20.10.202615:55:09UTC+00FTSE 100 Edges Down Slightly

The FTSE 100 ended Tuesday marginally lower but staged a solid recovery from its intraday lows as sentiment improved in the afternoon, echoing a broader easing of losses across global markets. The rebound coincided with a pullback in oil prices: Brent crude, which had neared $112 a barrel earlier in the session, slipped back below $108. Strength in healthcare stocks AstraZeneca (+1.5%) and GSK (+0.6%) was more than offset by weakness across energy, banking, mining and defence names. Shell and BP declined, while HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group each lost around 1%. NatWest and Standard Chartered were down about 2%, Rio Tinto and Glencore fell by more than 2%, and Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems eased 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively. On the macroeconomic front, UK payroll employment rose by 13,000 in September, defying expectations for an 8,000 drop. The unemployment rate slipped to 4.7% in the three months to August, its lowest level since July 2025.