- FTSE 100 down 19 points
- Ocado, Persimmon (LON:PSN) jump after updates
- JD Sports tumbles on profit warning
4.05pm: YouGov (LON:YOU) investor slams boss as calls raised for strategic review
YouGov investor Gatemore Capital Management LP has publicly called for a strategic review of the polling company over “management missteps”.
Gatemore, which owns 1.3% of YouGov, slammed chief executive Steve Hatch over the likes of budgeting failures, volatile guidance and lacking strategic clarity in a letter on Tuesday.
“The current CEO’s first 18 months at the helm have been a disaster, and we believe the market has lost faith in his leadership,” it said.
Gatemore called for an immediate leadership change as a result, highlighting co-founder Stephan Shakespeare as a potential replacement, which it said would likely result in a sale.
YouGov shares dipped 0.3% on Tuesday, following a 67.2% drop over the course of the past year.
3.40pm: Government further winds down NatWest stake
The government has further cut its stake in NatWest Group PLC (LSE:LON:NWG) under plans to fully return the lender to private hands.
Some 1.09% of the bank’s shares were offloaded by the Treasury through the latest sale, according to a filing on Tuesday.
This took the government’s stake from 9.99% to 8.90%, after NatWest chief executive Paul Thwaite signalled last month that the bank could be fully privatised once more by June.
The government’s stake had sat at almost 84% following a bailout at the height of the global financial crisis in 2008.
Steady sales have coincided with a jump in NatWest’s share price in recent months to a peak of 415p in December.
However, this remained off the 502p paid by the government, leaving taxpayers potentially facing a £20 billion loss once the stake is fully sold off, according to The Sunday Times.
3.24pm: Chancellor refuses to rule out emergency Budget after bond sell-off
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has not rule out an emergency Budget in March after a bond market sell-off has hammered her spending plans.
Reeves on Tuesday refused to rule out tax rises and spending cuts when quizzed in Parliament.
Instead, she doubled down on commitments to borrowing rules in October’s Autumn Budget.
“We have committed to have just one budget per year to provide businesses with the certainty that they need to invest, so we will have an update from the OBR in March,” she said when asked if she could rule out cuts.
“We have set out the fiscal rules that we will balance day to day spending with tax receipts and we will get debt down as a share of gross domestic product within the forecast period.
“We will continue at all times to meet those fiscal rules.”
Reeves was speaking in her first Commons appearance since last week saw the bond market sell-off steepen, sending gilt yields surging.
Bond yields inched upwards after Reeves appearance on Tuesday, wiping off declines seen earlier, with rates on 30-year gilts moving one basis point higher to 5.44%.
2.54pm: Wall Street gains at open after producer price inflation undershoots
Wall Street enjoyed a positive start to Tuesday’s session after data earlier on showed producer price inflation came in softer-than-expected for December.
The Nasdaq ticked up 0.8% after the bell, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones added 0.5% each.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics figures on Tuesday showed the producer price index climbed by 0.2% in December, against November’s 0.4% rise and expectations for 0.3%.
Core producer prices, excluding energy and food, increased by 0.1% in line with November’s rise and also came in lower than expected.
Attention was on the producer price inflation reading before consumer price index data on Wednesday, after markets have slashed expectations for rate cuts in 2025 in recent days.
2.16pm: Analysts reiterate backing for JD Sports despite profit warning
Peel Hunt (LON:PEEL) and Shore Capital have doubled down on backing for JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD.), despite Tuesday's profit warning and resultant share price hit.
Both Shore Cap and Peel Hunt reiterated ‘buy’ ratings for JD and pointed to its lack of willingness to cut prices in response to tough market conditions.
JD on Tuesday guided for full-year adjusted pre-tax profit of £915 to £935 million, against £955 million previously, and said organic revenue would grow by roughly 5%.
“JD Sports Fashion has not done much wrong here, in our opinion,” Peel Hunt said, however.
“It has no plans to enter into a race to the bottom by discounting, but that impacts sales and profitability.”
Shore Cap also pointed to “promotional discipline,” leading to gross margin in line with consensus of 48%.
“We remain positive on the longer-term prospects of the business, with solid margins and cash generation in the UK business, growth opportunities [elsewhere] and all backed by a strong balance sheet,” Shore Cap added.
