FTSE 100 LIVE: Stocks push higher as traders prepare to wind down for Christmas

The pound remained slightly above the flatline against the dollar in early European trading on Tuesday, at $1.2541, as market activity remained subdued in the run-up to the Christmas holiday. The pair is still down nearly 7% from its September highs near $1.3400, reflecting ongoing pressure on sterling.

The dollar continues to hold near a two-year high, buoyed by the Federal Reserve’s signals that it plans to slow the pace of interest rate cuts in 2025. This hawkish stance from the Fed has provided the greenback with steady support, keeping the pound on the back foot.

In contrast, the pound faces headwinds from the Bank of England‘s (BoE) recent decision to keep interest rates unchanged, coupled with a dovish outlook that has contributed to a more negative near-term outlook for the GBP/USD pair. The BoE’s split vote decision has reinforced concerns about the UK economy’s fragility, further undermining confidence in sterling.

Elsewhere, the pound remained flat against the euro (GBPEUR=X), trading at €1.2053, with limited movement in the pair as both currencies were largely range-bound during the light trading conditions.

Vistry has issued its third profit warning pointing to delays to expected year-end transactions and completions. It also cut its 2024 profit estimate for the third time in three months, sending its shares down 20%.

British homebuilders, which have experienced subdued demand for most of this year, are now under pressure from concerns that interest rates will come down less than markets had earlier anticipated.

In its third profit warning since October, Vistry said it expected an adjusted profit before tax for the year ending Dec. 31 of £250m, down from £300m forecast earlier.

Vistry shares fell to more than a two-year low to 523 pence apiece, making it the biggest loser on the FTSE midcap index.

Brazilian authorities have stopped the construction of a factory for Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD (1211.HK), as workers lived in conditions comparable to “slavery”.

The BBC has the details:

More than 160 workers have been rescued in Brazil’s north-eastern state of Bahia, according to a statement from the Public Labour Prosecutor’s Office, external (MPT).

They were allegedly put in a “degrading” environment and had their passports and salaries withheld by a building company.

BYD said in a statement that it had cut ties with the firm involved and remained committed to a “full compliance with Brazilian legislation”.

The factory was scheduled to be operational by March 2025, and was set to be BYD’s first EV plant outside of Asia.

The workers, hired by Jinjiang Construction Brazil, lived in four facilities in Camaçari city.

At one such facility, workers were made to sleep on beds without mattresses, according to prosecutors.

Each bathroom was also shared among 31 workers, forcing them to get up extremely early in order to be ready for work.

The stock market will have a shortened Christmas Eve session today, with investors look for a late Santa rally ahead of the festive break.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said:

A number of FTSE 100 (^FTSE) stocks have delivered standout returns this year, buoyed by different factors, which has driven the wider UK market higher.

The UK’s blue-chip index is up 5% year-to-date, reaching an all-time high close of 8,445.80 points in May.

The Labour party’s landslide victory in July’s general election and the Bank of England starting to cut interest rates have both helped boost UK stocks.

However, certain macro economic events have also weighed on the UK market, including Labour’s first budget in more than 14 years, with concern about the impact of tax rises on businesses.

The rise in the FTSE 100 is still well behind the 24% delivered by the S&P 500 (^GSPC), though there are a number of UK blue-chip stocks that have beaten that performance on an individual basis.

Read more from Yahoo Finance UK

Good morning, and welcome back to our markets live blog. As usual we will be taking a deep dive into what’s moving markets and happening across the global economy.

Here’s a quick look at what’s on the agenda for today:

• 7am: Trading updates: Vistry Group

• 12.30pm: UK stock market to close early for Christmas

• 1.55pm: US Redbook index of US retail sales

• 3pm: Richmond Federal Reserve

• 3pm: US New Homes Sales