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(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to fall at the open on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to Andy Burnham's first full day as Prime Minister after he surprised markets with the appointment of John Healy as chancellor, and as tensions between the US and Iran continued to escalate.
The FTSE 100 was called to open down around 58 points.
The appointment of Rawmarsh and Conisbrough MP Healy, who had served as defence secretary under Keir Starmer before resigning earlier this year, took investors by surprise following widespread reports that Burnham would be opting either for Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood or Ed Miliband.
On the macro front, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the UK unemployment rate held steady in May, although other indicators continue to point to a softening jobs market.
The unemployment rate was 4.9% in March to May, unchanged on the previous month and marginally below forecasts for 5.0%.
However, the number of vacancies fell over the quarter - albeit by less than in recent periods - while annual average private sector regular wage growth slowed to 2.9%. It is the first time since 2020 that growth has dipped below 3%.
Separately, the ONS also confirmed that public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks was 16bn in June, down 7.9bn on the same month a year previously. Forecasts had been for a smaller decline, to 19.8bn.
In corporate news, outsourcing and energy services firm Mitie said it has agreed to be bought by OCS Group in a 3.1bn deal.
Under the terms of the agreement, OCS will pay up to 221.6p per share. This is comprised of 218.5p in cash and a final dividend of 3.1p per share for the year to the end of March 2026.
This represents a premium of around 44.7% to the closing Mitie share price on Monday.
Elsewhere, caterer Compass said it had delivered another "strong" quarter, posting 7.1% organic revenue growth as net new business accelerated into its 4-5% target range, which it expects to hit for a fifth straight year.
Likeforlike trends were broadly as expected, with North America seeing a modest lift from the Football World Cup, while international growth eased on lower inflation and sports and leisure calendar effects.
The company also highlighted that over the past year, it had secured $4.3bn of new business wins, up 16% yearonyear, with half coming from firsttime outsourcing.