London close: Vodafone, WPP lead FTSE 100 to new record high

(Sharecast News) - A declining pound and hopes of an interest-rate cut by the Bank of England sparked big gains in London on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 hitting a fresh record high.

The pound fell against its major currency peers on Tuesday after figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed further signs of weakening in the labour market after the unemployment rate ticked higher. Sterling fell to a low of 1.3116 against the US dollar, down from Monday's 1.3173 level, before partially recovering by the close.

"A softer domestic currency is typically good news for the FTSE 100 as it boosts the relative value of its dominant overseas earnings," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

As a result, the FTSE 100 jumped 1.3% to settle at 9,910.39, topping the previous day's record closing high of 9,787.15, fuelled by strong gains from Vodafone and WPP.

UK employment softened by 0.2 percentage points in the three months to September, while the unemployment rate rose 0.3pp to a post-pandemic high of 5.0%, marginally ahead of forecasts for 4.9%. Average earnings rose by 4.6%, down from 4.7% the previous three months.

"Today's job report out of the UK provided a perfect mix of factors that would push the MPC into a rate cut next month, with weakness in the employment situation coming alongside a decline in wage growth," said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.

Investors were also mulling the latest food price data from Worldpanel by Numerator, formerly Kantar, which showed that inflation slowed to 4.7% in the four weeks to 2 November, from 5.2% a month previously.

Vodafone, WPP and 4imprint surge

Vodafone rallied 8% as it said it expects annual profit and cash flow to be at the upper end of expectations after reporting a jump in adjusted earnings and also unveiled a new progressive dividend policy with a 2.5% increase for the full year.

WPP was another high riser, jumping nearly 6% after markets blog Betaville said the advertising firm was the subject of a renewed round of takeover rumours. Betaville said people following the situation have heard fresh speculation that WPP has attracted takeover interest during the strategy review being carried out by new chief executive Cindy Rose.

Also on the FTSE 100, housebuilders Berkeley Group and Barratt Redrow advanced as the latest UK jobs data raised expectations of a rate cut next month.

Meanwhile, retailers Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Sainsbury were all under the cosh.

On the FTSE 250, 4imprint rose 18% after saying it expects full-year revenue at the high end of the current analyst forecast range and pre-tax profit above the upper end of the range.

Oxford Instruments surged 15% after saying it was recovering following significant macroeconomic disruption in the first quarter, with order momentum improving in Q2 and that it expects to deliver an improved performance in the rest of the year.

Hilton Food tanked 23% as it downgraded its full-year profit guidance and struck a downbeat tone on the outlook for trading in 2026. It pointed to subdued demand and operational disruption at its Foppen smoked salmon business in Europe.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,910.39 1.26%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,160.45 0.87%

techMARK (TASX) 5,630.59 2.24%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Vodafone Group (VOD) 96.08p 8.05%

WPP (WPP) 303.00p 5.61%

Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,108.00p 3.42%

Haleon (HLN) 374.60p 3.17%

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 400.60p 3.09%

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 7,090.00p 3.05%

GSK (GSK) 1,824.50p 2.96%

Mondi (MNDI) 846.80p 2.77%

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,597.00p 2.70%

AstraZeneca (AZN) 13,466.00p 2.59%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 372.20p -4.56%

Tesco (TSCO) 461.90p -2.88%

Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 729.40p -2.88%

3i Group (III) 4,210.00p -2.14%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 344.80p -1.77%

Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,177.00p -1.42%

BAE Systems (BA.) 1,799.00p -1.26%

Rentokil Initial (RTO) 407.30p -1.02%

Centrica (CNA) 172.85p -0.92%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,151.50p -0.82%

FTSE 250 - Risers

4Imprint Group (FOUR) 4,020.00p 18.06%

Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,065.00p 15.23%

RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,470.00p 6.01%

Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 446.60p 5.18%

Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,111.00p 4.42%

XPS Pensions Group (XPS) 350.00p 4.17%

Vistry Group (VTY) 669.60p 3.85%

VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 457.00p 3.63%

Trainline (TRN) 271.20p 3.04%

Patria Private Equity Trust (PPET) 611.00p 3.04%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Hilton Food Group (HFG) 495.00p -22.78%

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 245.00p -3.92%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 395.60p -3.89%

Ashmore Group (ASHM) 166.20p -2.81%

Pinewood Technologies Group (PINE) 346.00p -2.54%

Balfour Beatty (BBY) 654.00p -2.17%

Chemring Group (CHG) 524.00p -2.06%

TP Icap Group (TCAP) 246.50p -1.99%

Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 148.60p -1.85%

Me Group International (MEGP) 161.40p -1.82%