London close: Stocks end down as Budget jitters creep in

(Sharecast News) - London stocks ended lower on Monday, reversing earlier gains as jitters about the upcoming Budget set in, and as investors eyed the latest policy announcement from the Bank of England later in the week.

The FTSE 100 closed down 0.2% at 9,701.37.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "The FTSE 100 continues to drift, having lost the positive momentum granted by last week's losses in sterling against the dollar. The index has done well relative to its peers in continental Europe, but now broader concerns about the Budget are beginning to make themselves felt."

Looking to the rest of the week, the BoE rate decision on Thursday will be in focus.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Rates are widely expected to stay at 4% on Thursday, but the real debate is whether policymakers deliver a cut in December, with odds hovering near 50-50. With stubborn inflation and slowing growth, expectations for the year ahead are in the balance."

On the macro front, a survey out earlier showed that British manufacturing output ticked higher in October despite ongoing weakness across global markets.

The S&P Global UK manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to a 12-month of 49.7 in October, up from 46.2 in September.

It was the first time in a year that output has risen, although it remains narrowly in negative territory.

A reading above the neutral 50.0 mark indicates growth, while one below it suggests contraction.

The uplift was attributed to depleted backlogs of work, increased stocks and, for certain respondents, Jaguar Land Rover restarting production.

The country's largest car manufacturer - which supports an extensive supply chain in the UK - was forced to shutter its factories in September following a cyberattack.

However, market conditions remained "tough", respondents noted, weighed down by weak demand in both domestic and overseas markets, stiff competition and ongoing tariff uncertainty.

The level of new export orders declined for the 45th month in a row.

Rob Dobson, director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said October's rise in output was "positive".

However, he warned: "There are real concerns that the bounce could prove short-lived.

"Not only did October see auto sector supply chains benefit from the production restart at JLR - which will provide only a temporary spike in production - but sluggish demand meant October's output growth was dependent on firms eating into backlogs.

"Manufacturers seem stuck in a holding pattern until the domestic policy and geopolitical backdrops exhibit greater clarity."

In equity markets, Airtel Africa surged again, having rallied last week after it posted a sharp jump in half-year core earnings on the back of surging revenues and an increase in customer numbers.

EasyJet and BA and Iberia owner IAG both flew higher after Ryanair said interim profits had grown 42%, driven by record traffic growth and rising fares.

Homeware retailer Dunelm gained after RBC Capital Markets upgraded to the shares to 'outperform' from 'sector perform', but Frasers Group was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'sector perform' by the same outfit.

Vodafone was also under the cosh after a downgrade to 'sell' at UBS.

Shares in Convatec fell after the company said revenues would be hit by up to 2% as a result of US government changes in payments for skin substitutes.

BP ended up but off earlier highs, while Shell slipped, having both shot up in early trade after Opec+ paused planned production increases for next year.