15:58 — FTSE 100 set to end Tuesday slightly lower
The FTSE 100 looks to finish the session a lot like it began it, slightly lower and uninspired.
London's blue-chip index was down 8 points, at 10,854.
Whilst the macro vibe was very August (ie quiet), the day was not without dramatic movers - so be sure to read down the report.
14:45 — Wall Street opens flat as London holds near session lows
The Wall Street open landed, unremarkably.
Tuesday saw the S&P 500 begin just 0.02% higher, at 7,754, whilst the Dow added 0.26% to 54,114.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.23% to 26,543.
14:01 — Tuesday's movers: Seeing Machines, Thruvision, Spirax, Shoe Zone, BSF Enterprise
Let's recap some of the morning's meaningful movers.
Seeing Machines (AIM:SEE) shares are up 10% to 5.22p after the company's FY2026 trading update showed adjusted revenue rising 45% to $76.3m and automotive production volumes topping 2.1m in a record quarter, with the company describing a profitable second half and a business reaching an "inflection point."
Thruvision (AIM:THRU) (LSE:THRU) shares continued with momentum, rising nearly 80% on Tuesday, extending Monday's gains off the back of an Asian airport contract win. Adding 77.8% today, to 1.47p, Thruvision shares have climbed over 125% in recent days.
Spirax Group (LSE:SPX) has clawed back some of its earlier slide, and is now down 5% at 7,270p, after this morning's half-year results.
Shoe Zone (AIM:SHOE), up 18% to 72p, this morning released its trading update that flagged cash of roughly £7m ahead of budget, while BSF Enterprise (LSE:BSFA) climbed 20%, to 1.22p, disclosed a worldwide exclusive commercialisation deal for its ETSYL peptide with Germany's SCHAKAU.
13:11 — Wall Street indicated higher as CPI risk and oil rally frame the open
Wall Street futures pointed to a firmer US open, with the S&P 500 called at 7,767 up 0.18%, whilst the Dow was seen 0.12% higher at 54,020.
The Nasdaq 100 is seen up 0.33% at 29,724.
The macro story is about oil and inflation, ahead of Wednesday's US CPI print.
Elsewhere, illustrious chip maker Nvidia gave the market fresh cause for concern on AI bubble watch and, in particular around circular financing amongs the Big AI tech players.
Nvidia's new $500bn AI infrastructure mobilisation initiative sees the chip-maker team (AIM:TEAM) up with external investors to fund the continuing rounds of data center build outs.
Hargreaves Lansdown's Matt Britzman called it reinforcement of one of tech's "most attractive risk/reward profiles," a reading TickStock covered in full in its Nvidia analyst take, even as some investors have voiced unease at the scale of the commitment.
In London, meanwhile, the FTSE 100 index was more or less marking time, at 10,859 - 3 points lower.
12:31 — FTSE 100 'recovers to flat'
By midday, the FTSE 100 has recovered somewhat - moving from tepid to indifferent.
At 10,861, the blue-chip benchmark is practically flat for the day.
Attention remains stateside, not so much for Tuesday's open, but for Wednesday's economic data.
Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid and Henry Allen, in a note, flagged the wider tension building into tomorrow's US inflation data: with equity markets still priced for a soft landing with minimal policy tightening, which leaves little room to absorb any hawkish surprise or any further fresh oil shocks.
Sticking with today, Wall Street indices are indicated to start modestly higher, with the S&P 500 indicated up 0.14% and the Dow indicated up only 0.05%.
10:30 — Spirax's slide deepens to 10% as FTSE breadth turns broadly negative
By mid-morning, the FTSE 100 has slipped to 10,833, down 0.27%
Legal & General is among the session's weaker names, down 3.73% to 299.6p and sitting at its session low, while IWG (LSE:IWG) has eased 2.92% to 180.28p following its half-year results.
Harbour Energy (LSE:HBR) continues to buck the tape, up 2.64% to 257.84p, supported by oil prices.
Elsewhere, small-cap security hardware firm Thruvision (AIM:THRU) saw its share rise 8.97%, elsewhere, Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals (LSE:HEMO) is up 5.83% after signing a definitive manufacturing and commercialisation agreement with Estonia's Cellin Technologies for its HG-CT-1 CAR-T therapy.
