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London open: Stocks tick higher but Entain tumbles on CEO departure
London stocks edged up in early trade on Tuesday, hitting fresh record highs as investors continued to mull Trump’s latest tariff announcement, but Ladbrokes owner Entain slid as it announced the sudden departure of its chief executive.
At 0845 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 8,786.24.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: “President Trump’s tariff policy remains unclear, and thus, difficult to price in by financial markets. Trump said on Monday that tariffs on metals could go higher, and other tariffs could be announced later this week.
“At this stage, traders have little clarity about how far Trump’s tariff policies will go, whether they are mostly a negotiating tactic or if they will have a more long-lasting economic impact. It is also unclear if it will spark a wave of protectionism.”
On home shores, data out earlier showed that UK shoppers braced stormy weather in January to take advantage of promotional deals, with sales rising strongly compared with the year before.
According to the British Retail Consortium-KPMG retail sales monitor, total retail sales increased at an annual rate of 2.6% last month, down from the 3.2% year-on-year growth seen in December but well ahead of the 1.2% gain recorded in January 2024.
Results were boosted by an earlier start of the reporting period, the BRC said, which added a few more post-Christmas shopping days into the mix.
Following a 3.3% annual slump in sales in November, the three-month average growth rate stood at just 1.1%, while the 12-month average growth rate was 0.8%.
Food sales rose 2.8% year-on-year, while non-food sales were up 2.6%. Meanwhile, in-store non-food sales were 2.6% higher while online non-food gained 2.2%.
“January sales kicked off a solid month for retail with stores delivering their strongest growth in almost two years, albeit on a weak comparable,” said the BRC’s chief executive, Helen Dickinson.
“Consumers headed to the shops to refresh their homes for the year ahead, taking advantage of big discounts on furniture, bedding and other home accessories. With growth across nearly all categories, only toys and baby equipment remained in decline. While the bouts of stormy weather put a temporary dampener on demand, sales growth held up well throughout the rest of the month.”
However, Dickinson painted an uncertain picture looking ahead, with inflationary pressures and £7bn of new costs for retailers – comprising higher national insurance contributions, a higher National Living Wage, and a new packaging levy – likely to lead to price increases and lower investment.
“Government can mitigate this by ensuring its proposed business rates reforms do not result in any shop paying more in business rates,” she said.
In equity markets, sports betting and gaming group Entain tumbled as it said chief executive Gavin Isaacs has left the company with immediate effect after just five months.
Entain, which runs brands like Coral, Ladbrokes and Foxy Bingo as well part-owning the BetMGM brand in the US, did not disclose a reason for the abrupt departure, but said that the decision was “by mutual agreement”.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Details are scarce, and while Entain used the moment to reassure investors that it’s on track to meet 2025 profit expectations, sudden leadership shake-ups rarely go down smoothly – questions will be flying.”
Bellway also slumped as the housebuilder reported strong growth for the first half and reiterated its full-year guidance, but highlighted the “sensitivity of customer demand” amid a rise in mortgage rates over recent months.
FTSE 100 peers Persimmon, Barratt Redrow, Taylor Wimpey and Berkeley all fell.
Homeware retailer Dunelm was in the red as it announced the retirement of its chief executive Nick Wilkinson and posted an uptick in interim revenue but broadly flat profits.
