London stocks fell in early trade on Tuesday, dragged lower by miners, as Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered a pre-Budget speech.
At 0900 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.8% at 9,624.38.

Investors were keeping an eye on Rachel Reeves, who was taking questions after her speech at Downing Street.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "European stocks have opened sharply lower this morning, as the market mood shifts.

"There is no single driver for this shift in market sentiment. Palantir's results were stronger than expected, with revenue coming in at $1.18bn, and net income at $528.7mn. However, with a 12-month forward PE ratio of 240 times future earnings, investors are getting skeptical about how far this stock can rise. We mentioned on Monday that although Palantir was a poster boy for the AI trade, a positive reaction was likely for the AI stock market rally to continue."

Brooks pointed out that even the usual safe havens are failing to take off this morning.

"The gold price is back below $4,000 per ounce this morning," she said. "This could be a sign that the gold price may sell off alongside equities during a period of risk aversion after the strong run up in the yellow metal since the summer.

"The oil price is also tumbling and both Brent and WTI are lower by more than 1% this morning. The yen is the best performing currency in the G10 FX space this morning, as it attracts safe haven flows, however, the Swiss franc is barely higher versus the USD, and is up by just 0.06%. This suggests that the Swissie is losing its allure as a safe haven when an equity market rally takes hold."

In equity markets, heavily-weighted miners were among the worst performers on the FTSE 100 as copper and iron ore prices fell, with Antofagasta, Anglo American and Glencore all lower.

BP edged down even as the oil giant beat market forecasts with its third-quarter earnings and said it expects divestment proceeds to be higher than previously expected.

Underlying replacement cost profit totalled $2.21bn, down from $2.35bn in the second quarter and $2.27bn in the third quarter of 2024, as improved profitability was offset by a higher underlying effective tax rate.

However, that was ahead of the consensus forecast of $2.02bn. Meanwhile, the company said divestments and other proceeds would now be above $4bn in 2025, ahead of previous guidance of $3-4bn.

Associated British Foods fell after saying it could split its Primark and food businesses under a review of its group structure currently underway in consultation with its biggest investor Wittington Investments, which remains committed to maintaining majority ownership of both businesses.

The company added that Primark's adjusted operating profit margin was expected to be slightly below last year as it focused on investing in growth to drive sales after posting a 26% fall in profit to £1.4bn for the year to 13 September amid a subdued consumer environment.

IWG and Domino's Pizza were also weaker after trading updates.

On the upside, housebuilder Barratt Redrow was the top riser on the FTSE 100 ahead of a trading update on Wednesday.

Diversified Energy surged after the gas producer boosted full-year guidance following a strong third quarter.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,624.38 -0.79%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,944.25 -0.74%
techMARK (TASX) 5,555.84 -0.81%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 374.90p 1.63%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 242.00p 1.34%
Diageo (DGE) 1,788.50p 0.68%
SEGRO (SGRO) 700.40p 0.49%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 9,558.00p 0.48%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,216.50p 0.33%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 616.50p 0.24%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,753.00p 0.22%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,191.00p 0.21%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,015.00p 0.17%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,667.00p -2.84%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 87.98p -2.33%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,187.50p -2.26%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,736.00p -2.25%
Beazley (BEZ) 891.00p -2.20%
3i Group (III) 4,293.00p -2.10%
Schroders (SDR) 377.80p -2.07%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 85.68p -1.92%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 8,820.00p -1.89%
Halma (HLMA) 3,518.00p -1.73%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,045.00p 8.52%
Pantheon Infrastructure (PINT) 107.50p 3.37%
Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 756.00p 2.44%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 304.20p 2.08%
Oakley Capital Investments Limited (DI) (OCI) 563.00p 1.99%
Foresight Solar Fund Limited (FSFL) 74.50p 1.64%
AO World (AO.) 107.40p 1.32%
Bellway (BWY) 2,656.00p 1.30%
Great Portland Estates (GPE) 338.50p 0.89%
Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited (BSIF) 70.60p 0.86%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Ninety One (N91) 222.20p -4.06%
Anglo-Eastern Plantations (AEP) 1,290.00p -3.01%
Senior (SNR) 193.60p -2.91%
SSP Group (SSPG) 148.10p -2.37%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 297.60p -2.36%
Playtech (PTEC) 249.50p -2.35%
NB Private Equity Partners Ltd. (NBPE) 1,480.00p -2.25%
Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 7,795.00p -2.13%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 1,103.00p -2.13%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 60.70p -2.10%