On Tuesday, the FTSE 100 in London experienced a modest increase of 0.2%, closing at 9,550 points. This uptick followed a minor loss on Monday and continued a trend of slight gains. Market sentiment was bolstered by heightened anticipation of a prospective interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next month. Investors were also digesting a plethora of corporate announcements from easyJet, Kingfisher, Next, and Compass, preceding tomorrow's budget announcement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Bank stocks stood out as strong performers, with Lloyds, Barclays, and NatWest all increasing by more than 2% following reports that they would not be subject to an anticipated tax increase in the upcoming budget. Kingfisher was the leading stock in the index, surging over 6% after it revised its earnings forecast upward. Meanwhile, Next maintained a steady performance but increased the special dividend previously declared by an additional 45 pence due to the sale of "non-operational" land in Essex. On the other hand, easyJet saw a 0.8% decline despite surpassing profit expectations, as the improved results were partially attributed to higher ticket prices.
