London open: FTSE nudges up ahead of US inflation print; Whitbread surges

13th Jan 2026 08:00

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were just a smidgen higher in early trade on Tuesday as investors eyed the latest US inflation reading and the start of US earnings season.

At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 10,150.18. At the same time, oil prices hit their highest level in nearly two months after US President Donald Trump said countries doing business with Iran would face a 25% tariff.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, said: "Today, the US releases its latest CPI data, while big banks kick off earnings season, with JPMorgan reporting Q4 results - just a day after Trump suggested credit-card interest rates should be capped at 10%, a comment that sent related stocks sharply lower.

"While last year was strong for trading and deal-making revenues, investors will focus on banks' economic outlook, loan-loss provisions, and views on AI productivity, credit quality, margins and capital deployment. Their guidance could set the tone for earnings season, as investors look for proof that Big Tech deserves its elevated valuations."

On home shores, the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium showed that retail sales underwhelmed in December as consumers refrained from splashing out until the January sales.

According the latest BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor, food sales increased by 3.1% in the five weeks between 30 November and 3 January. That compared to growth of 1.7% in December 2024. However, non-food sales - which rose 4.4% a year previously - fell 0.3%.

As a result, UK total retail sales increased by just 1.2% year-on-year last month, compared to growth of 3.2% in December 2024. The uplift was also below the 12-month average growth of 2.3%, and lower than November's 1.4% increase.

It was, however, better than expected, with consensus for a more modest 0.6% rise.

The retail sales monitor echoed festive trading updates from individual supermarkets, which largely showed strong demand for festive food and drink tempered by more modest sales across general merchandising.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, called it a "drab Christmas" for retailers.

She continued: "While food sales rose on the back of ongoing food inflation, non-food sales fell flat in the run up to Christmas, with gifting items doing worse-than-expected.

"Many people were clearly holding out for discounts, with the last week showing significant growth off the back of Boxing Day and beginning of the January sales."

In equity markets, Whitbread shot to the top of the FTSE 100 as it reiterated its full-year outlook after solid demand for its hotels during the third quarter helped offset weaker food and drink sales. The blue chip owner of Premier Inn and Brewers Fayre, among others, posted a 2% increase in group sales in the 13 weeks to 27 November, to £781m.

Housebuilder Persimmon rallied after saying it expects annual earnings to be at the upper end of forecasts after a bigger-than-expected rise in home completions. It also said the start to 2026 had been "encouraging" after a Boxing Day marketing campaign against a challenging market.

Trustpilot was the standout gainer on the FTSE 250 after saying it expects to report a 22% year-on-year increase in bookings for 2025 and for adjusted EBITDA to be ahead of market expectations.

THG surged as it hailed a record second-half revenue performance, around 14% ahead of the top end of guidance.

Recruiter PageGroup slumped as it posted a drop in fourth-quarter gross profit, highlighting ongoing challenging conditions in Continental Europe and the UK.

Raspberri Pi was under the cosh as the low-cost computer maker said 2025 profits would be ahead of expectations after a strong second half but flagged uncertainty going into 2026 as the price of memory surged due to suppliers diverting products to artificial intelligence data centres.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,150.18 0.09%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,052.90 0.07%

techMARK (TASX) 5,819.43 -0.49%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Whitbread (WTB) 2,689.00p 4.06%

Persimmon (PSN) 1,452.00p 2.65%

Diageo (DGE) 1,712.50p 2.27%

Mondi (MNDI) 911.00p 1.79%

Barclays (BARC) 480.90p 1.66%

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 387.70p 1.65%

Informa (INF) 896.60p 1.11%

Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,185.00p 1.08%

Tesco (TSCO) 420.90p 0.94%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 347.20p 0.90%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 15,310.00p -2.33%

Centrica (CNA) 179.45p -1.13%

Games Workshop Group (GAW) 18,670.00p -1.06%

Entain (ENT) 741.60p -1.04%

Admiral Group (ADM) 3,054.00p -0.97%

BAE Systems (BA.) 2,074.00p -0.91%

Convatec Group (CTEC) 241.80p -0.90%

Severn Trent (SVT) 2,799.00p -0.78%

United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,206.50p -0.74%

Fresnillo (FRES) 3,712.00p -0.59%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Trustpilot Group (TRST) 203.60p 8.18%

Gamma Communications (GAMA) 949.00p 7.47%

THG (THG) 51.10p 6.64%

Me Group International (MEGP) 149.80p 4.76%

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 65.00p 3.34%

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 158.70p 3.05%

Dr. Martens (DOCS) 80.00p 3.03%

IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 360.00p 2.56%

Vistry Group (VTY) 715.80p 2.11%

RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,725.00p 2.06%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 265.90p -8.31%

Pan African Resources (PAF) 122.40p -4.08%

Zigup (ZIG) 370.00p -2.89%

Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 936.00p -2.40%

ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 1,510.00p -1.69%

Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,990.00p -1.63%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 565.50p -1.31%

Hammerson (HMSO) 340.20p -1.28%

TR Property Inv Trust (TRY) 324.50p -1.22%

JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 731.00p -1.22%