11:48 AM EST, 11/10/2026 (MT Newswires) -- London's FTSE 100 closed 0.09% lower on Tuesday as oil prices continued to decline in hopes of a resolution to the US-Iran conflict, while economic updates showed some signs of progress. In the UK, retail sales rose 1.1% year over year on a like-for-like basis in October, following a 1% uptick in September, according to data from the British Retail Consortium. The "subdued" growth, below the expected 1.2% increase, was attributed to deferred spending ahead of Black Friday and Christmas. "Retailers are hoping pent-up demand translates into stronger spending through November and December, as they work hard to deliver great choice and value for households this Christmas," BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said. "But shoppers and businesses face mounting costs, including rising interest rates and energy bills, adding to the pressures already pushing up prices. Government must move faster to cut back the taxes and regulations making it harder for retailers to keep prices down." Separately, Barclays' indicator of consumer card spending in the UK rose 2.3% on an annual basis in October 2026, marking the strongest growth since July 2025, after a 2% rise in the previous month. However, all of the lender's consumer confidence measures deteriorated amid higher household costs and uncertainty ahead of the upcoming budget. In corporate news, Vodafone Group (VOD.L) reported a loss attributable to owners of the parent of 4.79 billion euros for the fiscal first half, following a profit of 829 million euros a year ago. Looking ahead, the British telecommunications giant raised its guidance for adjusted EBITDAaL to between 13.2 billion euros and 13.4 billion euros, from its previous outlook of 13 billion euros to 13.3 billion euros. The stock was down 1.37% at the end of the session. Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG.L), up 0.74%, logged a yearly rise in fiscal first-half revenue and tightened its revenue outlook for fiscal 2027 in the 7% to 10% range at constant currency, compared with the previous guidance range of 5% to 10%. "Watches of Switzerland reported 1H27 revenues of GBP974m, growing +15% cFX, 4 [percentage points] ahead of consensus, marking the 4 consecutive half of double-digit constant-currency growth," BofA Global Research said. "We increase our FY27-29E EPS by 3-4% aſter this update. We reiterate Buy and raise our [price objective] to 850p (from 830p) as we see WOSG executing effectively across its growth initiatives and delivering on its promises, which should drive further re-rating from the current 13x 12m fwd [price to earnings]."

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