The FTSE 100 opened 11.19 points lower at 10,727.82
as government borrowing hit its highest August level outside the pandemic, increasing pressure on the Chancellor ahead of next month’s budget. Brent crude futures rose 1.44% to USD 101.80 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) advanced 1.04% to USD 93.33 per barrel.
Sterling rose to USD 1.3382 early Tuesday from USD 1.3372 late Monday afternoon. Against the euro, it edged up to EUR 1.1661 from EUR 1.1658.
Gainers & Losers
On the upside, Kingfisher
led the gains, surging 8.57% to 331.90p. Smiths Group advanced 6.26% to 2,752p, while Ithaca Energy gained 1.97% to 289.60p. Coca-Cola HBC rose 1.92% to 4,360p, JD Sports Fashion added 1.62% to 75.18p, and Pearson increased 1.55% to 1,210.50p.
On the downside, Admiral Group recorded the steepest decline, falling 2.45% to 3,742p. Fresnillo dropped 2.08% to 2,923p, while Endeavour Mining
declined 1.87% to 4,575p. Standard Chartered slipped 1.85% to 2,276p, Lion Finance Group fell 0.78% to 13,960p, and Computacenter edged 0.54% lower to 5,480p.
Smiths Group Achieved Profit Target Ahead of Forecasts
Smiths Group posted full-year operating profit ahead of analyst forecasts. Operating profit for the year ended July 31 came in at GBP 399 million, above the consensus of GBP 388 million and up 2.7% from GBP 388 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 2.1% to GBP 1.94 billion, with organic growth of 1.2%.
Operating margin expanded to 20.6% from 20.5%, and return on capital employed stood at 23.5%. Earnings per share rose 6.0% to 86.8p. On a statutory basis, operating profit fell 16.6% to GBP 289 million, reflecting one-off items tied to the portfolio restructuring.
Government Borrowing Rises
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said borrowing in August was GBP 18.3 billion, which was about GBP 3.5 billion above a prediction by the Office for Budget Responsibility and overshot market predictions.
The ONS said that the public sector current budget deficit was also above the forecast, bringing the total borrowing to fund day-to-day government spending to GBP 51.9 billion over the current financial year. Public sector debt remained below GBP 3 trillion at the end of August 2026.
Rentokil Sells Management Business
Rentokil
has sold lake and pond specialist Solitude Lake Management and its Vertex Aquatic Solutions division to private equity giant Bain Capital for USD 230 million (GBP 172 million).
The deal is on a cash-free, debt-free basis. Total net proceeds after tax are expected to be roughly USD 180 million, and the deal is anticipated to be completed in the final quarter of 2025.
The group said the sale reflects its efforts to streamline its business structure and prioritisz its ‘highest opportunity markets’, including its pest control and hygiene services.
Global Market View
In the US, stocks jumped after a rise in AI-related names, which lifted the major US averages. The S&P 500 climbed 1.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.3%. The Dow Industrials rose 366 points, or 0.7%.
In Asia on Tuesday, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 is closed today, while China’s Shanghai Composite jumped 0.06%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.12%, and South Korea’s Kospi edged up by 0.15%. In India, both the Nifty 50 and the Sensex fell by 0.3% and 0.39%, respectively.
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