London open: FTSE nudges lower as investors digest jobs data
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Tuesday 16 Sep 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks nudged lower in early trade on Tuesday as investors mulled the latest UK jobs data and looked ahead to central bank policy announcements due later in the week.
At 0825 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 9,268.84.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "London stocks opened in a holding pattern, with investors scanning the horizon for a catalyst as central bank decisions loom large. With the Fed expected to cut and the Bank of England likely to stay put, traders are watching for cues that could shift sentiment.
"Meanwhile, UK-US tech and AI talks are drawing attention, as American giants pledge billions to support Britain's ambitions in the sector - planting the early seeds for much-needed economic growth.
"Signs of cooling are emerging in the UK labour market, but wage growth remains stubbornly high, still well above levels consistent with the Bank of England's inflation target. The slight dip in pay growth and falling payrolls suggest momentum is easing, yet services inflation remains sticky, keeping rate cut hopes firmly on ice. With UK rates likely on hold as we move into 2026, markets may need to recalibrate expectations around the timing and pace of policy easing."
Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed the unemployment rate was unchanged in July, in line with expectations, while wage growth cooled.
The rate was estimated to be 4.7% in May to July. The employment rate was 75.2%.
The number of payrolled employees softened, however, by 142,000 year-on-year in July, and by 6,000 month-on-month.
On a three-month basis, the number of payrolled employees eased 0.4% over the year, and by 0.2% over the quarter.
Looking to August, the ONS said provisional estimates indicated that payrolled employees fell by 0.4% year-on-year but were flat month-on-month.
Earnings, meanwhile, ticked lower. Annual growth in employees' average earnings, excluding bonuses, was 4.8%, down slightly on June's 5% although it was in line with expectations.
Including bonuses, and average earnings ticked higher to 4.7% from 4.6%, also in line with consensus.
Pay rose faster in the public sector, up 5.6% on the year, compared to a 4.7% uplift in the private sector.
Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: "The labour market continues to cool, with the number of people on payroll falling again, while firms also told us there were fewer jobs in the latest period.
"This weakness is reflected in a slight increase on the quarter in the unemployment rate. The number of vacancies also fell, though the rate of decline appears to be slowing.
"Wage growth excluding bonuses edged down further in cash terms, though it remains strong by historic standards."
In equity markets, SThree tumbled as the recruiter maintained its profit outlook for FY25 but cut guidance for FY26 as it reported a drop in third-quarter net fees and said overall new business activity was set to remain challenging.
Unilever was a little weaker as it announced that acting finance lead Srinivas Phatak has been appointed as its permanent chief financial officer, having "performed strongly" since stepping into the position seven months ago.
Hochschild Mining rallied after saying it has appointed Vale veteran Cassio Diedrich as its new chief operating officer.
Infrastructure and construction group Kier surged as it said trading at the start of its current financial year was slightly ahead of expectations, reporting a 15% jump in profit for the 12 months to June 30.
Trustpilot shot higher as it boosted its full-year outlook after a strong first half saw earnings beat expectations.
In broker note action, Ashtead was lifted by an upgrade to 'outperform' at BNP Paribas Exane.
Haleon was in the red after a downgrade to 'equalweight' at Barclays, while easyJet fell after a downgrade to 'neutral' by JPMorgan.
Domino's Pizza was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'hold' from 'buy' at Deutsche Bank, which cut the price target to 235p from 309p.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,268.84 -0.09%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,680.42 0.16%
techMARK (TASX) 5,409.59 -0.27%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,256.00p 2.73%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,476.00p 2.70%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,704.50p 1.58%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 389.00p 1.30%
LondonMetric Property (LMP) 182.20p 1.22%
Entain (ENT) 873.40p 0.95%
SEGRO (SGRO) 636.20p 0.89%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,301.00p 0.88%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 98.08p 0.86%
Glencore (GLEN) 309.20p 0.77%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Haleon (HLN) 349.40p -2.05%
easyJet (EZJ) 463.80p -1.95%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 367.60p -0.94%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,272.00p -0.94%
GSK (GSK) 1,466.50p -0.85%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,549.00p -0.83%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 20,450.00p -0.82%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,374.50p -0.76%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,436.50p -0.66%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,105.00p -0.65%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Kier Group (KIE) 204.50p 6.51%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 337.00p 3.50%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 415.00p 3.44%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 951.00p 3.03%
Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 649.00p 2.77%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 725.00p 1.40%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 2,932.00p 1.31%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 839.00p 1.27%
Tritax Big Box Reit (BBOX) 141.50p 1.22%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 218.50p 1.16%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 196.90p -3.39%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 88.00p -2.38%
FirstGroup (FGP) 215.00p -1.74%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 225.20p -1.31%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 491.80p -1.21%
Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 372.00p -1.20%
JPMorgan European Discovery Trust (JEDT) 567.00p -0.87%
RS Group (RS1) 564.00p -0.79%
Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 7,665.00p -0.78%
Hays (HAS) 56.70p -0.70%
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