FTSE 100 rises for fourth straight day on mixed labour report

UK's FTSE 100 rose on Tuesday after a mixed labour report signalled that the Bank of England (BoE) might be nearing the end of its interest rate hike cycle, although a slump in packaging producer Smurfit Kappa's shares capped gains. The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 index climbed 0.5% by 0836 GMT, gaining for the fourth-straight day, while the sterling edged 0.2% lower against the dollar.

UK's FTSE 100 rose on Tuesday after a mixed labour report signalled that the Bank of England (BoE) might be nearing the end of its interest rate hike cycle, although a slump in packaging producer Smurfit Kappa's shares capped gains.

The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 index climbed 0.5% by 0836 GMT, gaining for the fourth-straight day, while the sterling edged 0.2% lower against the dollar. Britain's unemployment rate rose to 4.3% in the three months to July from 4.2% a month earlier, indicating a cooling in the labour market.

However, wages excluding bonuses were 7.8% higher than a year earlier and in line with economists' forecasts in a Reuters poll. "We're sort of getting a little bit of conflicted and mixed messages and that's why it's going to be very difficult for the BoE to make a decision on the rate path," said Anthi Tsouvali, multi-asset strategist at State Street Global Markets.

It was another record month for pay growth, however, which most investors think will prompt the BoE to raise interest rates again on Sept. 22 to 5.5% from 5.25%, perhaps for the last time in the current cycle. Traders are betting on a 78% chance of the BoE lifting rates by 25 basis points (bps) at its September meeting.

Shares of Associated British Foods rose 5.1% to the top of the benchmark index after the Primark owner raised its full-year profit outlook for the second time in four months. AstraZeneca recovered to gain 1.3% after it fell more than 4% in the previous session, as the drugmaker appeared to play down speculation about its CEO's future.

Europe's largest paper and packaging producer Smurfit Kappa and U.S. rival WestRock agreed to merge, creating the world's largest listed paper and packaging company worth nearly $20 billion. London-listed shares of Smurfit Kappa slumped 10.3%.

Mid-cap stocks rose 0.2% boosted by a 3.4% rise in shares of Watches of Switzerland.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)