UK stocks open lower on weaker retail sales

The BRC Retail Sales Monitor showed a flat 1% year-over-year increase in UK retail sales in February, much below the 1.5% level that the market had anticipated.

Sales were negatively impacted by bad weather and ongoing challenges from the expense of living; February's total was the lowest since August 2022.

During the previous three months, food sales climbed by 6%, while sales of non-food products decreased by 2.5% in the three months leading up to February.

"Consumer demand was dampened by the wettest February on record, translating into a poor month of retail sales growth," said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC.

Significant losses from Ocado, St. James's Place, and Entain dragged down the markets, and tomorrow's high-stakes Spring Budget seems to be grating on people's nerves as well.

Later this morning, new automobile sales data are anticipated elsewhere on the macroeconomic calendar.

In business news, the monarch of sausage rolls Gregg's full-year results will be released soon, and £168 million in pre-tax earnings is what Hargreaves Lansdown is hoping for.

Over in Asia, Tuesday saw a decline in most Asian markets as investors cashed in on recent gains in the technology sector, while attitude towards China improved little despite the country's economic prognosis and goals for the year.

Regional markets followed Wall Street's overnight losses, which were also fueled by a wave of profit-taking due to record-high valuations and the expectation of more signals on U.S. interest rates. U.S. futures saw a little decline in Asian trade.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com, proactiveinvestors.co.uk)