FTSE 100 today: Stocks slip as oil surges, AI safety rift adds to unease

On Tuesday, British stocks slipped as oil prices surged due to Saudi supply disruptions and rising tensions surrounding AI development, despite the UK's unemployment rate remaining steady. The FTSE 100 finished down 0.60%, while Germany's DAX fell 0.36% and France's CAC 40 dropped 0.64%. The British pound weakened 0.21% to $1.3472 versus the dollar.

Payroll employment declined by 101,000 year-on-year in July, with the biggest drops in retail and hospitality, according to ONS data. Despite the overall stability in the labor market, payroll numbers continue to decline, according to ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown. Smaller firms cite rising labor costs as a reason for the vacancies falling to 702,000, their lowest level in over a decade.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a more cautious approach to advanced AI models, urging stronger safeguards like third-party assessments, warning of potential catastrophic harm if the technology were to escape human control. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk also expressed support for a more measured approach to AI development.

U.S. President Donald Trump opposed slowing down AI development, arguing that it could undermine competition with Chinese AI companies. Pakistan and the IAEA discussed the evolving regional situation over the phone, reaffirming the stalled Iran-US memorandum as the best way to defuse tensions.