The FTSE 100 slipped 0.4% on Tuesday, giving back the 0.4% it gained in the previous session, as rising oil prices and weak UK labour-market data weighed on sentiment. Brent crude hovered near $108 a barrel, with investors focusing on how long Saudi Arabia’s key oil pipeline would remain shut.
In the UK, payrolls fell by 26,000 in August, following a revised 19,000 decline in July and far exceeding expectations. The figures underscored persistent labour-market weakness ahead of Thursday’s Bank of England interest rate decision. The unemployment rate held at 4.9% in the three months to July, while regular wage growth was unchanged at 3.5%.
Banks led the declines, with HSBC, Barclays and Lloyds down 2.2%, 1.9% and 0.6%, respectively. Miners also retreated, driven by a 2.5% drop in Glencore.
