London close: FTSE ends down but off lows as oil prices retreat

The FTSE 100 closed 0.3% lower at 10,733.00, while Brent crude was down 0.8% at $108.65 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was off 0.7% at $102.96 following a report that Qatari and Pakistani officials have submitted a new peace proposal to Iran and the US that has received positive responses from both.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "It’s been a while since we last had a proper bounce on a peace talk headline, but one finally arrived today to rescue Monday’s rebound in tech. Earlier today the rally had been looking tired and in need of a catalyst, or else it would go the same way as last Thursday’s. One has now been provided, just as things were starting to look a little precarious."

On home shores, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the unemployment rate unexpectedly dipped in August, although the number of vacancies also continued to fall.

The unemployment rate in June to August was 4.7%, better than the 4.9% markets were expecting and down 0.1 percentage points on both the year and quarter.

However, vacancies also fell, by an estimated 2.9% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to September, as small firms opted to hold back on hiring amid higher costs. It was the largest fall since the start of the year.

David Freeman, deputy director of labour market statistics at the ONS, said: "The number of vacancies has seen its largest fall since the start of the year, concentrated mainly within smaller businesses, which cite increased labour costs as a key factor."

Wage growth, meanwhile, remained relatively stable. Annual growth in employees’ average regular earnings excluding bonuses was 3.7%, up from 3.6% and marginally ahead of consensus for no change. Including bonuses, and growth slowed to 3.7% from 3.9%, the lowest rate in nearly six years.

Driving the growth was the public sector, where annual average regular earnings growth was 6.3% compared to 3% in the private sector.

Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets, said: "Market odds for a rate hike by the Bank of England shortened as the data a) builds on the better-than-expected GDP data showing the economy is doing actually ok; b) the labour market, which was the chief reason to hold off raising rates despite building inflation, is doing better than we thought; and c) because wage data indicates we may be starting to see second-order effects from prolonged higher energy prices."

Investors were also looking ahead to the latest quarterly results from streaming giant Netflix, due after the close of US markets. Earnings from Meta and Tesla are also due this week, among others.

In equity markets, Bunzl slumped despite posting a rise in third-quarter revenue and reiterating its previously-upgraded full-year outlook.

Miners were also in the red, with Rio Tinto, Glencore and Antofagasta all lower as copper prices fell.

Anglo American reversed earlier losses to end up, however, as it posted a 5% decline in third-quarter copper production, driven mainly by unprecedented weather events in Chile, but said it was on track to meet full-year guidance.

Genuit tumbled after the provider of sustainable water and climate products warned that full-year profits would miss market expectations amid ongoing challenging market conditions.

Ocado surged as JPMorgan upped its price target on the stock to 460p from 290p and reiterated its ‘overweight’ rating, saying that operational momentum continues to build and there are several catalysts ahead.

DIY group Wickes rose as it said it was on track to meet full-year expectations after reporting a 4% rise in third-quarter revenues driven by strong growth in retail trading.

Housebuilders were also on the front foot, with Barratt Redrow, Vistry, Taylor Wimpey and Berkeley all higher.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,733.00 -0.29%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,364.76 -0.06%
techMARK (TASX) 6,207.46 -0.08%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 321.20p 3.91%
Experian (EXPN) 2,909.00p 2.72%
SSE (SSE) 2,554.00p 1.96%
National Grid (NG.) 1,210.50p 1.77%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,618.00p 1.76%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,646.00p 1.53%
Severn Trent (SVT) 3,208.00p 1.45%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,490.00p 1.36%
ICG (ICG) 1,798.00p 1.35%
3i Group (III) 2,420.00p 1.17%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Diploma (DPLM) 7,485.00p -4.04%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 937.50p -2.90%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,730.00p -2.85%
Halma (HLMA) 3,324.00p -2.58%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,545.00p -2.53%
Glencore (GLEN) 550.00p -2.45%
Weir (WEIR) 2,574.00p -2.20%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 2,036.00p -2.07%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,292.00p -2.02%
Spirax Group (SPX) 7,270.00p -1.96%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 348.80p 9.96%
Vistry Group (VTY) 243.00p 5.74%
Trainline (TRN) 228.20p 5.16%
Wickes Group (WIX) 226.50p 5.10%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 79.32p 4.12%
Keller Group (KLR) 3,250.00p 3.50%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,438.00p 3.37%
WH Smith (SMWH) 425.80p 3.20%
Pennon Group (PNN) 337.20p 2.80%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 94.30p 2.72%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Genuit Group (GEN) 256.00p -11.60%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 280.00p -7.53%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,620.00p -5.59%
Hays (HAS) 54.70p -4.95%
Michael Page (PAGE) 187.90p -4.13%
Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 1,058.00p -3.99%
Renishaw (RSW) 5,215.00p -3.52%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 266.50p -3.09%
Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) 181.40p -2.99%
Avon Technologies (AVON) 2,400.00p -2.83%