Recovering demand for Nike (NYSE:NKE) products was likely and should see JD positioned to benefit from an upturn ahead of rivals, according to Peel Hunt.
“The long-term strategy is correct and JD should continue to lead the market,” it said.
Shore Cap offered a share price target of 96p, while Peel Hunt trimmed its target from 250p to 200p as challenging conditions appeared likely to continue.
Shares were down 8.4% at 88.26p on Tuesday.
1.47pm: US stocks to surge as producer price inflation undershoots expectations
Wall Street appeared in line for a boost after figures showed producer price inflation slowed and undershot expectations last month.
Futures pointed to a 0.9% gain for the Nasdaq ahead of Tuesday's opening bell following the figures.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones were seen 0.7% and 0.5% higher respectively in the meantime.
Back in London, the FTSE 100 receded from the day's lows to sit eight points lower at 8,215.
Tuesday's US producer price data had drawn attention after bets for Federal Reserve rate cuts were dashed earlier in the week by strong job market data on Friday.
1.38pm: US producer prices climb slower than expected
US producer price inflation undershot expectations for December, figures showed on Tuesday.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the producer price index climbed by 0.2% over the month, against November’s 0.4% rise.
Core producer prices, excluding energy and food, increased by 0.1%, in line with November’s rise.
Analysts had expected the headline rate to have climbed by 0.3%, as core producer prices grew 0.3%.
On an annual basis, both headline and core producer price inflation rose by 3.3%, below expectations for 3.4% and 3.8% increases respectively.
1.21pm: Housebuilders fail to buoy FTSE 100
The FTSE 100 gave up earlier gains to head into negative territory on Tuesday afternoon, dropping 13 points to sit at 8,211.
Gains for housebuilders, led by a 6.4% rise for Persimmon PLC (LSE:PSN) on news it was expecting high-end profit for the year, failed to buoy the index as the likes of BP PLC (LSE:NYSE:BP (LON:BP).) slipped.
Heavyweight BP, having flagged a drop in upstream production earlier on, fell 2.9% to sit among the day’s fallers.
Games Workshop Group PLC (LSE:LON:GAW) also faced pressure, dropping 3.1% after citing caution around growing costs in results on Tuesday morning.
JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD.) continued to lead the day’s losers with a 7.6% decline though, following a profit warning in its update.
Across the pond, futures continued to point to a positive start on Wall Street ahead of US producer price index data.
Analysts are expecting the headline rate to have climbed by 0.3% against November’s 0.4% rise, with the core rate seen edging up by 0.3%, compared to 0.2% previously.
1.06pm: Ocado draws mixed views after 'record' Christmas update
News of a record Christmas and solid trading last year at Ocado Retail has split opinion among analysts.
The Ocado Group PLC (LSE:LON:OCDO) and Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:LON:MKS)-owned online supermarket on Tuesday flagged a “record” Christmas and full-year revenue of £2.69 billion, up 13.9%.
Inclusion of almost all of M&S’ addressable product range on its site and the likes of price cuts were said to have aided sales, prompting “strong” EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) growth.
However, Shore Capital Markets warned a lack of specifics on Christmas trading and a focus on EBITDA cast doubt that “momentum may have dipped a little” recently.
“EBITDA is simply not the enduring measure of the business’ performance,” analysts said.
“Whilst M&S can harvest scale benefits, Ocado Group must try find a way to make a profit before tax.”
That said, Shore Cap dubbed Ocado Retail’s fourth quarter as “excellent”, flagging sales growth of 17.5% to make it the “fastest growing label in the UK market”.
Peel Hunt echoed the view, reiterating a ‘buy’ rating and 778p share price target for the online supermarket’s grocery technology-focused parent, Ocado Group.
“We remain bullish on the long-term prospects of Ocado,” Peel Hunt said, as shares surged 11.8% to 301.9p after Tuesday’s update.
“Customer fulfilment centre efficiency improved throughout the year,” Peel Hunt added, pointing to a 15% rise in average units per hour to 220 which would help drive margins.
Shore Cap had suggested that efficiency within the robot-powered warehouses was not the issue though, but rather that fulfilment costs were hampering profitability.
