(Alliance News) – London stocks opened higher on Tuesday at the start of a bank holiday-shortened week, as the UK outlines new plans for visa application restrictions and consumer confidence hits its lowest level since 2022.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 20.53 points, 0.2%, at 8,616.88. The FTSE 250 was up 87.81 points, 0.4%, at 20,328.32, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.65 points, 0.2%, at 709.40.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 858.98, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.4% at 17,845.00, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.2% at 15,435.43.
China said Tuesday it would welcome EU chiefs Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen for visits as part of events marking 50 years of ties between Beijing and the bloc.
“China welcomes European Council President Costa and European Commission President von der Leyen to come to China for a new round of China-EU meetings,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said, adding: “The two sides will also conduct high-level dialogues in areas such as strategy, economy and trade, green development.”
Consumer confidence in the future of the UK economy has plummeted to its lowest level since the height of the cost-of-living crisis, according to the Which? consumer insight tracker. 64% of consumers believe the economy will get worse before it gets better.
Confidence fell by seven points to minus 53 in April – its lowest level since December 2022 when the cost-of-living crisis was at its height and the inflation rate was above 10%.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was also 0.2% lower.
Germany’s conservative leader Friedrich Merz is set to be sworn in as chancellor on Tuesday.
In a session that started at 0900 CEST, or 0800 BST, Merz is seeking a majority in the 630-seat Bundestag to become modern Germany’s 10th chancellor. Once confirmed by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, he is then set to deliver the oath of office at noon.
Meanwhile, the EU is to unveil Tuesday a keenly anticipated plan to phase out its remaining gas ties to Moscow, a challenge given Europe’s heavy dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
EU energy chief Dan Jorgensen will set out the measures, which were delayed as Brussels waited to see whether talks between Russia and the US yielded a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average declining 0.2%, the S&P 500 falling 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite 0.7% lower.
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of trying to provoke him into using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, in comments on a Russian state television documentary film about his 25 years in power.
“They wanted to provoke us, they wanted to make us make mistakes,” he said in the film “Russia. Kremlin. Putin. 25 years.” However, there was no need to use nuclear weapons, he said. “And I hope that this will not be necessary in the future either.”
Russia has sufficient forces and means to achieve everything that was necessary for Moscow in the war that began in 2022, he said, of the year the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The pound was quoted higher at USD1.3323 early on Tuesday in London, compared to USD1.3296 at the equities close on Friday. The euro stood down at USD1.1336, against USD1.1341.
Against the yen, the dollar was trading down at JPY143.28 compared to JPY144.36.
The UK is planning on restricting visa applications from nationalities considered most likely to overstay and claim asylum, a report has suggested. Applications for work and study visas from nationalities such as Pakistanis, Nigerians and Sri Lankans are among those that could be curbed by the Home Office, according to the Times newspaper.
The paper reported that the plans will be announced as part of the Immigration White Paper shortly, as the government looks to reduce net migration figures.
Alpha Group International was among the FTSE 250’s biggest winners at London’s market open on Tuesday, up 4.7%.
Alpha on Tuesday confirmed its receipt of a takeover bid from US business payments solutions provider Corpay, which Alpha’s board has “unanimously rejected”.
Corpay has until May 30 to make a firm offer.
Alpha was outperformed on the index only by Oxford Nanopore Technologies, up 4.7% as broker Investec started the specialist in DNA and RNA sequencing technologies with a ‘buy’ rating and 200 pence price target.
At the other end, Facilities by ADF tumbled 16% on Tuesday.
The provider of serviced production facilities to the UK film and television industry swung to a pretax loss of GBP2.8 million in 2024, from GBP615 million in 2023. Revenue grew 1.1% to GBP35.2 million from GBP34.8 million.
The swing is partly driven by a GBP2.4 million impairment of goodwill, which increased from a GBP1.0 million charge the year before. Administrative expenses were also up 11% to GBP11.2 million from GBP10.1 million.
“As previously communicated, the group’s [2024] performance reflects the slower return to normal levels of market activity following the US strikes, however we remain positive about the long-term outlook for ADF, underpinned by continued high investment in the UK HETV and film industry. With the recent addition of Autotrak, ADF is now even better positioned to capitalise on the market’s return to more typical activity levels,” said Chief Executive Officer Marsden Proctor.
In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was closed for Greenery Day, after being closed for Children’s Day on Monday.
In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 1.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong improved 0.8%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed 0.1% lower.
Brent oil was quoted up at USD61.44 a barrel early in London on Tuesday from USD61.07 late Friday.
Gold was quoted higher at USD3,376.88 an ounce against USD3,249.91.
Still to come on Tuesday’s economic calendar, UK composite PMI at 0930 BST and US trade balance at 1330.
By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
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