Earnings, rate cut bets lift UK stocks (updated)

Premier Foods

21/01/2025 17:12

* 
      Sterling dips as UK jobless rate rises
    

        * 
      Lloyds Bank leads surge among lenders
    

        * 
      Abrdn swings to quarterly inflows, shares up
    

        * 
      FTSE 100 up 0.3%, FTSE 250 up 0.5%
    

  
 (Updates with market closing price)
       Jan 21 (Reuters) - The main UK stock indexes rose on
Tuesday, with a weaker sterling helping keep the FTSE 100 near
all-time highs, while upbeat earnings from companies including
Abrdn  ABDN.L  and Premier Foods  PFD.L  boosted the midcap
index.
    The blue-chip FTSE 100  .FTSE  closed up 0.3%, trading just
below its intraday record high of 8548.59 points touched on
Monday.
    Global stocks edged higher as investors assessed new U.S.
President Donald Trump's executive orders on issues including
energy and immigration, while awaiting his first move on trade
policy.
    Sterling  GBP=D3  dipped 0.1% against the dollar after data
showed the UK jobless rate rose slightly to 4.4% in the three
months to November, its highest since the three months to May.
    The data also showed that British pay growth remained
stubbornly strong in the three months to November but traders
continued to price in an 86% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut
from the Bank of England next month. 
    Overall, traders were pricing in about 65 bps of easing by
the end of 2025.
    Leading gains in the FTSE 100, shares in Lloyds Banking
Group  LLOY.L  rose 4% after the Financial Times reported that
finance minister Rachel Reeves launched a bid to protect
car-loan providers from multibillion-pound payouts in a landmark
mis-selling case.
    "The UK government's backing in the motor finance case is a
clear positive for Lloyds, the bank most exposed to the issue,"
said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.
    Barclays  BARC.L  rose 1.4%, while the wider FTSE 350 banks
index  .FTNMX301010  climbed 0.8%.
    Boosting the FTSE 250 midcap index by 0.5%, shares in Abrdn
jumped 4.5% after the asset manager reported 1.2 billion pounds
($1.5 billion) of net inflows of client cash in the fourth
quarter of 2024.
    Premier Foods stock climbed 2.6% after the food producer 
forecast its annual profit at the upper end of analysts'
expectations, following robust sales of its branded products
during the key holiday season.
    Marston's  MARS.L  dropped 5.3% after the pub group reported
higher overall sales over the 16 weeks to Jan. 18, although cold
and stormy weather in November and this month slowed growth.

 (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay
Kishore and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
 ((sruthi.shankar@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223
8780; outside U.S. +91 80 6182 2787;))
 
(( 
For related prices, Reuters users may click on - * 
 UK stock report      .L     
 FTSE index:          0#.FTS6  
 techMARK 100 index:  .FTT1X          FTSE futures:      0#FFI:  
 Gilt futures:        0#FLG:          Smallcap index:     .FTSC  
 FTSE 250 index:      .FTMC           FTSE 350 index:     .FTLC  
 Market digest:       .AD.L           Top 10 by vol:      .AV.L  
 Top price gainers:   .NG.L           Top % gainers:      .PG.L  
 Top price losers:    .NL.L           Top % losers:       .PL.L  
 
 
 * For related news, click on - *
 UK hot stocks:       HOT  and  GB      Wall Street:           .N 
 Gilts report:        GB/             Euro bond report  GVD/EUR 
 Pan European stock report:  .EU 
 Tokyo stocks:        .T              HK stocks:            .HK 
 Sterling report:     GBP/            Dollar report:       USD/ 
 
 
 * For company prices, click on - *
 Company directory:   UKEQ           By sector:           FTAX  
 
 
 * For pan-European market data, click on - *
 European Equities speed guide................  EUR/EQUITY  
 FTSE Eurotop 300 index...........................  .FTEU3  
 DJ STOXX index...................................  .STOXX  
 Top 10 STOXX sectors........................  .PGL.STOXXS  
 Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors...................  .PGL.STOXXES  
 Top 10 Eurotop 300 sectors..................  .PGL.FTEU3S  
 Top 25 European pct gainers....................  .PG.PEUR  
 Top 25 European pct losers.....................  .PL.PEUR ))