Oil giant BP nudged lower as it said fourth-quarter underlying replacement cost profit declined to $1.17bn from $2.99bn in the same period a year earlier.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Intertek Group Plc | +1.96% | +100.00 | 5,200.00 |
| 2 |  |
Banco Santander S.a. | +1.21% | +5.50 | 460.00 |
| 3 |  |
Natwest | +1.13% | +5.00 | 446.40 |
| 4 |  |
Diploma Plc | +0.98% | +44.00 | 4,540.00 |
| 5 |  |
Haleon | +0.93% | +3.60 | 390.80 |
| 6 |  |
Experian Plc | +0.84% | +33.00 | 3,983.00 |
| 7 |  |
Halma Plc | +0.83% | +24.00 | 2,923.00 |
| 8 |  |
Shell Plc | +0.81% | +21.50 | 2,661.00 |
| 9 |  |
Tesco Plc | +0.80% | +3.10 | 392.90 |
| 10 |  |
Relx Plc | +0.79% | +32.00 | 4,108.00 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
International Consolidated Airlines Group S.a. | -3.14% | -11.10 | 342.30 |
| 2 |  |
Barratt Redrow Plc | -2.48% | -11.10 | 435.60 |
| 3 |  |
Glencore Plc | -2.36% | -8.50 | 350.95 |
| 4 |  |
Anglo American Plc | -2.14% | -53.50 | 2,449.00 |
| 5 |  |
Legal & General Group Plc | -1.54% | -3.80 | 242.80 |
| 6 |  |
Bhp Group Limited | -1.51% | -31.00 | 2,021.00 |
| 7 |  |
Vodafone Group Plc | -1.50% | -1.04 | 68.40 |
| 8 |  |
Rio Tinto Plc | -1.44% | -72.00 | 4,944.00 |
| 9 |  |
Fresnillo | -1.31% | -10.50 | 791.50 |
| 10 |  |
Carnival Plc | -1.30% | -25.00 | 1,902.00 |
US close: Stocks higher as traders shrug off tariff concerns
Major indices closed higher on Monday as market participants shrugged off tariff threats from the Trump White House.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.38% at 44,470.41, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.67% to 6,066.44 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.98% firmer at 19,714.27.
The Dow closed 167.01 points higher on Monday, taking a bite out of losses recorded on Friday after Donald Trump announced that he was planning to slap reciprocal tariffs on trading partners.
“I’ll be announcing that next week reciprocal trade, so that we’re treated evenly with other countries,” said Trump. “We’ll have a news conference, and we’ll lay it out pretty simple.”
Trump later announced that he plans to introduce a blanket 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports but fell short of specifying when the tariffs would be imposed. He also noted that he would also issue retaliatory tariffs on countries that tax US imports.
In the corporate space, fast food giant McDonald’s said Q4 revenues fell 0.28% to $6.39bn, falling short of expectations for a reading of $6.45bn, with a 1.4% in US same-store sales offsetting a 0.4% increase in global same-store sales.
No major data points were scheduled to be released on Monday.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: OpenAI, EVs, gas prices
Elon Musk escalated his feud with OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman on Monday. The billionaire is leading a consortium of investors that announced it had submitted a bid of $97.4bn for “all assets” of the artificial intelligence company to OpenAI’s board of directors. The startup, which operates ChatGPT, has been working to restructure itself away from its original non-profit status. OpenAI also operates a for-profit subsidiary, and Musk’s unsolicited offer could complicate the company’s plans. The Wall Street Journal first reported the proposed bid. – Guardian
Electric vehicle drivers will spend an extra £85m on UK tax when using public car chargers this year because of a disparity in VAT rates that the industry has said is holding back the transition away from fossil fuels. Home users of electricity pay just 5% VAT compared with the 20% rate that applies to businesses – including electric car charger operators. That means that people charging a car using public chargers face higher costs. – Guardian
Britain’s biggest retailers have warned that the high street will shed at least 300,000 jobs over the next three years in a blow to the Chancellor’s hopes of reviving local town and city centres. Retailers including Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Tesco have fired a warning shot over the future of the industry, saying a “perfect storm” of higher costs and red tape meant they expected one in 10 shop floor workers to leave retail by 2028. – Telegraph
A cold snap has sent European gas prices to a two-year high as higher demand has accelerated withdrawals from storage facilities, which were already more depleted than usual. The benchmark Dutch TTF contract rose 5.3 per cent to €58.65 per megawatt hour, the highest since February 2023, as colder temperatures hit Europe and parts of northeast Asia. – The Times
Pressure on the competition regulator to encourage economic growth is raising expectations in the City that it will take weaker action following its investigation into the veterinary services market. Recent updated papers issued by the Competition and Markets Authority as part of its 18-month inquiry into the £5 billion-a-year vet industry suggest “a tempering of tone” and “indicates that the CMA may come to a more sensible conclusion versus the initial sensationalism”, analysts at Peel Hunt have told clients. – The Times
