London open: US dollar in focus ahead of Fed decision
By Alexander Bueso
Date: Tuesday 06 May 2025
(Sharecast News) - Stocks were edging higher in early trading with market commentary focusing on recent softness in the Greenback against its Asian peers.
In particular, some economists were highlighting how it had failed to benefit from recent stronger-than-expected US data.
So what did that imply for the Federal Reserve, who´s next policy decision was scheduled for the day after?
"With inflation expected to move further above the Fed's target lifted by tariff hikes, the labour market will need to loosen to provide a green light for the Fed to cut rates as much as the market is expecting," said Lee Hardman at MUFG.
As of 0858 GMT, the FTSE 100 was edging up by 17 points or 0.19% to 8,613.18, while the second-tier index was ahead by 0.44% to 20,328.29.
Gold futures meanwhile were rallying by 1.72% to $3,379.30/oz. on COMEX, possibly pushed higher too by a heightening in tensions in the Middle East, as well as US dollar softness.
Worth noting, in the background there was a growing number of headlines around corporate profit warnings on either side of the Atlantic as a result of US trade tariffs.
On tap for Tuesday was a stream of Purchasing Managers' Indices for services sector activity in euro area countries and the UK.
In the case of the UK, S&P Global's services PMI was forecast to have remained unchanged from the month before at 48.2.
Doordash delivers the goods
Online food delivery company Deliveroo said on Tuesday that it has reached an agreement with US rival DoorDash on the terms of a recommended final cash offer, with its American rival set to pay £2.9bn for the consolidation.
Intertek said it had agreed to acquire Brazil-based TESIS, a provider of building products testing and assurance services, for an undisclosed sum. The company on Tuesday said the deal represented an "attractive opportunity" to expand its building & construction quality assurance business into Brazil's construction industry, which is valued at $120bn and is forecast to grow at 4.8% per annum to 2033.
Chemicals business Synthomer has agreed to divest William Blythe, its inorganic chemistry business, to its management team and H2 Equity Partners for £30.0m. Synthomer said on Tuesday that the sale of William Blythe, which was conditional on certain customary closing conditions, was expected to complete at the end of May, with net proceeds of the disposal to be used to reduce net debt.
AstraZeneca announced on Tuesday that the European Commission has approved 'Calquence', or acalabrutinib, combined with bendamustine and rituximab, for previously untreated mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) in adults ineligible for stem cell transplant. The FTSE 100 pharmaceuticals giant said the approval was based on phase three results from the 'ECHO' trial showing the combination reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 27% compared to chemoimmunotherapy alone, extending median progression-free survival to 66.4 months.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,613.42 0.20%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,335.14 0.47%
techMARK (TASX) 4,674.99 0.25%
FTSE 100 - Risers
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,320.00p 2.95%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 271.00p 2.89%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,044.00p 2.86%
Tesco (TSCO) 379.40p 2.26%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,150.00p 1.86%
Kingfisher (KGF) 292.60p 1.63%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,123.00p 1.59%
Beazley (BEZ) 900.50p 1.58%
3i Group (III) 4,327.00p 1.57%
Aviva (AV.) 576.60p 1.55%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Anglo American (AAL) 2,056.50p -3.72%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 2,968.00p -3.42%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 7,164.00p -2.93%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 447.70p -1.80%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,077.50p -1.73%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 930.20p -1.50%
Pearson (PSON) 1,166.00p -1.40%
Shell (SHEL) 2,452.50p -1.37%
WPP (WPP) 582.00p -1.36%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,130.00p -1.22%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Alpha Group International (ALPH) 2,955.00p 5.16%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 287.20p 4.74%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 2,198.00p 4.47%
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 129.40p 4.10%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 595.00p 3.48%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 3,208.00p 2.82%
Patria Private Equity Trust (PPET) 585.00p 2.45%
International Workplace Group (IWG) 190.10p 2.42%
Kier Group (KIE) 154.80p 2.38%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 259.50p 2.37%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 70.20p -9.65%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,649.00p -4.52%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 157.90p -1.86%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 269.80p -1.39%
Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI) 157.80p -1.38%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 366.50p -1.35%
Ocean Wilsons Holdings Ltd. (OCN) 1,330.00p -1.12%
Future (FUTR) 725.00p -1.02%
Monks Inv Trust (MNKS) 1,178.00p -1.01%
Inchcape (INCH) 658.50p -0.98%
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