FTSE 100 up 0.1, FTSE 250 up 0.4

Jan 21 Reuters The UK39;s main stock indexes edged higher on Tuesday, with a slide in sterling keeping the FTSE 100 near alltime highs, while upbeat earnings from companies including Abrdn and Premier Foods boosted the midcap index.

The bluechip FTSE 100 were up 0.1 by 1043 GMT, trading just below its intraday record high of 8542.59 points touched on Monday.

Global stocks were sluggish a day after U.S. President Donald Trump39;s inauguration, as investors digested the president39;s plans for trade relations and tariffs.

Sterling dropped 0.67 against the dollar after data showed UK jobless rate rose slightly to 4.4 in the three months to November, its highest since the three months to May.

Numbers also showed that British pay growth remained stubbornly strong in the three months to November.

Traders are pricing in an 84 chance of a 25 basis point rate cut from the BoE on Feb. 6, and about 62 bps of easing overall by the end of 2025.

Leading gains in the FTSE 100, Lloyds Banking Group rose 4.1 after the Financial Times reported that finance minister Rachel Reeves launched a bid to protect carloan providers from multibillionpound payouts in the misselling case.

The UK government39;s backing in the motor finance case is a clear positive for Lloyds, the bank most exposed to the issue, said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

Barclays rose 0.9, while the wider FTSE 350 banks index climbed 0.7.

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