Earnings, Rate Cut Bets Lift Uk Stocks
The main UK stock indexes rose on Tuesday, with a weaker sterling helping keep the FTSE 100 near all-time highs, while upbeat earnings from companies including Abrdn and Premier Foods boosted the midcap index.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed up 0.3, trading just below its intraday record high of 8548.59 points touched on Monday.
Global stocks edged higher as investors assessed new US President Donald Trumps executive orders on issues including energy and immigration while awaiting his first move on trade policy.
Sterling dipped 0.1 against the dollar after data showed the UK jobless rate rose slightly to 4.4 in the three months to November, its highest since the three months to May.
The data also showed that British pay growth remained stubbornly strong in the three months to November but traders continued to price in an 86 chance of a 25 basis point rate cut from the Bank of England next month.
