The U.K. market is declining in afternoon trading Tuesday, as banks and mining stocks retreated. Lower copper prices, worries about the new government in Australia and weak cues from Japan weighed on sentiment.
Crude for October delivery is trading lower by $1.70 at $72.90 per barrel. December gold is trading at $1247.9 an ounce, down $3.2 from the previous close.
In economic news, in the U.K., retail sales on a like-for-like basis grew 1% year-over-year in August, helped by Back to school shopping and autumn clothing, revealed a new British Retail Consortium survey. On a total basis, sales were up 2.8%. Like-for-like sales had risen 0.5% in July, while total sales had increased 2.6%.
Germany's factory orders declined 2.2% in July from the prior month, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology said. Economists had expected a rise of 0.5% after an increase of 3.6% in June.
Official figures showed Switzerland's unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.6% in August as expected. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said around 142,900 were registered unemployed at the end of August, nearly 550 more than July, but down 8000 from last year.
The Bank of Japan maintained its key interest rate at near-zero at the end of its two-day policy meeting. In a unanimous vote, the policy board of the central bank, led by Governor Masaaki Shirakawa decided to leave the uncollateralized overnight call rate unchanged at 0.10%. Across in Australia, as widely expected, the Reserve Bank of Australia held the overnight cash rate at 4.5%.
The FTSE 100 opened at 5,439 and has been on a steady decline below the unchanged line despite an early rise. The index is currently losing 0.97%.
Asset manager Man Group is leading the decliners by falling 3.8%. Retailer Kingfisher is retreating 2.9%.
Banking stocks were hurt on concerns that the stress tests concluded on them did not adequately reveal their risky bonds and that they may need more capital. Barclays, which announced a new chief executive, is losing 3.3% and Royal Bank of Scotland is slipping 1.9%. Lloyds Banking Group is trading lower by 1.4% and Standard Chartered is lower by 1%.
Among miners, Xstrata is down 2.8% and Eurasian Natural Resources is dipping 2.7%. Rio Tinto, Kazakhmys, Antofagasta, Vedanta Resources, BHP Billiton and Anglo American are contracting between 2.2% and 1.6%. Australia's newly elected Prime Minister Julia Gillard is said to push forward the new mining tax that the mining companies have been arguing against.
In oil stocks, Royal Dutch Shell is sliding 2% and BG Group is losing 1.2%. BP is down 0.5%. However, Tullow Oil is gaining 2.8%.
Restaurant group Whitbread, which announced increase in like-for-like sales in 24 weeks, is declining 1.2%.
Electronics manufacturer Invensys, reported to be a takeover target, is adding 4.1% and British Airways is rising 1.4%. Water utility Severn Trent is gaining 2.3% and United Utilities Group is adding 0.9%.
Elsewhere in Europe, the German DAX is sliding 0.83% and the French CAC 40 is losing 1.20%.
Overseas in Asia/Pacific, major markets had a mixed outing. China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.08% and India's BSE Sensex added 0.46%. However, Australia's All Ordinaries dipped 0.06% and Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.81%.
In the U.S., futures indicate a lower open on Wall Street. The U.S. markets were closed on Monday on account of Labor Day. In the previous session, the Dow jumped 1.2%, the Nasdaq surged 1.5% and the S&P 500 advanced 1.3%.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.