London close: FTSE reverses losses as easyJet, housebuilders gain
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Tuesday 14 Oct 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks had managed to reverse losses by the close on Tuesday, as strong gains for easyJet and housebuilders helped to offset trade war worries.
The FTSE 100 closed up 0.1% at 9,452.77 - having spent most of the session weaker - while sterling was 0.2% lower against the dollar at 1.3313.
The latest jobs numbers from the Office for National Statistics were in focus. They showed that unemployment ticked higher in August, by slightly more than expected, while private sector wage growth softened.
The unemployment rate was 4.8% in June to August. That was up on both July's rate of 4.7%, and ahead of consensus, also for 4.7%.
In the three months to September, vacancies fell by 9,000 - or 1.3% - to 717,000.
Average employee earnings (excluding bonuses), meanwhile, rose by 4.7%, down on growth of 4.8% a month previously.
Including bonuses, wages rose by 5%, up from July's 4.8% increase.
Wage growth across the private sector slowed to its lowest rate in nearly four years, at 4.4%, the ONS noted.
In contrast, in the public sector wages jumped 6.0%, after some pay rises were awarded earlier than they were last year.
Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: "After a long period of weak hiring activity, there are signs that the falls we have seen in both payroll numbers and vacancies are now levelling off.
"We see different patterns across the age ranges, with record numbers of over 65s in work, while the increase in unemployment was driven mostly by younger people."
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "The economic data suggests two things: 1, that the UK's labour market continues to soften, and the unemployment rate is creeping up, and 2, that retail sales could also come under pressure down the line.
"This has led to a small recalibration of UK interest rate cuts, the market now expects more than one cut by March 2026, and there has been a 3bp drop in where the market expects 2025 UK interest rates to end the year at 3.86%."
Investors were also mulling the latest outlook from the International Monetary Fund, which said UK inflation was set to be the highest in the G7 this year and the next.
In its World Economic Outlook, the IMF also lifted its UK growth forecast for this year, but downgraded its forecast for 2026.
Away from home, market participants digested a raft of key US bank earnings from the likes of JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Citi, Wells Fargo and BlackRock.
In the background, the trade spat between the US and China rumbled on after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested in an interview with the Financial Times that China wants to slow the world's economy with controls on exports of rare earth materials.
"This is a sign of how weak their economy is, and they want to pull everybody else down with them," he said. "Maybe there is some Leninist business model where hurting your customers is a good idea, but they are the largest supplier to the world.
"If they want to slow down the global economy, they will be hurt the most."
Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said: "London markets managed to display remarkable resilience in the face of pressures from across the pond, amid speculation that easyJet might be a takeover target. These reports acted as a significant tailwind and a resurgence of interest in housebuilders also helped limit losses on both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250.
"Bellway's above expectation performance gave rivals a lift in spite of warnings that buyer demand was being supressed by concerns about the potential impact of the Budget in November.
"The UK is in an odd sort of place, with the IMF predicting growth this year will come in ahead of any G7 nation except the US whilst it's also expected to shoulder the burden of having the highest inflation of any G7 country this year and next. Continued pressure on prices is likely to keep the pause button pressed on rate cuts well into 2026, even with concerns about the labour market and slowing wage growth."
In equity markets, easyJet flew to the top of the FTSE 100 even after logistics firm Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) denied it was interested in making an investment in the budget airline.
EasyJet shares surged in early trade following a report in Italy's Corriere della Sera that MSC was working with an investment fund on a possible investment in the airline.
The shares initially pared gains after MSC told Reuters it was not considering any such move, but they quickly shot higher again.
Housebuilder Bellway rallied after it announced the launch of a £150m share buyback as it reported a jump in full-year profit and revenue as completions grew despite "ongoing challenges" for the industry. Peers Persimmon, Berkeley, Barratt Redrow and Taylor Wimpey also rose.
Mitie surged to the top of the FTSE 250 after lifting its full-year profit guidance, while THG advanced as it confirmed full-year guidance after strong demand for beauty advent calendars and an improving performance Stateside boosted third-quarter numbers.
Close Brothers ended up despite increasing its motor finance redress provision to £300m following the Financial Conduct Authority's ruling on the scandal last week. The merchant bank had previously set aside £165m.
On the downside, heavily-weighted miners were among the worst performers as copper prices fell, with Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore all sharply lower.
BP also fell as it guided to higher third-quarter production but flagged a weaker oil trading result and lower gas prices.
Bytes Technology slumped as it said interim operating profit dropped 7% in a "challenging economic climate".
Morgan Advanced Materials tumbled as it warned full-year sales would be around 4% lower than the prior year as demand in semiconductor markets has remained weak.
Lancashire Holdings was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'underperform' at RBC Capital Markets.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,452.77 0.10%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,023.21 -0.19%
techMARK (TASX) 5,547.96 -0.30%
FTSE 100 - Risers
easyJet (EZJ) 501.20p 8.02%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,199.00p 2.57%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,034.00p 2.39%
Next (NXT) 12,635.00p 2.02%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,558.00p 1.83%
Entain (ENT) 839.40p 1.75%
Barclays (BARC) 381.00p 1.68%
Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 388.40p 1.60%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 611.00p 1.50%
Centrica (CNA) 172.25p 1.41%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 43.90p -6.20%
Spirax Group (SPX) 6,645.00p -4.11%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,915.00p -2.80%
Croda International (CRDA) 2,664.00p -2.70%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,758.00p -2.44%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,794.00p -1.90%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,161.00p -1.82%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 227.20p -1.65%
DCC (CDI) (DCC) 4,770.00p -1.61%
Diageo (DGE) 1,770.50p -1.50%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Mitie Group (MTO) 158.60p 14.10%
THG (THG) 41.34p 10.48%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 413.80p 7.04%
Bellway (BWY) 2,610.00p 5.33%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 187.80p 4.28%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 377.80p 2.72%
Ninety One (N91) 218.80p 2.34%
Carnival (CCL) 1,965.50p 2.10%
Currys (CURY) 144.60p 1.83%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 454.40p 1.66%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 374.00p -9.22%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 204.00p -6.64%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 4,220.00p -6.43%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 615.00p -4.95%
Volution Group (FAN) 654.00p -4.53%
Future (FUTR) 627.50p -4.27%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 657.00p -3.81%
Victrex plc (VCT) 643.00p -3.74%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 88.20p -3.71%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 313.50p -3.69%
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