Source: Sharecast
The FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 8,615.33.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Having seen a strong start to the week on global markets following trade talks between the US and China, the rally has petered out. European markets were generally flat on Tuesday, big chunks of Asia pulled back, while futures prices imply a soggy start to trading on Wall Street later on.
"Markets had risen on the prospect of tariffs not being as harsh as previously indicated. Now comes the reality that tariffs will still exist in some form, which means it’s not completely back to life before Trump for many businesses around the world."
On home shores, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that wage growth slowed in January to March, while the unemployment rate ticked higher.
The unemployment rate rose to 4.5% - the highest level since June to August 2021.
Meanwhile, growth in average regular earnings excluding bonuses was 5.6%, down from 5.9%. Including bonuses, earnings growth was 5.5%, down from 5.7%.
Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: "Wage growth slowed slightly in the latest period but remains relatively strong, with public and private sectors now showing little difference.
"The broader picture continues to be of the labour market cooling, with the number of employees on payroll falling in the first quarter of the year. The number of job vacancies has also fallen again, with the rate of decline increasing in the last few months."
Elsewhere, data from the British Retail Consortium showed that a later Easter and the sunniest April on record helped UK retail sales surge last month, with growth picking up strongly after a weak showing in March.
Total retail sales rose at a year-on-year rate of 7% in April, following a 1.1% increase in March, according to the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.
The Easter holidays, which typically result in increased spending by consumers, fell in March in 2024 but April in 2025. However, combining both months together, compared with the same two-month period the year before, sales were still up 4.3%.
In equity markets, Ladbrokes owner Entain shot to the top of the FTSE 100 after an upgrade to ‘buy’ at UBS, while RS Group surged to the top of the FTSE 250 after an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Bank of America.
Wickes racked up healthy gains as it hailed a strong start to the year, reporting a 6.9% jump in revenue for the 17 weeks to 26 April.
DCC tumbled after the sales, marketing and support services group’s full-year revenues missed expectations.
Bytes Technology was also sharply lower even as it announced a special dividend and hiked its full-year payout to shareholders after a solid full-year performance, with profits rising by a double-digit percentage.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,615.33 0.12%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,734.03 0.52%
techMARK (TASX) 4,700.28 0.00%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Entain (ENT) 754.80p 4.75%
Kingfisher (KGF) 312.00p 3.11%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,763.50p 2.18%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 318.10p 2.05%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,206.00p 2.04%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 274.80p 1.85%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,433.00p 1.84%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,368.00p 1.79%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,386.00p 1.74%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 118.95p 1.54%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
DCC (CDI) (DCC) 4,828.00p -4.77%
SEGRO (SGRO) 656.00p -1.41%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,928.00p -1.38%
Haleon (HLN) 398.50p -1.36%
Diageo (DGE) 2,152.00p -1.15%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,596.00p -1.03%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,913.00p -0.92%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 11,195.00p -0.89%
Compass Group (CPG) 2,593.00p -0.84%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,063.00p -0.75%
FTSE 250 - Risers
RS Group (RS1) 597.00p 5.57%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 83.05p 4.99%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 271.70p 2.99%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 820.80p 2.99%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 598.00p 2.75%
THG (THG) 27.24p 2.71%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,017.00p 2.42%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 288.40p 2.41%
Bodycote (BOY) 554.00p 2.31%
Vistry Group (VTY) 638.80p 2.24%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 526.50p -4.45%
Auction Technology Group (ATG) 544.00p -2.68%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,709.00p -2.12%
Derwent London (DLN) 1,958.00p -1.76%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 504.25p -1.71%
Mobico Group (MCG) 28.90p -1.63%
Just Group (JUST) 145.20p -1.63%
Great Portland Estates (GPE) 321.50p -1.53%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 252.50p -1.37%
Pennon Group (PNN) 482.80p -1.35%