London open: FTSE nudges lower ahead of Fed; BAT slumps after results

(Sharecast News) - London stocks nudged lower in early trade on Tuesday following a negative close on Wall Street, as investors continued to eye the latest policy announcement from the Federal Reserve. At 0845 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 9,636.61.

Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone, said: "As the FOMC begin their two-day policy meeting, focus has, almost solely, now pivoted to the commentary and guidance that will accompany the announcement of a 25bp fed funds rate cut tomorrow evening.

"Once more, anticipation ahead of the 'main event' of the week will likely lead to conviction being capped throughout today.

"That said, we do have the latest US JOLTS job openings data to get through, with openings expected at 7.15m in October, and with the September report to be released at the same time, having been delayed as a result of the government shutdown."

On home turf, data from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG showed that retail sales growth slowed to its lowest in six months in November as cautiousness ahead of the Autumn Budget resulted in an underwhelming Black Friday promotional period.

Total retail sales increased at a year-on-year rate of 1.4% last month, down from 1.6% in October and 2.3% in September.

The slowdown came despite inflation remaining elevated, reflecting "pre-Budget jitters among shoppers", according to Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC.

Food sales were up 3.0% over last year, slowing slightly from the 3.% year-on-year growth seen in October.

Meanwhile, non-food sales rose just 0.1%, in line with the previous month, with 0.5% growth online offsetting a 0.3% decline in-store.

"Not unexpectedly, online dominated, with the proportion of non-food bought online reaching its highest level since 2022. Many consumers took advantage of promotions, with homeware and upholstery selling well ahead of festive hosting. Fashion lagged, especially with the mild first half of November dampening demand for winterwear," Dickinson said.

Linda Ellett, UK head of consumer within the retail and leisure division of KPMG, said macro concerns and rising household costs are continuing to hold back discretionary spend among consumers.

"Retailers will be hoping that Budget clarity has now provided more certainty for consumers about their ability to spend in the months ahead. And as the Christmas decorations go up, hopefully retail sales growth does too, ending 2025 with some festive cheer for the sector," Ellett said.

In equity markets, advertising firm WPP was a high riser after it secured a contract worth up to £2bn to manage the UK government's advertising campaigns.

Defence companies were in the black again, with BAE Systems and Babcock both up.

Online greeting card and gifts retailer Moonpig rallied as it backed its full-year expectations and posted a rise in first-half profit and revenue, pointing to continued momentum at the Moonpig brand and a return to growth at Greetz.

Man Group was boosted by an upgrade to 'overweight' from 'neutral' at JPMorgan.

British American Tobacco slumped as it reaffirmed guidance, boosted by strong demand in the US, but said its 2026 performance was expected to be at the lower end of the range of its mid-term targets. It also announced plans to return £1.3bn to shareholders in the next financial year.

Equipment rental firm Ashtead lost ground as it outlined plans to return $1.5bn to shareholders and reaffirmed its full-year outlook, despite a dip in interim profits.

Defence group Chemring nudged lower despite reporting a sharp jump in annual profit as governments increased military spending amid the growing threat from Russia and dwindling support from the US under the Trump administration.