London midday: FTSE rallies, oil eases as investors shrug off US-Iran tensions

(Sharecast News) - London stocks had extended gains by midday on Thursday, while oil prices eased as investors shrugged off the latest skirmishes between the US and Iran, and eyed the latest policy announcement from the European Central Bank. The FTSE 100 was 0.8% firmer at 10,340.27, while Brent crude was down 1.1% at $92.06 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was 1% lower at $89.17.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Despite continuing uncertainty about the fate of any peace deal in the Middle East, the FTSE 100 forged ahead on Thursday.

"As has often been the case during the Iran conflict, the UK's flagship index has found support from its collection of energy companies and more traditionally defensive names. Miners and other China-linked stocks were lifted by data suggesting the country is investing heavily in AI and consuming raw materials at a healthy rate.

"Selling in AI-related stocks, of which London has very few, put shares on Wall Street under pressure yesterday and that's extended to Asia today."

Still to come, the ECB policy announcement is due at 1315 BST amid expectations of a 25 basis-point increase.

TD Securities said it expects the Bank to hike amid persistently high energy prices and likely upward revisions to inflation projections. "If a hike materialises, the risk will be in messaging of whether it's appropriate to maintain flexibility and stick to a data-dependent approach or acknowledge the forward-looking risks to inflation and a need for additional hikes, as a result," it said.

In equity markets, Asia-focused Prudential, Standard Chartered and HSBC were the top performers on the FTSE 100 following recent losses.

Intertek gained as it said the 'put up or shut up' deadline for EQT to make a takeover offer has been extended as the Swedish private equity firm needs more time for due diligence.

Low cost airline Wizz Air flew higher as it suspended guidance for 2027, citing a lack of visibility due to the Iran war, but posted better-than-expected annual earnings driven by higher capacity and cost control.

Safety equipment firm Halma tumbled as it posted a jump in full-year earnings despite an uncertain economic backdrop. Investors were likely reacting to the company's conservative full-year outlook, as it predicted low double-digit percentage organic growth - less than 2026's 16.6% uplift - and unchanged adjusted EBIT.

ICG, B&M, C&C and RS Group all fell as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,340.27 0.83% FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,012.97 0.27% techMARK (TASX) 5,944.54 -0.16%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Prudential (PRU) 961.00p 3.93% Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,843.50p 2.93% HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 1,330.80p 2.83% Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,620.00p 2.74% Kingfisher (KGF) 285.50p 2.18% Anglo American (AAL) 3,792.00p 2.18% Next (NXT) 14,235.00p 2.18% Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,035.50p 2.17% 3i Group (III) 2,234.00p 2.15% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,141.50p 2.15%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Halma (HLMA) 3,976.00p -13.61% ICG (ICG) 1,736.00p -4.19% The Sage Group (SGE) 832.20p -2.14% Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 8,492.00p -2.08% Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,350.00p -1.82% Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 245.80p -1.40% Spirax Group (SPX) 6,690.00p -1.25% London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,954.00p -1.13% Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 41.04p -1.11% Autotrader Group (AUTO) 463.70p -1.05%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,023.00p 5.69% XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,870.00p 5.06% AEP Plantations (AEP) 1,624.00p 4.64% Trustpilot Group (TRST) 253.20p 2.34% Ithaca Energy (ITH) 251.70p 2.27% Hays (HAS) 36.16p 2.26% Grafton Group Ut (CDI) (GFTU) 853.70p 2.20% Chemring Group (CHG) 537.00p 2.18% Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,026.00p 2.17% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 41.80p 1.95%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,772.00p -3.01% C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 94.20p -2.69% Pennon Group (PNN) 485.60p -2.49% Foresight Group Holdings Limited NPV (FSG) 425.00p -2.41% Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 813.50p -2.31% Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 617.50p -2.29% B&M European Value Retail (BME) 195.50p -2.15% Great Portland Estates (GPE) 309.80p -1.72% RS Group (RS1) 618.50p -1.67% 3i Infrastructure (3IN) 370.00p -1.60%