Stocks falter amid uncertainty ahead of US polls

Stocks in London have ended lower on Tuesday as a fresh US strike on Iran added to market nerves ahead of mid-term elections across the pond.

The FTSE 100 index closed down 122.90 points, 1.1%, at 10,638.43. The FTSE 250 ended 120.94 points lower, 0.5%, at 24,674.91, and the AIM all-share declined 3.32 points, 0.4%, at 754.60.

In Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 0.2%, while the DAX 40 shed 0.5% in Frankfurt.

Around the time of the London equities close on Tuesday, stocks in New York were mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3%, the S&P 500 was 0.5% higher and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9%.

Investors were wary as US voters headed to the polls. The US mid-term elections are expected to deal a bloody nose to American leader Donald Trump with the Democrats hoping to seize control of congress and impose the first significant checks on Mr Trump’s second term.

All 435 seats in the US house of representatives are up for election, with Republicans defending a narrow majority and Democrats needing a net gain of four seats to take control.

In the senate, 35 seats are being contested. Republicans currently hold 53 seats against 47 held by Democrats, leaving Democrats needing a net gain of four seats to secure a majority.

Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, global head of equities, UBS Chief Investment Office, said: “The blue sweep remains our highest probability outcome, though we note the senate remains closely fought and the eventual size of any majority is uncertain.

“Polling in a number of aenate races shows an outcome that lies within the margin of error. Past elections show that polls can misjudge turnout or miss important drivers that only become evident after voting concludes.”

For his part, Mr Trump defended his record in a final TV phone-in pitch to voters on the morning of the elections, saying he had rebuilt the country through his immigration crackdown, war on Iran and tariff policy.

“We have to keep America great. We’re great now. We were terrible two years ago,” Mr Trump told Fox & Friends ahead of the vote.

Figures on Tuesday suggested the US jobs market remains resilient with the number of job openings growing more than anticipated, according to a report from the US Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS).

The BLS’s Job Openings & Labour Turnover Survey stated the number of job openings rose to 7.523 million in September from a revised 7.190 million in August, and 7.169 million the year prior. FXStreet consensus had forecast job openings to total 7.13 million.

The figures come ahead of the US jobs report on Friday. FXStreet consensus expects the US economy to have added 65,000 jobs in October, picking up from 29,000 in September.

Elsewhere, the focus was on the volatile oil market after Mr Trump confirmed the US had launched a strike on Iran.

The US president confirmed the strikes on Iran in an interview with Fox News, after reports of attacks on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.

He said: “They built an anti-aircraft facility… As soon as it was completed, we hit it last night very nicely”, adding that it was a “minor attack”.

The Qeshm attack came just hours after Mr Trump signalled a deal with Iran “could happen”, as US voters prepared to cast their ballots in mid-terms dominated by public dissatisfaction with the war and the inflation it has brought.

“Iran wants a settlement, as soon as possible,” Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

But David Morrison, analyst at Trade Nation, said the likelihood of a peace deal “being reached anytime soon looks slim at best”.

Despite the strike, Brent continued to edge lower after falling sharply on Monday. Brent oil was trading at 103.24 dollars a barrel on Tuesday, lower than 105.09 dollars late on Monday.

The pound was quoted at 1.3416 dollars late on Tuesday afternoon, little moved from 1.3417 dollars at the same time on Monday. Against the euro, sterling firmed to 1.1986 euro from 1.1980 euro.

The euro was lower at 1.1197 dollars from 1.1200 dollars late on Monday. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 158.44 yen from 157.82 yen.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.94% late on Tuesday afternoon, stretched from 4.89% on Monday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was at 5.30%, widened from 5.25%.

On London’s FTSE 100, Bermuda-based insurance company Hiscox rose 3.0% as it reported a nearly 10% increase in insurance contract written premiums in the first nine months of 2026, while saying insurance claims were within expectations in the third quarter, as few natural catastrophes offset shipping losses in the war-torn Middle East.

In the red, Primark owner AB Foods fell 2.2% as its full-year results failed to inspire.

As well as retailer Primark, London-based AB Foods owns food and ingredients brands such as Twinings tea, Levi Roots sauces, Hovis Bakeries and Jordans cereals.

While the results were broadly in line with expectations set out in a recent trading statement, AB Foods trimmed the outlook for its grocery business for the new financial year while its sugar unit is forecast to remain loss-making.

Weak metals prices put miners under pressure. Gold was quoted at 3,933.38 dollars (£2,933) an ounce Tuesday, lower than 3,968.02 dollars (£2,959) on Monday. Silver traded down 1.6% and copper declined 2.5%.

The falls weighed on Endeavour Mining, Glencore, Antofagasta and Anglo American, down 4.7%, 2.8%, 3.5% and 2.8% respectively.

On the FTSE 250, International Workplace Group gained 8.6% as it said it expects to beat market consensus expectations for all of 2026, after “another strong quarter”.

The Zug, Switzerland-based firm is a provider of hybrid workspace under Regus and other brands.

IWG tightened its full-year adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation guidance range, which had been 585 million dollars (£436 million) to 625 million dollars (£466 million), and now expects adjusted Ebitda to be above current consensus of 599 million dollars (£446 million).

Also in the green, Drax added 6.6%. It said it has signed an agreement to develop a strategic partnership to jointly develop and operate an artificial intelligence data centre on the Drax Power Station estate in the north of England.

The Selby, North Yorkshire-based electricity generator said the agreement with New York-based Brookfield Asset Management, and Radiant, Brookfield’s UK-headquartered AI infrastructure platform, is targeting development of a more than 1 gigawatt data centre at the power station.

Brookfield estimates that total potential investment, including semiconductor chips, could exceed £20 billion, with an initial £2.5 billion as a part of phase one.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Hiscox up 56.00p at 1,939.00p, Babcock International, up 16.00p at 1,047.50p, 3i Group up 34.00p at 2,562.00p, WPP, up 5.20p at 413.20p and Prudential up 11.00p at 944.20p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Endeavour Mining down 177.00p at 3,557.00p, Barratt Redrow down 15.60p at 319.00p, Antofagasta down 115.00p at 3,138.00p, Compass Group down 0.99 dollars at 33.50 dollars and Glencore down 14.70p at 504.30p.

Wednesday’s global economic events calendar has a raft of composite and service sector PMI reports, including the UK at 9.30am GMT. Eurozone inflation figures are also due, plus US trade data and the ADP jobs report.

Wednesday’s local corporate calendar has half-year results from retailer Marks & Spencer and a trading statement from housebuilder Barratt Redrow.

Contributed by Alliance News