16:26 — FTSE gives back afternoon gains
London's admittedly mearge and mundane would-be rally ran out of steam, with the FTSE 100 fading and now holding at around 10,739, a gain of around 19 points for the day.
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite is down 1.3% at 26,299.45, extending its loss as the session has progressed, while the S&P 500 is off 0.64% and the Dow has slipped 0.27%.
Gold, meanwhile, deepened its decline to 4,418.1, down 1.24%.
It comes as the VIX, the so-called volailtiy or 'fear' index, climbed to 15.83, up 4.21%, both consistent with the more defensive tone spreading from the US afternoon into London's close.
14:45 — Wall Street opens lower, gap widens
Wall Street's opened on the back foot.
The Dow sits at 53,329, off 129 points, whilst the S&P 500 has slipped 35 points to 7,709, and the Nasdaq Composite is the laggard, down 254 points, or 0.95%, to 26,390.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 was more sharply lower with a 1.19% pullback.
In London, the FTSE 100 is holding at 10,750, up 29 points.
14:01 — FTSE moves higher whilst Wall Streat seen lower
Early indicators see Wall Street pointing lower ahead of Tuesday's open, with futures for the Dow, S&P and Nasdaq all in red.
In London, the FTSE 100 is up 28 points, or 0.27%, near its highest for the day, at 10,749.
11:51 — BHP's copper-led profit beat lifts miners' read-through as FTSE holds near 10,725
Mining major BHP (LSE:BHP) was in the spotlight on Tuesday, after it posted a 27% rise in underlying EBITDA and its highest annual dividend in four years, with copper contributing 57% of group earnings for the first time as record prices for the metal outpaced iron ore.
AJ Bell's Dan Coatsworth, in a note described a broader commodity backdrop, as double-edged for UK investors, noting the latest oil price moves are "both a pain and a gain", a lift for producers like Shell (LSE:SHEL) and Harbour Energy (LSE:HBR) set against the inflation and rate risk that higher crude feeds into the wider market.
London itself is treading water rather than reacting to either force.
The FTSE 100 is trading at 10,724, up 4.5 points, holding the first positive print of the morning after dipping to 10,703 earlier in the session.
11:10 — Mobico sells UK Bus for £24m
Mobico Group has agreed the sale of its West Midlands bus operations to the West Midlands Combined Authority, with expected upfront residual proceeds of approximately £24 million after deductions for transferred liabilities.
The company says the deal fits its strategy to monetise UK Bus assets and takes it out of the coming uncertainty around franchising in the region.
Metlen Energy Metals has acquired the energy software company Joule, expanding its footprint beyond metals into software tools for the energy sector.
10:31 — Made Tech surges on record £40m contract
Let's take a look at some small-caps.
Made Tech Group shares jumped to 43.35p, up 13.33%, after securing the largest contract in its history, a four-year UK government consortium award worth approximately £40 million to the company, with revenue starting in FY27 and building through FY28.
The company has upgraded its revenue and EBITDA guidance for the second time this year on the back of the deal.
Time Out Group has added 11.11% to 7.5p after its FY26 trading update showed continuing-operations revenue up 11% to £61 million, with Markets revenue up 8% to £40 million across 13 operational sites and five more in development; the Vancouver launch has traded encouragingly since opening in May.
Sabien Technology remains the session's sharpest mover, up 45.45% to 4.0p on a strategic update, while Great Western Mining (AIM:GWMO) has added 10.25% after drilling commenced at its Defender tungsten project.
Kainos Group has confirmed its guidance-raise story with shares up 18.87% to 1,156p, at the top of its 1,093.6-1,185.5p session range and closing on its 52-week high of 1,190p, after the IT services group flagged a strong start to the year and lifted FY27 guidance.
Synectics has eased its loss to 190p, down 8.43% versus an earlier 10.1% decline, after interim results flagged Energy project timing uncertainty alongside boardroom changes that installed Jon Kempster as interim chair and Peter Kear as senior (LSE:SNR) independent director.
Pulsar has fallen 10% to 25.2p after addressing press speculation over its HMRC payment timing, saying substantial VAT and PAYE sums have already been settled and the remainder will come from normal cash collections.
