Must read: stocks gain, UK retail sales, Anglo American merger

GLOBAL MARKETS

European markets have opened higher, taking their cues from a positive day on Wall Street. Even the CAC 40 is in the green despite France’s political turmoil. President Macron is looking for yet another new next prime minister following Francois Bayrou’s confidence vote defeat on Monday.

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Overnight, the Nikkei broke above 44,000 for the first time but has since pushed back below the key resistance level.

After the Nasdaq hit a new record with the major averages on Wall Street closing higher, US futures are pointing to a modest continuation of the uptrend. The US dollar is at a seven-week low and gold is at a fresh all-time high, driven by expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut next week. Before that, all eyes will be on this week’s PPI and CPI data for clues into the US inflation picture.

Oil is trading higher again, up over 1% thanks to OPEC+’s decision to raise crude production by a lower amount from October versus August and September.

BRC RETAIL SALES

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported total retail sales +3.1% in August year-on-year versus 2.5% in July. Like-for-like sales increased by 2.9% in August, also up from 1.8% in the previous month.

Retail spending gathered momentum in August with summer sales finishing ‘on a strong note’.

Warmer weather conditions helped to drive a boost to spending alongside lower interest rates and back-to-school spending on things like computers and uniforms ahead of September’s new school year. However, rising prices rather than volumes flattered the food and drink spend last month, highlighting the persistent food inflation problem.

This echoes similar positive data from the ONS out Friday which released more backward looking retail sales figures. Volumes in July grow by 0.6% partly thanks to good weather and clothing and merchandise spending around the Lionesses’ Euro 25 victory.

Perhaps more weight will be placed on the BRC’s figures going forward after the ONS admitted to mistakes pulling together its retail sales numbers in the first half of the year, which was the latest in a series of issues facing the statistics agency.

ANGLO AMERICAN

Anglo American (LSE:AAL) and Canadian miner Teck Resources have agreed to a $50 billion merger. The combined entity, Anglo Teck will have its primary listing in London. The tie-up brings the promise of synergies worth $800 million in terms of cost savings and efficiency improvements, creating a copper mining behemoth positioning itself at the centre of the projected boom in copper amid the rise in AI and EV spending.

Shares in Anglo American peaked in May last year before BHP Group Ltd (LSE:BHP) walked away from its takeover attempt. Since the wider market trough in April this year following Trump’s tariff turmoil in Q1, shares have been regaining ground with the stock enjoying a further boost this morning thanks to the deal announcement, despite pre-market calls for a lower open. The stock is up nearly 8%, leading the FTSE 100 leaderboard, followed by other miners Glencore (LSE:GLEN) and Antofagasta (LSE:ANTO) which are also sharply higher.

Anglo Teck’s decision to locate its primary listing in London is a major win for the British capital’s financial centre. The City has been struggling with an image problem, given the fall in LSE flotations and the decision by a number of high profile companies to shift their listings abroad. Today’s announcement is a vote of confidence in the London market, proving that it remains an attractive listing location for stock market heavyweights. The FTSE 100 is best known for hosting companies within older industries like mining and banking rather than high-growth tech stocks which typically prefer the US.