London open: FTSE rallies as investors brace for US bank earnings

(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Tuesday as investors braced for a slew of US bank earnings.

At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was 0.9% firmer at 10,752.26, while Brent crude was down 1.3% at $105.29 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was 1.5% lower at $92.33.

The top flight index's minimal exposure to the tech sector meant it was able to shrug off a tech-fuelled selloff in Asia, which saw South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei slide nearly 6% and 2% respectively, as semiconductor stocks sold off heavily.

Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said: "Advances by China's CXMT have sent a shiver of apprehension through the market, after the company reported 'key progress' on a new cell architecture designed to bolster memory density, with plans for a product rollout.

"This is a highly competitive field, with rivals Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix also hard at work at this edge of innovation. It's raised big questions yet again about valuations based on bumper earnings projections and the scarcity of products, given the progress of rivals."

On home shores, industry data showed that retail sales growth eased in September as consumers remained cautious ahead of expected rises in household bills and taxes.

The latest BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor showed that total retail sales rose 1.3% year-on-year last month, down from 2.3% growth in September 2025 and coming in below 12-month average growth of 1.5%.

Growth in food sales eased to 2.5% from 4.3% last September, while non-food sales increased 0.3% year-on-year following a 0.7% rise in September 2025.

In-store non-food sales were up 0.1% in September, down from 0.5% growth in the same month a year earlier, while online non-food sales ticked up 0.7% following 1.0% growth in September 2025.

The retail sales monitor showed that the online penetration rate - the proportion of non-food items bought online - rose to 38.3% in September from 37.9% in the same month a year ago. This was above the 12-month average of 38.1%.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive at the British Retail Consortium, said: "Retail sales growth remained subdued in September as households are still cautious with their spending ahead of expected rises in household bills and taxes. There were some bright spots, health and beauty recorded its strongest month of the year so far as consumers continued to prioritise small indulgences and refresh their routines. Toys also performed well, helped by the launch of Pokémon's 30th anniversary products. Clothing and footwear had a weak month as unseasonally warm weather weakened demand, but back-to-school spending saw a boost.

"The Chancellor cannot promise to ease the cost of living while piling more costs onto the retailers working to keep prices down. With confidence fragile, this Budget is a critical test. Retailers will do everything they can to protect value for customers, but Government must play its part. Another rise in business rates would push up pressure on prices, choke off high-street investment and put local jobs at risk. This Budget must back retail to invest, employ and grow - not make it harder."

Looking to the rest of the day, attention will turn to the US, where earnings season will get into full swing, with JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs all slated to report quarterly numbers.

In UK equity markets, Premier Inn owner Whitbread gained after it reported a fall in first-half profit as it took a hit from costs associated with its strategic review and 'Accelerating Growth Plan', but backed its outlook for the year.

BP was also on the rise after a third-quarter trading statement, while housebuilder Bellway edged up as it reported a 5.7% increase in full-year underlying pre-tax profit and announced a £150m share buyback.

Michael Page advanced as the recruiter backed its full-year expectations and said it returned to growth in the third quarter thanks to strong performances from the Americas and Asia Pacific.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,752.26 0.90%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,411.62 0.34%

techMARK (TASX) 6,226.86 0.84%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Croda International (CRDA) 3,535.00p 3.22%

NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 668.20p 2.61%

Diageo (DGE) 1,715.50p 2.57%

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 295.60p 2.45%

Whitbread (WTB) 2,579.00p 2.43%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 87.90p 2.40%

AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,278.00p 2.30%

Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,059.00p 2.22%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 2,199.00p 2.13%

GSK (GSK) 1,804.00p 2.09%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Rio Tinto (RIO) 7,049.00p -1.23%

IMI (IMI) 3,082.00p -1.03%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 334.90p -1.01%

Anglo American (AAL) 4,136.00p -0.98%

Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,628.50p -0.88%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,757.00p -0.87%

Computacenter (CCC) 5,605.00p -0.80%

Glencore (GLEN) 583.20p -0.73%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,388.60p -0.47%

F&C Investment Trust (FCIT) 350.40p -0.28%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 2.39p 4.93%

Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 4,300.00p 4.72%

Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 3,066.00p 4.58%

CMC Markets (CMCX) 700.00p 4.01%

Elementis (ELM) 183.40p 3.52%

Vistry Group (VTY) 224.40p 3.01%

AO World (AO.) 92.10p 2.79%

Victrex plc (VCT) 950.00p 2.59%

Avon Technologies (AVON) 2,380.00p 2.59%

FirstGroup (FGP) 191.60p 2.09%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

IP Group (IPO) 73.00p -4.40%

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 620.50p -3.57%

THG (THG) 26.24p -2.81%

Schroder Asian Total Return Investment Company (ATR) 688.00p -2.55%

IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 374.50p -2.47%

Schroder Asia Pacific Fund (SDP) 816.00p -2.39%

Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 679.50p -1.88%

4Imprint Group (FOUR) 4,518.00p -1.83%

Fidelity Emerging Markets Limited Ptg NPV (FEML) 1,492.00p -1.71%

Templeton Emerging Markets Inv Trust (TEM) 324.50p -1.67%