12.14pm: Bitcoin recoups losses
Bitcoin headed higher on Tuesday to recoup losses seen the day earlier amid a shaky start to 2025 for the crypto markets.
Come midday, Bitcoin was up 2% at US$96,416, having ducked below the US$90,000 mark on Monday to hit its lowest level since November.
Bitcoin reversed on a drop since the year’s start to sit higher by Tuesday as a result.
Smaller tokens Ether and Ripple also gained on Tuesday, by 2.4% and 1.8% respectively, to also recoup declines seen on Monday.
Higher Treasury yields, driven by inflation risks linked to President-elect Donald Trump’s trade and immigration policies, have cooled investor appetite for crypto.
11.52am: Nasdaq, S&P to bounce as producer price inflation data looms
Wall Street looked set to kick off Tuesday in recovery mode as stocks continued to regain after a sharp drop last Friday on strong job market data.
Futures had the Nasdaq and S&P 500 up 0.5% and 0.4% respectively ahead of the opening bell, while the Dow Jones was seen 0.3% higher.
A mixed showing on Monday saw the Nasdaq drop further but S&P 500 and Dow Jones rise as markets axed bets for rate cuts in 2025 following Friday’s expectation-beating non-farm payroll figures.
Tuesday’s producer price index reading for December has drawn attention as a result, ahead of consumer price inflation data on Wednesday.
Analysts are expecting the headline rate to have climbed by 0.3% against November’s 0.4% rise, with the core rate seen edging up by 0.3%, compared to 0.2% previously.
Tickmill Group partner Patrick Munnelly noted the figures came “as expectations mount for inflation to rise when President-elect Donald Trump reveals his policies on tariffs, immigration, and taxes, potentially as early as his inauguration next week”.
He added: “Investor anxiety has been heightened since Friday's clearly strong US payrolls report, which caused yields to rise and reduced the likelihood of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.”
11.21am: Oil prices pare back on Tuesday
Oil receded on Tuesday after a new wave of US sanctions against Russia prompted prices to top a five-month higher earlier in the week.
Benchmark Brent crude was trading down 0.7% for the day at US$80.41 a barrel come late morning.
IG Group analysts noted the drop came after Brent hit its US$80.905 to US$81.894 July to January resistance zone, with prices having peaked at US$81.60 on Monday.
The rise, which took the price up 12.3% since late December, had been fueled by Friday’s US Treasury announcement of wider sanctions against Russia’s oil industry.
Targeting producers Gazprom (MCX:GAZP) Neft and Surgutneftegas, alongside some 183 vessels, analysts noted the sanctions would counter an anticipated supply surplus later this year.
“These measures have disrupted global flows, with India and China scrambling for alternatives and barring sanctioned vessels,” Hargreaves (LON:HRGV) Lansdown’s Matt Britzman said.
“Still, weaker demand from China, where crude imports fell in 2024 for the first time in two decades, could pour cold water on the tightening supply narrative.”
10.58am: Treasury auctions off £1bn worth of bonds
Some £1 billion worth of long-term government bonds have been auctioned off by the Treasury.
The UK Debt Management Office On Tuesday confirmed the scheduled sale of 30-year UK gilts at a yield of 2.126%.
Demand for the bonds sat at 3.06 times the number on offer, it said, weaker than the 3.10 times seen during a similar auction a year ago.
The sale comes after gilt yields have surged on the back of a sell-off in recent days, placing pressure on chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget spending plans.
Sterling lost further ground to the dollar on the back of the sale, to US$1.2184 for a 0.16% drop on Tuesday.
10.43am: Crest Nicholson (LON:CRST) results delayed on fire remediation assessment
Crest Nicholson Holdings PLC on Tuesday pushed back its full-year results to allow time for a price to be put on required fire remediation work.
Results had been due on January 21 but will now be released on February 4, FTSE 250-listed Crest said.
Auditor PwC had requested additional time to assess the “appropriateness” of its fire remediation provision and complete “standard procedures”.
Crest Nicholson added between £245 million and £255 million was expected to be put aside to cover government-enforced fire remediation work across 291 of its buildings.
“With expected fire remediation costs fully provided for, the company believes this will provide greater clarity for the business going forward and allow the new management team to re-invigorate the business,” Crest said... Read more
9.51am: Pound edges lower once again
Sterling headed downwards once again on Tuesday after having hit its lowest value against the dollar since November 2023 earlier in the week.
