{"id":67737,"date":"2025-12-16T11:51:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T11:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/12\/16\/ftse-100-down-slightly-in-cautious-trade-as-unemployment-rate-rises\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T11:51:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T11:51:12","slug":"ftse-100-down-slightly-in-cautious-trade-as-unemployment-rate-rises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/12\/16\/ftse-100-down-slightly-in-cautious-trade-as-unemployment-rate-rises\/","title":{"rendered":"FTSE 100 Down Slightly In Cautious Trade As Unemployment Rate Rises"},"content":{"rendered":"
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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.<\/p>\n

The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 8.80 points or 0.11% at 8,116.08 about a quarter before noon.<\/p>\n

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%.<\/p>\n

Rolls-Royce Holdings drifted down 1.4% despite announcing plans to launch a \u00a3200 million interim share buyback program starting January 2, 2026.<\/p>\n

Informa, Burberry Group, Auto Trader Group, Scottish Mortgage, Spirax Group, Vodafone Group and HSBC Holdings also posted notable losses.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, JD Sports Fashion, Convatec Group, Endeavour Mining, EasyJet and Croda International climbed 1.7 to 2.2%.<\/p>\n

Whitbread, Fresnillo, Hiscox, Legal & General, Intertek Group, DCC, Admiral Group and St. James’s Place also moved notably higher.<\/p>\n

The U.K. unemployment rate rose slightly in the three months to October, data from the Office for National Statistics showed.<\/p>\n

The jobless rate climbed to 5.1% in the three months to October from 5% in the preceding period.<\/p>\n

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%.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Including bonuses, average earnings advanced 4.7% in the August to October, data showed.<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n