Key Takeaways
- London shares declined to two-month lows due to higher oil prices.
- The Bank of England is expected to stop selling 20- and 30-year gilts.
- Wickes Group saw a 10% increase in shares after reporting strong third-quarter trading.
London shares slipped to two-month lows on Tuesday, with the blue-chip FTSE 100 index falling 0.59% to 10,634.49 points by 1000 GMT.
The market was hit by rising oil prices, which pushed bond yields higher globally, particularly the 30-year Gilts reaching their highest level since 1998 at 5.91%.
Heavyweight lenders and investment banks, such as Standard Chartered and Aberdeen, were among the top drags on the index, with Standard Chartered down 1.7% and Aberdeen dropping 2.6%.
Precious and industrial metal miners also fell, with a 1% decline and a 1.7% drop, respectively, tracking weaker copper and gold prices.
The Bank of England is expected to announce this week that it will stop selling 20- and 30-year gilts, potentially freeing up some cash for finance minister John Healey.
Traders anticipate the Bank of England to leave interest rates unchanged at its monetary policy meeting later this week, but still see rates rising by at least 48.9 basis points by year-end, according to LSEG-compiled data.
Britain’s jobs market remained weak in the third quarter, while grocery price inflation increased to 2.3% over the four weeks to September 6. The official data on inflation is due on Wednesday.
Despite strong AI-led revenues, online reviews platform Trustpilot’s shares plummeted 13.7% after the company left its earnings outlook unchanged, disappointing investors.
Wickes Group gained 10% after the home improvement retailer reported strong third-quarter trading, driven by mid-single-digit growth in retail like-for-like revenue.