Come mid-morning, the pound was down 0.11% against the greenback for the day at US$1.2190.
Expectations for interest rate cuts on both sides of the Atlantic have been trimmed in recent days, given the likes of fears around stubborn inflation.
However, bets fully pricing in a US reduction for 2025 were wiped off on Monday following strong job market data for December last week.
Traders have forecast the pound could drop by 8% as a result, with demand for options-trades that would pay out if the pound fell as low as US$1.12 on Monday said to have topped that seen during the mini-Budget turmoil of 2022, according to Bloomberg.
9.33am: FCA intervention urged over Saba Capital UK trust advances
Calls have emerged for Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority to intervene over Saba Capital’s bid to shake up boardrooms at seven UK investment trusts.
Former UK pensions minister Ros Altmann told Financial News that Saba’s advances were not “consistent with reasonable standards of corporate governance”.
“This absolutely should be a case for FCA intervention,” she said.
Saba, which is based in New York and headed by ex-Deutsche executive Boaz Weinstein, has targeted investment trusts managed by Baillie Gifford, Janus Henderson, Manulife and Herald Investment Management.
Having built up stakes to become the largest investor in each, it called for shareholder support in December to overhaul management at the trusts and has requisitioned a string of general meetings to seek backing over the coming weeks.
Altmann added there was no one other than the FCA able “to protect retail investors in time to avoid them being harmed”.
She added: “The regulator should be insisting that all retail investors have proper time and information to recognise the massive risks to their capital.”
9.16am: Games Workshop slips as cost caution overshadows soaring profit
Fresh FTSE 100 constituent Games Workshop Group PLC (LSE:GAW) slipped on Tuesday after news of its best ever half-year performance was overshadowed by caution around growing costs.
Interim revenues to December jumped 21% to almost £300 million as licensing revenue soared 150% to aid a 33% increase in profit to £126.8 million.
There might be an element of third-party cost inflation over the coming year though, the Warhammer maker cautioned.
“We are awaiting confirmation, like everyone else, on the timing and magnitude of any US tariffs before we can confirm the impact on our net cash generation and other financial metrics,” chief executive Kevin Rountree said.
“We are also facing constant cost inflation which we will continue to actively manage as part of the day job”... Read more
Shares dropped 3.2%, placing Games Workshop behind only JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD.) among the FTSE 100's Tuesday fallers.
9.03am: European markets a sea of green as bond yields ease
Calm appeared to largely return to the global bond market on Tuesday after a selloff sparked by fears around the likes of persistent inflation worldwide.
US 10-year Treasury yields receded by two basis points to 4.76%, with rates across the bulk of Europe following suit.
In the UK, 10 and 30-year gilt yields were down by three and two basis points respectively on Tuesday, leaving the latter still around highs seen since 1998 at 5.41%.
“The next 72 hours will be crucial for UK assets,” XTB analyst Kathleen Brooks said, citing inflation and gross domestic product data on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
“If we get a shock increase in inflation or a sharp decline in November GDP, then bond yields could surge once more.”
Among equities, markets across Europe were in recovery mode on Tuesday, with France’s CAC index racking up the biggest gain of almost 1% as London’s blue chips edged higher.
8.48am: Card Factory (LON:CARDC) (LSE:CARD) surges on 'successful' Christmas update
Card Factory (LSE:CARD) surged on Tuesday after flagging a “successful” Christmas and market outperformance over the year so far.
Revenue was up 6.3% at £506.6 million over the 11 months to the end of 2024, Card Factory (LSE:CARD) reported on Tuesday, aided by growth of 4.7% in November and December.
Card Factory (LSE:CARD) said it continued “to outperform a challenging non-food retail market” as a result and that full-year adjusted profit should meet consensus for roughly £66 million.
Card Factory (LSE:CARD) also guided for a “mid-to-high single-digit percentage increase in adjusted profit before tax” over the year ahead, despite growing Budget-related costs... Read more
Shares climbed 7.8% to 97.8p on Tuesday.
8.20am: FTSE 100 struggles for direction
London’s blue-chip index opened little changed on Tuesday morning at the 8,223 point mark.
