The FTSE 100 is set for another cautious open on Tuesday as new figures reveal that UK households cut back on pre-Christmas spending at the sharpest pace in four and a half years.
Barclays reported that card spending in November fell 1.1% from a year earlier — the steepest drop since February 2021 — highlighting subdued consumer sentiment heading into the festive period.
Futures point to London’s blue-chip index opening one point lower, after the FTSE 100 slipped almost 22 points on Monday to close at 9,645.09.
Overnight, Wall Street’s recent winning streak came to an end. The Dow Jones fell 0.45%, the S&P 500 eased 0.35%, and the Nasdaq dipped just over 0.1%.
Asian markets are mixed: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is down 1.1%, while mainland Chinese and Indian indices are off 0.3–0.4%. Japan’s Nikkei is edging slightly higher, up 0.1%.
