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Britain's FTSE reversed lower on Tuesday following a surge driven by a U.S.-China trade agreement. Meanwhile, new data shows a slowing UK labour market, which may impact the Bank of England's upcoming interest rate decisions. An executive order from the White House announced on Monday that the U.S. will eliminate the low-value "de minimis" tariff on shipments from China, thereby further easing tensions in a potentially harmful trade conflict between the two largest economies in the world. This tariff exemption follows a truce reached by Beijing and Washington after discussions over the weekend in Geneva, where both nations agreed to pause for 90 days the majority of the tariffs they implemented against each other in April. Meanwhile, new data indicates that Britain's job market is showing further signs of a slowdown, with a decline in employment and a cooling of wage growth, which is likely to provide reassurance to the Bank of England that inflationary pressures are decreasing. Last week, the central bank reduced rates by 25 basis points to address the anticipated impact of tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. However, a surprising division among policymakers tempered expectations for quicker future actions. Currently, markets are assessing an 84% likelihood of no alterations to the policy rate during the Bank of England's meeting in June.

Single Stock Stories & Broker Updates:

• Shares of Marston's rose 3.3% to 42.6 pence, on track for their biggest one-day gain since April 4, following a swing to a pre-tax profit of £19 million in H1, compared to a loss of £0.2 million last year. Gains attributed to cost-efficiency and higher food sales due to favorable weather. FY2025 performance expected to align with market expectations. Five of seven brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, with a median price target of 55 pence. Year-to-date, the stock is down 3.2%.

• Shares of On The Beach Group rose 5.2% to 284p as 2025 summer bookings were 14% ahead of 2024. The company is confident in meeting 2025 profit consensus expectations, posting H1 2025 adjusted profit before tax of £7.6 million, a 23% increase from H1 2024. Year-to-date, the stock has risen approximately 10.24%.

• DCC shares drop 5.14% to 4,822p, becoming the top loser on London's FTSE 100 after reporting FY25 adjusted operating profit of 703.6 million pounds, below the 713 million pounds consensus. JP Morgan lowers price target to 6,000p, noting sensitivity to the company's focus on the Energy division post-DCC Healthcare sale. Jefferies analysts anticipate a 2026 sale of DCC's Tech division in two parts. DCC aims to return 800 million pounds to shareholders from the Healthcare unit sale, starting with a 100 million share buyback. Year-to-date, the stock has fallen 1.36%.

• Wickes shares rise 7.5% to 212p, benefiting from 6.9% revenue growth year-on-year and 5.5% like-for-like growth in the last 17 weeks. The company remains confident in market forecasts for a 2025 adjusted profit before tax, despite consumer outlook uncertainties and cost challenges. Peel Hunt notes that growth is driven by volumes rather than pricing. Year-to-date, Wickes has gained 39.2%.

Technical & Trade View

FTSE Bias: Bullish Above Bearish below 8700

• Primary support 8500
• Below 8500 opens 8250
• Primary objective 8900
• Daily VWAP Bullish
• Weekly VWAP Bullish

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