Defense & Geopolitical Fragmentation▲impact 4
FTSE 100 edges higher as defence stocks rally on UK spending plans
The FTSE 100 closed up 12.90 points, or 0.1%, at 10,497.12 on Tuesday, lifted by defence stocks after Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans to spend almost £300 billion over the next four years to modernise the armed forces. Babcock International rose 3.3%, BAE Systems gained 2.0%, and QinetiQ climbed 2.4%. The broader FTSE 250 ended slightly lower at 23,013.45, while the Aim All-Share added 0.3% to 772.17. In Europe, cooling inflation data boosted sentiment: German annual inflation fell to 2.3% in June from 2.6% in May, and French consumer price rises slowed to 1.8% from 2.4%. The pound traded at 1.3263 dollars, up from 1.3247 dollars on Monday.