London open: Stocks led lower by miners; easyJet bucks trend

14th Oct 2025 08:17

(Sharecast News) - London stocks fell in early trade on Tuesday, with miners under the cosh, as investors mulled the latest UK jobs data and eyed key US bank earnings.

At 0850 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 9,414.90.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that unemployment ticked higher in August, official statistics showed on Tuesday, by slightly more than expected, while private sector wage growth softened.

The unemployment rate was 4.8% in June to August. That was up on both July's rate of 4.7%, and ahead of consensus, also for 4.7%.

In the three months to September, vacancies fell by 9,000 - or 1.3% - to 717,000.

Average employee earnings (excluding bonuses), meanwhile, rose by 4.7%, down on growth of 4.8% a month previously.

Including bonuses, wages rose by 5%, up from July's 4.8% increase.

Wage growth across the private sector slowed to its lowest rate in nearly four years, at 4.4%, the ONS noted.

In contrast, in the public sector wages jumped 6.0%, after some pay rises were awarded earlier than they were last year.

Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: "After a long period of weak hiring activity, there are signs that the falls we have seen in both payroll numbers and vacancies are now levelling off.

"We see different patterns across the age ranges, with record numbers of over 65s in work, while the increase in unemployment was driven mostly by younger people."

Investors were also mulling comments from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who suggested in an interview with the Financial Times that China wants to slow the world's economy with controls on exports of rare earth materials.

"This is a sign of how weak their economy is, and they want to pull everybody else down with them," he said. "Maybe there is some Leninist business model where hurting your customers is a good idea, but they are the largest supplier to the world.

"If they want to slow down the global economy, they will be hurt the most."

Looking ahead to the rest of the day, attention will turn to earnings across the Pond, with JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Citi, Wells Fargo and Blackrock all slated to report.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "The investor focus on these earnings reports could be even more intense than usual since they could fill some of the information vacuum that has been caused by the delayed release of key economic data releases due to the US government shutdown."

In equity markets, heavily-weighted miners were the worst performers as copper prices fell, with Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore all sharply lower.

BP also lost ground as it guided to higher third-quarter production but flagged a weaker oil trading result and lower gas prices.

Morgan Advanced Materials tumbled as it warned full-year sales would be around 4% lower than the prior year as demand in semiconductor markets has remained weak.

Bytes Technology slumped as it said interim operating profit fell 7% in a "challenging economic climate".

Lancashire Holdings was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'underperform' at RBC Capital Markets.

Close Brothers retreated after increasing its motor finance redress provision to £300m following the Financial Conduct Authority's ruling on the scandal last week. The merchant bank had previously set aside £165m.

On the upside, easyJet flew to the top of the FTSE 100 following a report in Italy's Corriere della Sera that logistics firm Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) is working with an investment fund on a possible investment in the airline.

Housebuilder Bellway rallied after it announced the launch of a £150m share buyback as it reported a jump in full-year profit and revenue as completions grew despite "ongoing challenges" for the industry.

Peers Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon also gained.

Discoverie and Ashmore Group advanced after trading updates.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,414.90 -0.30%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,967.36 -0.44%

techMARK (TASX) 5,540.11 -0.44%

FTSE 100 - Risers

easyJet (EZJ) 496.30p 6.94%

Unilever (ULVR) 4,528.00p 1.12%

Persimmon (PSN) 1,187.00p 1.07%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 403.30p 0.98%

National Grid (NG.) 1,104.50p 0.82%

Severn Trent (SVT) 2,681.00p 0.79%

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 6,680.00p 0.75%

Relx plc (REL) 3,422.00p 0.74%

Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,988.00p 0.71%

Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,136.00p 0.71%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 2,911.00p -2.90%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,756.00p -2.62%

Glencore (GLEN) 349.30p -2.14%

IMI (IMI) 2,278.00p -2.07%

Spirax Group (SPX) 6,785.00p -2.02%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 400.70p -1.91%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,428.50p -1.90%

BP (BP.) 415.70p -1.71%

Fresnillo (FRES) 2,548.00p -1.70%

ICG (ICG) 2,086.00p -1.70%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Mitie Group (MTO) 150.00p 8.06%

THG (THG) 39.24p 6.09%

Senior (SNR) 192.00p 4.12%

Bellway (BWY) 2,598.00p 3.71%

Empiric Student Property (ESP) 82.40p 3.41%

Discoverie Group (DSCV) 602.00p 2.56%

Ashmore Group (ASHM) 179.30p 1.00%

Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 105.20p 0.96%

Pennon Group (PNN) 502.00p 0.88%

Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 631.00p 0.80%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 203.00p -9.20%

Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 381.00p -8.40%

Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 660.00p -3.95%

Volution Group (FAN) 657.00p -3.94%

IP Group (IPO) 56.80p -3.40%

Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 316.50p -2.76%

Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 7,740.00p -2.64%

Close Brothers Group (CBG) 435.60p -2.46%

TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 4,400.00p -2.44%

Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 489.00p -2.21%