BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - After edging up a bit in early trades, the U.K. stock market drifted lower Tuesday morning, but edged up on selective buying and was up marginally nearly half an hour past noon.
A downward revision in UK's growth forecast by OECD, and uncertainty surrounding the U.S. Government's tariff moves weigh on sentiment. The OECD has also downgraded its global growth forecast.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 6.82 points or 0.08% at 8,781.08 about half an hour past noon.
The OECD downgraded the UK's growth forecast to 1.3% for 2025 and 1.0% for 2026 due to Trump's trade tariffs. The organization has slashed its global growth forecast to 2.9% from its earlier forecast of 3.1% for 2025.
The Paris-based firm said the outlook across the globe has become challenging with rising trade barriers and policy uncertainty, which is weighing on consumer confidence and blocking investments.
British American Tobacco, the maker of Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarettes, is up marginally after raising its annual sales target.
Centrica is rising nearly 4%. Airtel Africa is up 3.2%, while BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Auto Trader Group, Babcock International, Pershing Square Holdings, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, The Sage Group, Ashtead Group, Prudential, Fresnillo, Schrodders, Reckitt Benckiser, Beazley and National Grid are gaining 1 to 2.3%.
Persimmon is down more than 4%. Anglo American Plc is down 3%. Water utility Pennon is down more than 2% after it swung to an annual pretax loss.
Antofagasta, Rentokil, Rio Tinto, JD Sports Fashion, Glencore, Associated British Foods, Entain, Marks & Spencer, Barratt Redrow, BT Group and Lloyds Banking Group are declining 1 to 2%.
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