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Investing.com -- British stocks were mixed on Tuesday, despite Shell and tobacco group Imperial Brands trading in positive territory, while B&M shares slumped after the retailer reported negative sales growth and lowered its earnings guidance.
The blue-chip index FTSE 100 was flat on the day and the British GBP/USD fell 0.3% against the dollar to above 1.3440.
Meanwhile, the DAX index in Germany fell 0.1% and the CAC 40 in France was also flat.
- Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO) and J Sainsbury PLC (LON:SBRY) shares fell after rival supermarket chain Asda unveiled a new round of price reductions. Tesco shares dropped around 0.6% while Sainsbury’s declined about 1% following the announcement. Asda said it has reduced prices by an average of 6% across various product categories including core grocery items, household goods, and non-edible products. Some items saw price cuts of more than 30%.
- Shell PLC (AS:SHEL) shares traded higher after the British energy and petrochemical company released its third-quarter trading update, showing stronger performance across key metrics. The update indicated stronger liquefaction volumes, higher trading activity, and improved refining margins for the energy giant. Analysts at Jefferies described it as "overall a positive update," noting the trading update suggests 5-10% upside to consensus earnings of $4.57 billion. This improvement is primarily driven by the integrated gas segment, where both liquefaction volumes and trading are higher, along with the products segment benefiting from higher refining margins and trading.
- In other market news, Imperial Brands PLC (LON:IMB) reported it is on track to meet its full-year guidance for FY25. The tobacco company expects low single-digit tobacco and next-generation products (NGP) net revenue growth at constant currency, supported by strong combustible pricing and double-digit growth in its NGP business. Imperial Brands also anticipates delivering high single-digit constant currency adjusted earnings per share growth for the full year, driven by adjusted operating profit growth and a reduction in share count from its ongoing buyback program.
- CVS Group Plc (LON:CVSG) shares rose more than 9% on Tuesday after the veterinary services provider reported FY25 adjusted EBITDA of £134.6 million, slightly above the consensus estimate of £131 million. Like-for-like sales increased 0.2%, below the company’s previously stated target of 4%-8%. Adjusted earnings per share fell 3.8% to 80.1p, affected by higher depreciation, amortization, finance, and tax expenses.
- Meanwhile, B&M European Value Retail SA (LON:BMEB) shares plunged 7.8% on Tuesday after the discount retailer reported lower first-half profit, reduced its full-year earnings outlook and announced a turnaround plan to revive weak UK trading. The company reported group revenue of £2.75 billion for the first half of fiscal 2026, up 4% from a year earlier.
- In automotive news, JLR announced it will begin restarting manufacturing operations on Wednesday following a cyber incident that disrupted business since early September. The phased restart will begin at the Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre and Battery Assembly Centre in the West Midlands, UK. Employees will also return to stamping operations in Castle Bromwich, Halewood and Solihull, as well as key areas of the Solihull vehicle production plant.
- In the housing market, UK house prices declined from their all-time high in September. Halifax reported Tuesday that the average home price dropped 0.3% to £298,184 ($401,010), marking the first monthly decrease since May, potentially indicating that concerns about future tax increases are affecting demand from potential homebuyers.