London open: Stocks fall as investors mull jobs data

London stocks fell in early trade on Tuesday as the latest UK jobs data made it more likely the Bank of England will hold rates this week.
At 0835 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.6% at 8,212.40.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed the unemployment rate was steady in the three months to October, while pay growth picked up.

The unemployment rate came in at 4.3%, unchanged from the previous month.

Meanwhile, average pay, including and excluding bonuses, rose 5.2% per year. This compares to 4.9% growth for regular earnings in the previous three months, and 4.4% for total earnings.

The data also showed that vacancies fell by 31,000 on the quarter to 818,000 in September to November 2024. This marked 29 months of consecutive falls but they are still higher than before the pandemic.

Liz McKeown, director of statistics at the ONS, said: "After slowing steadily for over a year, growth in pay excluding bonuses increased slightly in the latest period, driven by stronger growth in private sector pay. Pay growth including bonuses increased by more, but this reflects previous figures being affected by the one-off payments made to some public sector employees in 2023.

"The number of people on payrolls grew slightly in October, but we have seen annual growth rates continue to slow, showing a consistent trend with our latest jobs data from employers. The number of job vacancies has also fallen again, though the total remains a little above where it was before the pandemic."

Private sector pay growth rose from 4.9% to 5.4%.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Adjusted for inflation, real wages continued to climb, but the stronger print has all but assured the Bank of England will hold rates steady on Thursday, with markets pricing in a 93% chance of no change.

"Investors are now in wait-and-see mode, watching whether the labour market cools in the wake of the Budget, with February's rate cut prospects looking like a coin toss."

In equity markets, Bunzl was the worst performer on the top-flight index as it said volume growth in the third quarter was expected to continue in the fourth , although deflation was likely to be more persistent than previously anticipated.

The distribution and outsourcing company said this was expected to have a "slight" impact on group adjusted operating profit in 2024, driven by Continental Europe.

Oil giants BP and Shell both gushed lower as oil prices fell.

Capita tumbled as the outsourcer reported an 8% drop in revenue for the 11 months to 30 November due to contract losses. It also said it was lifting its cost savings target to £250m by December 2025 from £160m and plans to increase the use of AI and generative AI.

On the upside, LSE Group was a little firmer after UBS raised its stance on the stock to 'buy'.

Britvic also gained after Carlsberg's purchase of the soft drinks maker was given the green light by the UK's competition regulator.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,212.40 -0.60%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,730.03 -0.40%
techMARK (TASX) 4,635.22 -0.45%

FTSE 100 - Risers

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 11,615.00p 0.87%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 408.80p 0.69%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 21,810.00p 0.51%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 586.20p 0.41%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,148.00p 0.27%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 297.20p 0.27%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 763.50p 0.26%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 993.80p 0.24%
easyJet (EZJ) 582.80p 0.24%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,892.00p 0.15%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Bunzl (BNZL) 3,378.00p -5.06%
Shell (SHEL) 2,415.00p -1.77%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,647.00p -1.58%
BP (BP.) 380.15p -1.29%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,914.00p -1.24%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 982.80p -1.23%
Kingfisher (KGF) 254.40p -1.20%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 10,406.00p -1.12%
Glencore (GLEN) 363.65p -1.11%
SEGRO (SGRO) 699.20p -1.10%

FTSE 250 - Risers

AO World (AO.) 108.80p 2.45%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 965.40p 1.32%
NCC Group (NCC) 145.80p 1.11%
Britvic (BVIC) 1,306.00p 0.93%
Fidelity Emerging Markets Limited Ptg NPV (FEML) 697.20p 0.90%
Auction Technology Group (ATG) 570.00p 0.88%
Ninety One (N91) 152.50p 0.86%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 3,110.00p 0.65%
Alliance Witan (ALW) 1,276.00p 0.63%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 307.80p 0.52%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 78.40p -6.44%
Chemring Group (CHG) 339.00p -6.22%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 3,025.00p -3.04%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 210.50p -2.09%
Savills (SVS) 1,054.00p -1.86%
Schroder Oriental Income Fund Ltd. (SOI) 270.00p -1.82%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 167.00p -1.76%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 67.95p -1.59%
Future (FUTR) 929.50p -1.59%
Indivior (INDV) 935.00p -1.58%