London open: Markets rangebound as caution sets in

(Sharecast News) - UK stocks opened flat on Tuesday morning ahead of an early finish in London, with investors adopting a cautious approach on the final trading day of the year. The FTSE 100 was more or less unchanged at 8,120 by 0845 GMT, set for a subdued finish at 1230 GMT to cap off a disappointing month for the UK's benchmark index. The index has fallen 2.2% since the end of November, with heavy losses two weeks ago followed by rangebound trading over the past week or so.

European markets on the whole were trading within a tight range on Tuesday morning. Traders were refraining from building positions as most major markets across the continent were also set to close early before the New Year break.

"European stock indices were mixed in early trade this morning in quiet, low volume trade. There was relatively little activity in FX markets too," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that holiday-season volatility and year-end profit-taking have contributed to recent movements across global stock markets.

New York's three main indices all closed with losses of 1% or more on Monday, with the eagerly awaited Santa Claus rally no where to be seen as investors scaled back risk appetite and locked in gains ahead of the year-end. Stocks in Tokyo and Shanghai also closed with heavy losses overnight, while Hong Kong finished flat.

"The cautious mood aligns with global trends, as investors pare back positions ahead of the New Year amid uncertainty over monetary policy and the economic outlook under a Trump presidency," Britzman said.

The economic data calendar for Tuesday was relatively light, though leading indicators from China out overnight were making headlines. The NBS non-manufacturing PMI rose to 52.2 from 50.0, well ahead of the 50.2 consensus estimate, while the manufacturing PMI fell to 50.1 from 50.3, slightly short of the 50.3 expected.

Later in the US session, investors will be watching the S&P/Case-Shiller home price indices and the Federal Housing Finance Agency's housing price index for October.

In corporate news, mining stocks Fresnillo, Endeavour and Rio Tinto were making small gains as they tracked gold prices higher, along with Shell and BP as crude prices rose.

Logistics firm Bunzl was flat after the announcement that it would start the first tranche of its £200m 2025 share buyback programme on January 2. The company will buy £50m in shares by March 3 when it releases its annual results.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,120.46 -0.01% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,428.93 0.12% techMARK (TASX) 4,588.61 -0.06%

FTSE 100 - Risers

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 93.74p 0.99% Alliance Witan (ALW) 1,246.00p 0.97% Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,838.00p 0.89% St James's Place (STJ) 856.50p 0.88% Fresnillo (FRES) 620.50p 0.73% Vodafone Group (VOD) 67.66p 0.65% Shell (SHEL) 2,457.00p 0.61% Persimmon (PSN) 1,183.50p 0.51% SEGRO (SGRO) 691.60p 0.49% Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,691.00p 0.46%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,716.00p -0.80% Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 374.60p -0.74% Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,895.00p -0.73% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 567.60p -0.49% Sage Group (SGE) 1,279.00p -0.47% CRH (CDI) (CRH) 7,360.00p -0.46% Weir Group (WEIR) 2,174.00p -0.46% 3i Group (III) 3,566.00p -0.42% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 302.90p -0.39% Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 935.80p -0.38%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 3,590.00p 3.16% Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 427.00p 2.64% Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 128.50p 2.55% Indivior (INDV) 992.50p 2.48% SThree (STEM) 288.00p 2.31% Abrdn (ABDN) 141.30p 1.91% Ocado Group (OCDO) 299.60p 1.84% Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,417.00p 1.80% Schroder Asia Pacific Fund (SDP) 544.00p 1.68% Kainos Group (KNOS) 791.00p 1.67%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Premier Foods (PFD) 180.00p -3.12% W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 78.00p -2.50% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 341.40p -2.23% NCC Group (NCC) 143.80p -2.18% Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) 313.50p -1.57% Mitie Group (MTO) 108.20p -1.28% Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (FGT) 886.00p -1.01% Henderson Smaller Companies Inv Trust (HSL) 795.00p -1.00% Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,322.00p -0.97% 3i Infrastructure (3IN) 315.00p -0.94%