FTSE 100 Down Slightly In Cautious Trade As Unemployment Rate Rises

U.K. stocks showed weakness Tuesday morning, weighed down by losses in defense stocks amid progress in Ukraine peace talks. Also, investors exercised caution amid a slew of crucial economic data from the U.S., including the jobs report, this week. Data showing an increase in the nation’s unemployment rate weighed a bit.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 8.80 points or 0.11% at 8,116.08 about a quarter before noon.

Babcock International lost about 5.6%. BAE Systemes slid 2.4%, while Polar Capital Technology Trust, Airtel Africa, RightMove, Shell, BP and Melrose Industries lost 1.4 to 2%.

Rolls-Royce Holdings drifted down 1.4% despite announcing plans to launch a £200 million interim share buyback program starting January 2, 2026.

Informa, Burberry Group, Auto Trader Group, Scottish Mortgage, Spirax Group, Vodafone Group and HSBC Holdings also posted notable losses.

Centrica shares declined after the company sold Spirit Energy’s 15% stake in the Cygnus gas field to Serica Energy for 98 million pounds sterling.

Meanwhile, JD Sports Fashion, Convatec Group, Endeavour Mining, EasyJet and Croda International climbed 1.7 to 2.2%.

Whitbread, Fresnillo, Hiscox, Legal & General, Intertek Group, DCC, Admiral Group and St. James’s Place also moved notably higher.

The U.K. unemployment rate rose slightly in the three months to October, data from the Office for National Statistics showed.

The jobless rate climbed to 5.1% in the three months to October from 5% in the preceding period.

In the three months to October, average earnings excluding bonuses grew 4.6% from the prior year, which was slightly faster than the forecast of 4.5%.

In November, payroll employees decreased by 171,000 or 0.6 percent from the prior year. Compared to last month, employment grew 38,000 to 30.3 million.

Including bonuses, average earnings advanced 4.7% in the August to October, data showed.

Data from S&P Global showed the UK S&P Global Composite PMI picked up to 52.1 in December from November’s 51.2 and surpassing market forecasts of 51.6.

The Services PMI came in at 52.1 compared to 51.3 a month earlier, while the manufacturing PMI score was 51.2 in December, up from 50.2 in November.

In November, payroll employees decreased by 171,000 or 0.6 percent from the prior year. Compared to last month, employment grew 38,000 to 30.3 million.