%
Computacenter (CCC) 2,174.00p -2.34%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 781.00p -2.13%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 986.00p -1.89%
Renishaw (RSW) 3,080.00p -1.60%
Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 102.00p -1.54%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 949.00p -1.40%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 80.00p -1.23%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 225.00p -1.14%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 298.60p -1.13%
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