09:51 — FTSE 100 turns negative; energy holds, miners fade
The FTSE 100 turned over, slipping 11 points to 10,709.
Besides oil prices, rising bond yields are also pressing on equity valuations more broadly, a theme Saxo Markets flagged in this morning's commentary, and it lines up with a defensive tone across desks pointing to yields, oil and soft Chinese activity data as reasons for caution.
08:20 — FTSE 100 opens up 6 points to 10,726 as energy leads, Synectics slumps 10%
The FTSE 100 opened at around 10726.57, up 6 points on last night's close.
It is a modest gain that masks a weaker session underneath, with just over half the index constituents trading lower.
Energy names are doing the heavy lifting, against a backdrop of higher oil prices.
Ithaca Energy (LSE:ITH) leads the risers at 252.4p, up 3.19%, followed by Harbour Energy (LSE:HBR) up 3.08% to 256.664p. Shell (LSE:SHEL) was up 1.21% to 3369.85p.
Brent crude was up around half a per cent on Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, miners are moving the other way, with Antofagasta (LSE:ANTO) down 1.13% and Greatland Gold (AIM:GGP) off 2.72% to a fresh session low at 647.388p.
Elsewhere, Synectics (LSE:SNX) is down 10.1% to 186.551p. The company published interim results for the six months to 31 May alongside board changes this morning, Jon Kempster becomes interim chair as Bob Holt steps down, and Peter Kear joins as senior (LSE:SNR) independent non-executive director.
The results statement flags its FY outlook as "achievable" but notes "some uncertainty around Energy project timings," language that points to the source of the reaction.
Kainos Group (LSE:KNOS) remains the session's standout corporate story, having raised FY27 guidance on a strong start to the year.
Frasers Group (LSE:FRAS) is among the fallers, down 2.46% to 794.5p, after confirming its stake in Hugo Boss has been pushed above 47%.
08:00 — Kainos raises guidance as Frasers, Diageo, AIRE lead early headlines
Kainos Group raises its FY27 guidance, citing a strong start to the year across its Digital Services, Workday Services and Workday Products divisions.
Frasers Group discloses the results of its offer for Hugo Boss, pushing its stake above 47%.
Diageo appoints an ex-P&G Beauty chief to its board of directors.
Alternative Income Reit (LSE:AIRE) confirms an increased final cash offer from Glenstone Reit at 70.0p per share, with an acceptance level update on the takeover.
Fresnillo sets the conversion rate for its 2026 interim dividend at 32.0208p per share.
Winvia Entertainment refinances its banking facilities with a new £33m three-year term loan from Barclays (LSE:BARC), replacing its Eurobank facility.
Neo Energy Metals secures Section 11 consent from Sibanye-Stillwater for the New Beisa transaction, with a Section 102 application now in progress.
Talisman Metals mobilises its drilling rig at the Tirzzit Copper Project, while Huddled Group (AIM:HUD) launches proprietary live-commerce software alongside a joint venture.
The full detail on this morning's news is in The Premarket Brief.
06:45 — FTSE 100 seen boring ahead of Tuesday's open
The FTSE 100 is seen firmer ahead of Tuesday's open, with IG's early pre-market quote marked at 10,730.4, up a meagre 1.6 points from Monday's close.
The call comes against a softer overnight backdrop.
Wall Street closed lower on Monday evening, with the Dow down 262 points or 0.49%, to 53,470.
The S&P 500 was off 0.49% to 7,747, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.34% to 26,637.
Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell to 1,499 points or 2.17%, to 67,720.68.
Commodities are mixed into the London open.
Brent crude is indicated up 0.65% at $89.89 and WTI up 0.82% at $84.35, both extending Monday's rise, while gold has slipped 0.68% to $4,443.5.
The dollar index is little changed at 99.651, with cable indicated fractionally softer at 1.3537.
Bitcoin is down 0.46% at $64,188 and Ethereum off 0.89% at $1,894.96, tracking the broader risk-off tone out of Asia.
Swissquote's Ipek Ozkardeskaya is watching the dollar, euro and yen for direction, with oil volatility and shifting Federal Reserve and ECB rate expectations, alongside US debt concerns, framing the currency outlook into the session.
