FTSE 100 edges up as defence stocks offset BAT losses

The UK's ‌blue-chip FTSE 100 edged higher on Tuesday, as gains in defence stocks ‍helped offset ‌a slide in shares of British American Tobacco following a downbeat growth forecast.

The ⁠FTSE 100 rose 0.1% by 1130 ‌GMT, while the domestically oriented FTSE 250 index added 0.2%.

BAT fell 2.9% after the Dunhill maker said it expects its 2026 results to scrape the lower end of its mid-term targets ⁠as pressure from regulation and competition in the U.S. vape market erode strong growth elsewhere in its portfolio.

Defence ​stocks were trading higher across Europe after Bloomberg News ‌reported that German lawmakers are set ⁠to approve procurement contracts worth a record 52 billion euros next week. Shares of BAE Systems rose 2.3%, while Rolls-Royce added 0.5%.

Global investors were mostly cautious ​ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision on Wednesday, with traders largely betting on the central bank to cut rates by 25 basis points following mixed economic data and dovish comments from some Fed officials.

The Bank of England is ​also widely ‍seen cutting rates at its ​policy meeting next week amid signs of labour market weakness and cooling inflation.

Barclays said spending by UK consumers on its credit and debit cards fell by 1.1% in annual terms in November, the biggest drop since February 2021 when the pandemic still raged.

A separate survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) trade body showed spending at ⁠big retailers rose by 1.4% in annual terms last month, the slowest growth since May.

Unilever said it will consolidate its shares ​at a ratio of eight new shares for every nine existing shares, after it completed the demerger of its ice cream business Magnum.

Among other movers, Man Group rose 3.5% after J.P. Morgan upgraded the hedge fund ‌to "overweight" from "neutral."

British greeting card retailer Moonpig rose 3.3% after posting upbeat interim profit and sales growth. 

(Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)