The FTSE 100 is set to open lower on Tuesday after weaker UK labour market data showed a rise in unemployment alongside softer wage growth.
Unemployment edged up to 5.1% in the three months to October from 5.0%, while average earnings growth slowed to 4.7% from 4.8%. Futures indicate London’s blue-chip index will start around 29 points lower, giving back part of Monday’s strong advance, when the benchmark jumped more than 102 points to close at 9,751.31.
US markets finished mostly lower overnight. The Nasdaq fell 0.6%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% and the Dow Jones eased 0.1%. Tesla was a notable exception, briefly touching a record high and ending the session up more than 3.5% as optimism built around its robotaxi ambitions.
Chinese markets moved lower after the November data released on Monday fell short of expectations. Retail sales grew by just 1.3% year on year, the slowest pace since the pandemic in 2022, while lending and investment figures also disappointed.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 1.9% to 25,139.16 and the Shanghai Composite dropped 1.2% to 3,820.85. Elsewhere in the region, South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.5% to 4,027.83, Taiwan’s Taiex lost 1.1%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.6% to 8,583.00.
