FTSE 100 edges back after housing and bank shares fall
London’s top index finished 4.38 points, or 0.05%, lower to end the day at 8,245.28.
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Your support makes all the difference.The FTSE 100 finished lower on Tuesday after a weak session for London’s housebuilders and banking stocks.
Housing firm shares, including Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon, were lower for the session after data from Halifax showed that house prices dipped by an average of 0.2% month on month in December after five months of rises.
Weakness in the sector acted as a drag on the FTSE 100 despite a boost from rising Next shares after a positive update from the high street chain.
London’s top index finished 4.38 points, or 0.05%, lower to end the day at 8,245.28.
Other main European markets advanced as banks including Deutsche Bank predicted more interest rate cutting from the European Central Bank.
The Cac 40 ended 0.59% higher for the day and the Dax index was up 0.66%.
In the US, Wall Street had a cautious start to trading after upbeat economic data led to uncertainty over the future of interest rates.
Axel Rudolph, senior technical analyst at IG, said: “US stocks didn’t follow their European peers higher amid an expected third straight month rise in euro area inflation reading but instead ended their two-day rally as traders expect the Fed to keep interest rates on hold this month.
“US job openings at a six-month high and a higher-than-expected rise in US services prices let inflationary worries creep up again.”
Sterling took a step back after strong gains against the dollar in the two previous sessions.
The pound was down 0.12% at 1.250 US dollars but up 0.05% at 1.205 euros.
In company news, Next was a notable climber despite warning it is facing a £67 million surge in wage costs in the year to January 2026 after the autumn Budget.
Sentiment improved after the retailer reported a better-than-expected 5.7% rise in underlying full-price sales for its fourth quarter so far, and upped its full-year pre-tax profit outlook again, pencilling in a 10% jump to £1.01 billion.
Shares in Next were up 3.75% at 9,912p at the close.
Close Brothers shares were in the red on Tuesday after the lender appointed a new boss to replace Adrian Sainsbury, who has stepped down after a period of medical leave.
Shares in the company, which is waiting for a Supreme Court ruling over motor finance compensation, dropped by 2.92% to 226.2p.
AJ Bell shares were 6.64% lower at 42p after the financial platform saw its stock downgraded by brokers at Citi.
The price of oil ticked higher due to predictions of improving energy demand in China and worries over how western sanctions could impact oil supply.
A barrel of Brent crude oil was up by 0.8% to 76.91 dollars (£61.53) as markets were closing in London.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Next, up 358p to 9,912p, JD Sports, up 3.56p to 101.5p, IAG, up 7.9p to 304.5p, BP, up 7.95p to 422p, and Halma, up 42p to 2,745p.
The biggest fallers were Taylor Wimpey, down 5.35p to 114.6p, WPP, down 32.4p to 758p, Persimmon, down 46.5p to 1,115p, NatWest Group, down 14.5p to 395.2p, and Barclays, down 7.1p to 265.7p.