On Tuesday, London’s FTSE 100 experienced an uptick, primarily driven by gains in major banking stocks, as investors prepared for an upcoming wave of corporate earnings reports and the impending decision on interest rates from the U.S. Federal Reserve later this week. The bank index was up 2.2%, climbing to its highest level since May 2008, with HSBC Holdings gaining 2.9% and NatWest Group and Lion Finance rising over 2% each. The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 11:19, while the more UK-focused FTSE 250 was little changed.

Mining shares have experienced a decline from their recent peaks, with the precious metal index falling by 2.2% and industrial metal miners decreasing by 0.7%, respectively. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Keir Starmer will fly to China on Tuesday evening in the first visit by a British leader to the Asian country in eight years, seeking to mend ties with the world’s second-largest economy and reduce Britain’s dependence on an increasingly unpredictable U.S. trade. Concerns remain following U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent threats to increase tariffs on South Korean imports, leading investors to focus on forthcoming corporate earnings for more definitive insights into business conditions.

Additionally, investors are focused on the upcoming Federal Reserve policy meeting, set to commence on Tuesday and conclude with a policy update on Wednesday, with the majority anticipating that the U.S. central bank will maintain current interest rates. In a separate analysis, nearly all economists surveyed by Reuters anticipate that the Bank of England will reduce its interest rate to 3.50% in February.

In the meantime, data indicated that prices at British retailers experienced their most rapid increase since February 2024 this month, primarily driven by a rise in costs associated with food, furniture, and health and beauty products.
Among notable movers, shares of Dr. Martens fell 12% to the bottom of the midcap index as the bootmaker forecast broadly flat annual revenue growth after its third-quarter sales dipped.