London midday: FTSE falls further as investors mull jobs data
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Tuesday 16 Sep 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks had fallen a little further by midday on Tuesday as the latest UK jobs data cemented expectations there will be no more rate cuts from the Bank of England this year.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 9,250.63, while sterling was up 0.3% against the dollar at 1.3637 amid expectations of a US interest rate cut on Wednesday.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said stocks were in "a holding pattern with investors scanning the horizon for a catalyst as central bank decisions loom large".
He continued: "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 from 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.
Peers Hays and PageGroup also suffered heavy losses.
Unilever lost ground 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.
On the upside, precious metals miner Fresnillo shone as gold prices hovered near $3,700 on a weaker dollar and mounting expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this week.
Hochschild Mining gained after saying it has appointed Vale veteran Cassio Diedrich as its new chief operating officer.
Trustpilot shot higher as it boosted its full-year outlook after a strong first half saw earnings beat expectations.
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.
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' from 'overweight' at Barclays, while easyJet fell after a downgrade to 'neutral' from 'overweight' 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) 9,250.63 -0.28%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,642.41 -0.02%
techMARK (TASX) 5,401.36 -0.42%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,292.00p 4.37%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,728.00p 2.08%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,426.00p 1.76%
Glencore (GLEN) 312.15p 1.73%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,012.50p 1.62%
SEGRO (SGRO) 640.00p 1.49%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,595.00p 1.37%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,304.00p 1.01%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 93.00p 0.89%
ICG (ICG) 2,312.00p 0.87%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Haleon (HLN) 345.30p -3.20%
Prudential (PRU) 1,006.50p -2.28%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 85.40p -2.11%
easyJet (EZJ) 463.60p -1.99%
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 645.50p -1.83%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,243.00p -1.82%
Centrica (CNA) 164.05p -1.71%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 3,628.00p -1.68%
Pearson (PSON) 1,025.00p -1.49%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 20,330.00p -1.41%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 216.00p 7.68%
Kier Group (KIE) 204.00p 6.25%
Pollen Street Group Limited (POLN) 900.00p 2.74%
Wickes Group (WIX) 202.00p 2.64%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 249.60p 2.25%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 331.60p 1.84%
Genus (GNS) 2,560.00p 1.79%
Energean (ENOG) 870.50p 1.75%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 91.65p 1.66%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 938.00p 1.63%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Hays (HAS) 55.60p -2.63%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 222.40p -2.54%
RS Group (RS1) 555.00p -2.37%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 103.00p -2.37%
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 159.10p -1.97%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 200.00p -1.86%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 3,220.00p -1.83%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 216.00p -1.82%
Serco Group (SRP) 219.80p -1.79%
Gamma Communications (GAMA) 994.00p -1.78%
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