<div id="readability-page-1"><div>(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 posted modest gains on Tuesday, outperforming European and US peers, while weak UK data put sterling under pressure.The FTSE 100 index closed up 9.90 points, 0.1%, at 9,452.77. The FTSE 250 ended 36.14 points lower, 0.2%, at 22,028.18, and the AIM All-Share dropped 2.91 points, 0.4%, to 789.56.The Cboe UK 100 ended up slightly at 944.69, the Cboe UK 250 closed 0.3% lower at 19,299.62, while the Cboe Small Companies ebbed 0.3% at 17,702.78.The UK unemployment rate unexpectedly rose in the three months to August, numbers showed.According to the Office for National Statistics, the jobless rate was 4.8% in the three months to August, rising from 4.7% in the three months to July.It had been expected to stay at 4.7%, according to consensus cited by FXStreet.The ONS said payrolled employees in the UK fell by 93,000 on-year in August alone but did rise by 10,000 on-month. In the early estimate for September, which the ONS warns is likely to be revised, payrolled employees fell by 100,000 on-year and by 10,000 on-month to 30.3 million.Annual growth in regular earnings, so excluding bonuses, was 4.7% in the three months to August, easing from 4.8% in the three months to July. The figure landed in line with consensus.Deutsche Bank's Chief UK Economist Sanjay Raja said &#34;one thing is clear: slack continues to build in the labour market&#34;&#34;Wage pressures are easing on the back of softening labour market....and hiring plans remain stalled.&#34; he added. &#34;Bottom line, we continue to think that a [fourth quarter 2025] rate cut may be underpriced by markets. We hold onto our view for a December 2025 rate cut.&#34; Citi said the jobs and wage growth figures add to its conviction that Bank of England meetings in November and December are &#34;live&#34;. &#34;Inflation data next week will be an important test with an undershoot likely to trigger further repricing towards an additional cut this year,&#34; the broker said.Elsewhere, a leading policymaker at the Bank of England warned that there is a &#34;rising&#34; risk that the UK economy could see a &#34;more forceful downturn&#34; due to higher borrowing costs.Alan Taylor, a member of the central bank's nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee, said there was a small but growing chance that the UK will witness negative growth and &#34;recession dynamics start to kick in&#34;.It came as the bank rate-setter cautioned that it is &#34;increasingly likely&#34; that the UK economy will fall into a &#34;weakened state for a sustained period&#34; with inflation sliding below target levels.He said he believes this could lead to &#34;undue damage&#34; to economic activity in the UK.The pound was quoted lower at USD1.3294 at the time of the London equity market close on Tuesday, compared to USD1.3331 on Monday. The euro stood at USD1.1591, higher compared to USD1.1569. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY151.83, lower compared to JPY152.30.In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed down 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended 0.6% lower.Stocks in New York were down at the time of the London close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2%, the S&amp;P 500 was 0.5% lower, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.9%.Wall Street's drop came despite strong third quarter results from investment banks JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Citi, which all beat market expectations. Citi climbed 1.2%, but JPMorgan fell 2.0% and Goldman Sachs dropped 2.8%.JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon cautioned: &#34;There continues to be a heightened degree of uncertainty stemming from complex geopolitical conditions, tariffs and trade uncertainty, elevated asset prices and the risk of sticky inflation.&#34;The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.05%, widened from 4.04% at the time of the London equities close on Monday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury stood at 4.64%, stretched from 4.62%.On the FTSE 100, easyJet climbed 8.0% as Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported shipping firm Mediterranean Shipping is among those mulling investing, or taking full control of the budget carrier. MSC is working in tandem with an investment fund, Corriere said, citing three sources familiar with the matter.easyJet is &#34;landing on the desks of several individuals&#34; interested in investing in it, Corriere reported.Bookmaker Entain climbed 1.8% as its US joint venture BetMGM reported a strong third quarter, with first-half momentum continuing and full-year guidance raised. Owing to the strong performance full-year net revenue guidance for BetMGM was lifted to at least USD2.75 billion from USD2.7 billion, and Ebitda is now anticipated at approximately USD200 million, from at least USD150 million. But IMI fell 0.9% as RBC Capital Markets lowered to 'sector perform' from 'outperform'.The downgrade reflects &#34;valuation, rather than a fundamental change in our view,&#34; RBC analyst Mark Fielding explained, noting IMI is a &#34;high quality&#34; business.He pointed out IMI shares are up 26% year-to-date while he also feels the firm can't avoid some impact from wider end market uncertainties.On the FTSE 250, Mitie jumped 14% as it upgraded operating profit guidance and launched a new GBP100 million share buyback, following solid first-half revenue growth and continued progress with the integration of its recent Marlowe acquisition.Housebuilder Bellway firmed 5.3% after announcing a GBP150 million share buyback and reporting a 21% increase in annual pretax profit as revenue climbed 17%. But Morgan Advanced Materials dropped 6.6% after its second downbeat trading update in three months, warning of increasing uncertainty in European industrial markets.Gold traded at USD4,141.29 an ounce on Tuesday, up from USD4,093.56 on Monday. Brent oil traded at USD61.87 a barrel, down from USD63.40 late Monday.The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were easyJet, up 37.20 pence at 501.20p, Persimmon, up 30.00p at 1,199.00p, Berkeley Group, up 94.00p at 4,034.00p, Next, up 250.00p at 12,635.00p and Centrica, up 3.15p at 173.00p.The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Spirax, down 285.00p at 6,645.00p, Anglo American, down 84.00p at 2,915.00p, Croda, down 76.00p at 2,662.00p, Antofagasta, down 69.00p at 2,758.00p and Weir Group, down 54.00p at 2,794.00p.Wednesday's global economic diary has inflation data in China overnight, eurozone industrial production figures and the US Beige Book.Wednesday's UK corporate calendar has a trading statement from recruiter PageGroup and bingo and casino operator Rank.By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporterComments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.comCopyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.</div></div>

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The FTSE 100 rose by 0.1% to 9,452.77, outperforming European and US markets, despite weak UK economic data putting pressure on the pound, which fell to USD1.3294. The UK unemployment rate unexpectedly increased to 4.8%, with wage growth easing. Deutsche Bank's economist noted a potential rate cut by the Bank of England in late 2025, while a policymaker warned of a possible downturn. In corporate news, easyJet shares surged 8% amid investment interest, while Entain's stock rose 1.8% following strong performance from its US joint venture, BetMGM.

FTSE 100 nudges higher but weak data dents pound