Sunrise Resources (AIM:SRES) fell 7.5% despite securing a four-year prospecting licence over its high-grade Bakers Gold target in Western Australia, and Thor Explorations (LSE:THX) is down 6.47% after publishing its second-quarter and half-year results.
Afentra (AIM:AET) has added 10.71% to 70.3p alongside positive well results.
09:51 — Brent's four-day climb raises nerves ahead of tomorrow inflation print
Crude is yet again doing the talking in the market this morning, with Brent crude up 2.31% at $88.69.
Against the backdrop of the Iran conflict, it remains an inflation driver that some analysts reckon will make the market re-evaluate the relief felt as Friday's US jobs number came in 'better-than-feared'.
Tomorrow's US CPI print will be the next (LSE:NXT) meaningful piece of checkpoint data.
09:01 — Lion Finance hits fresh 52-week high
Lion Finance Group (LSE:BGEO) has pushed to a fresh 52-week high of 12882.73p, up 3.06%, extending its advance following Tuesday's second-quarter and first-half results.
Harbour Energy (LSE:HBR) has added 2.47% to 257.4p, trading inside a tight 255p-259p range, while Ithaca Energy (LSE:ITH) climbed 1.99% to 245.8p to sit at the session high, both moving with crude pushing higher amid the continued Hormuz standoff.
Atalaya Mining (LSE:ATYM) is up 2.43% at 992p following its second-quarter and half-year results, adding to a session that has produced few blue-chip winners.
Spirax Group (LSE:SPX) remains the session's outlier on the downside, down 7.19% to 7100p and sitting at its session low, even after the group's half-year results confirmed the business is "in line" and "on track to deliver full year guidance," with revenue up 5% and margin up 10 basis points.
IHG has slipped a further 2.19% to 152.15p, still digesting Tuesday's half-year report despite the record hotel openings that lifted adjusted earnings.
08:21 — Spirax slides 6% despite guidance hold as FTSE turns positive
The FTSE 100 nudged into positive territory at Tuesday's open up 0.1% to 10,873.
Spirax Group's half-year results confirmed group revenue up 5% and reiterated full-year guidance, but the shares are down 6.34% to 7,165p, sitting at the session low against a 52-week range of 5,950p - 8,050p.
Away from the blue-chips, the morning's smaller-cap movers are drawing more directly on fresh company news.
BSF Enterprise's worldwide licensing deal for its ETSYL peptide has driven the stock up 25.74% to 1.27p, while Shoe Zone's trading update, confirming cash £7m ahead of budget and an adjusted pre-tax loss capped at £1m, has lifted its shares 14.75% to 70p.
CML Microsystems (AIM:CML) has added 8.36% to 298p after an AGM statement pointing to revenue in line with expectations and order intake ahead of plan, while Harena Rare Earths (LSE:HREE) rose 5.51% after signing mining terms and conditions in Madagascar clearing the path to pilot-plant permitting.
Helium One (AIM:HE1) added 6.41% and Verici Dx (LSE:VRCI) 6.67% on their own operational updates.
Elsewhere, Brent crude is on the front foot at around $88, extending its recent climb amid the stalled Strait of Hormuz talks that market watchers see as driving inflation anxiety ahead of Wednesday's US CPI print.
06:45 — FTSE 100 seen softer at open
The FTSE 100 is seen softer ahead of Tuesday's open, with IG's early pre-market quote marked at 10,864.4, down 4.6 points from Monday's close.
Wall Street closed lower on Monday evening, with the Dow off 123 points, or 0.23%, to 53,913.41, the S&P 500 down 0.1% to 7,750.13 and the Nasdaq Composite off 0.3% to 26,609.94, as fading expectations of a Hormuz deal weighed on sentiment.
Asia moved the other way entirely, with Japan's Nikkei 225 adding just over 2%, to reach 66,970.22.
The Reserve Bank of Australia held its cash rate at 4.35% overnight but signalled it remains ready to hike again, warning that falling house prices across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide threaten to slow income growth.
Crude prices are firmer, with Brent up 0.14% to $86.81 and WTI up 0.19% to $81.51, continuing the geopolitical-risk bid tied to Iran-Oman tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.
Gold extended its climb too, up 0.74% to $4,452.4, holding its elevated bid.
The dollar index is flat at 99.804, cable is little changed at $1.3513, and bitcoin and ether are both marginally firmer overnight.