Housebuilder Persimmon PLC (LSE:PSN) led the early risers, with a 5.7% gain, after flagging profit would meet the high end of market expectations for the year.
Rivals Barratt Redrow (LON:RDW) PLC (LSE:BTRW) and Taylor Wimpey PLC (LSE:LON:TW.) were also dragged up by the update early on.
JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD.) headed the fallers in the meantime, dropping 9.4% in the wake of results where it lowered its profit forecast on tough trading conditions... Read more
BP PLC (LSE:BP.), having pointed to a drop in upstream production, also moved lower as trading got underway… Read more
Elsewhere, Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO) led the FTSE 250 risers, up 12.7%, after its update flagged record Christmas trading and growing profit in 2024, aided by strong appetite for M&S goods through its website.
8.11am: Persimmon sees profit at top end of expectations
Persimmon PLC (LSE:PSN) has guided for high-end full-year profit after outdoing anticipations around completions and enjoying higher selling prices in 2024.
Underlying operating pre-tax profit is expected to sit at the upper end of the £349 million to £390 million range, the FTSE 100-listed housebuilder updated on Tuesday.
Completions over the year had climbed 7% to 10,664, while average selling prices increased by 5% to around £268,500, aided by improving market conditions.
For 2025, forward sales were up by 8% at £1.15 billion, with average selling prices around £276,850.
Margins for 2024 were said to be similar to the previous year’s 14.0%, while year-end net cash was above expectations at £260 million, Persimmon added.
However, Persimmon also pointed to uncertainty around the likes of future rate cuts, with housebuilders having faced pressure most recently around the effects of growing gilt years on mortgages.
“We are mindful of evolving macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties,” it said, “including the timing of future interest rate changes”.
Shares climbed 4.4% early on.
7.45am: Ocado hails record Christmas as M&S goods tempt shoppers
Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO) and Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS)-owned Ocado Retail has said it enjoyed a record Christmas to close out a strong year.
Revenue surged by 17.5% to £715.8 million in the fourth quarter, taking the figure up 13.9% to £2.69 billion over the year, the join venture said Tuesday.
Volumes grew 17% during the quarter to 271.6 million items as active customer numbers climbed 12.1% to 1.1 million, pushing volumes up 12.9% for the year.
Ocado noted almost all of M&S' addressable range was now offered through its online supermarket, alongside own branded goods, while price cuts also helped fuel growth.
“We know M&S products continue to bring new customers to Ocado.com,” the company said.
Record sales were also recorded over the key Christmas trading period, with Ocado again flagging demand for M&S’ seasonal range after the retailer unveiled its own strong festive figures earlier in the month... Read more
7.12am Stocks set for muted start
Futures pointed to a muted start to trading in London on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 seen one point lower at 8,224.
The index had fallen by 24 points on Monday as scaled-back hopes for rate cuts on both sides of the Atlantic weighed.
US stocks had also suffered during the day as a result but bounced back in late trading, leaving the S&P 500 and Dow Jones in the green and the Nasdaq 0.4% off.
Asian market also fared better overnight after Friday's strong US job data had weighed on Monday, with China’s Shenzhen index rallying 3.6% but Japan’s Nikkei among the few fallers, down 1.8%.
Back in London, a busier Tuesday was set to see JD Sports, Persimmon, Ocado and Games Workshop among those in focus.
Tuesday's schedule
JD Sports will need to offer investors something to cheer about... Read more
Despite market share gains, Ocado has struggled to reinvigorate its share price... Read more
Persimmon bagged backing from UBS analysts ahead of its update... Read more
Announcements due:
Trading updates: MJ Gleeson (LON:GLEG) (LSE:GLE) PLC, The Gym Group PLC (LSE:LON:GYM), Hunting PLC (LSE:LON:HTG) , JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD.) Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO), Persimmon PLC (LSE:PSN), Robert Walters PLC (LSE:LON:RWA)
Interims: Games Workshop Group PLC (LSE:GAW), Knights Group Holdings PLC (AIM:KGH)
Finals: Ramsdens Holdings PLC (AIM:RFX)
AGMs: Brand Architekts Group PLC (LSE:BAR), Kazera Global PLC (AIM:KZG)
Economic announcements: Producer Price Index (US)
Read more on Proactive Investors UK
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