London open: Stocks slump as oil prices rise again; L&G slides after results

(Sharecast News) - London stocks fell in early trade on Wednesday as worries about the Iran conflict continued to rattle markets, with oil prices rising again. At 0850 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.7% at 10,337.45.

Oil prices edged up on reports that three vessels had been hit by "projectiles" in the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran said to be laying mines in the key waterway.

Crude prices had fallen overnight on a report that the International Energy Agency was proposing the largest release of oil reserves in its history to stop the cost of oil surging as a result of constrained supply from the region.

In a further development on Wednesday, the G7 group of nations said they supported, in principle, the implementation of proactive measures to address the situation, including the use of strategic reserves.

Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said: "Erratic energy prices are keeping investors on edge as the war in Iran rages with no clear end in sight. Brent crude is still largely holding onto its dramatic decline, but it's staying highly volatile.

"In the past 24 hours it's dipped as low as $83 a barrel before heading to $94 and retreating back to around $90. There's fresh concern about chaos in the market given how seriously production is being disrupted. The FTSE 100 has fallen back in early trade as investors remain highly jittery about the knock-on effect for the global economy."

Streeter noted that Saudi Aramco has sounded the latest warning bell about an energy shock, with chief executive Amin Nasser saying on an earnings call that it was the biggest crisis oil and gas producers have faced.

"He said there would be catastrophic consequences for the industry, and the consequences for the world economy would be more drastic the longer the conflict continues," Streeter said.

"Supplies are seizing up, with the key Strait of Hormuz remaining impassable, and storage facilities quickly filling up across the region. Iran's Revolutionary Guard has again vowed to destroy ships using the passage and President Trump's pledge to escort ships for now seems unworkable on a mass scale. The US military has destroyed a fleet of mine-laying ships, but as attacks on US allies continue, shipping companies look likely to give the channel a wide berth until there's a resolution to the conflict."

Geopolitics aside, investors were eyeing the release of the US consumer price index for February at 1230 GMT.

In equity markets, Legal & General slumped as it announced its biggest ever share buyback and said it was on track to hit its financial targets, but posted slightly lower than expected full-year core operating profit.

Full-year core operating profit rose 6% to £1.62bn, versus consensus expectations of £1.65bn, while core operating earnings per share increased 9% to 20.93p, in line with the guidance given at the half-year results.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the results had a few moving parts, some slightly better, some a touch weaker, but ultimately landed broadly in line with expectations.

Harbour Energy tanked after its third-largest shareholder, EIG Management, sold 60m shares in a placing to institutional investors, raising about £153m.

4Imprint tumbled after results, as it said tariff-related costs may influence revenue and margins in 2026.

Hochschild Mining was also weaker even as it reported a rise in annual earnings as geopolitical turmoil boosted precious metals prices.

On the upside, Balfour Beatty rallied after it posted an increase in full-year profits, driven by strong performances in UK construction and support services.

Construction materials group Breedon also racked up strong gains as it hailed another year of revenue and EBITDA growth and a record cash performance.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,337.45 -0.72% FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,364.48 -0.57% techMARK (TASX) 5,838.62 -0.54%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Rentokil Initial (RTO) 456.90p 1.10% BT Group (BT.A) 207.60p 0.97% Admiral Group (ADM) 3,180.00p 0.63% Pearson (PSON) 980.20p 0.49% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 131.70p 0.42% Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,217.00p 0.41% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 336.00p 0.30% Next (NXT) 12,790.00p 0.23% Severn Trent (SVT) 3,097.00p 0.23% Compass Group (CPG) 2,260.00p 0.22%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Legal & General Group (LGEN) 244.40p -5.30% Smiths Group (SMIN) 2,454.00p -5.15% St James's Place (STJ) 1,298.00p -2.67% ICG (ICG) 1,557.00p -2.50% Diploma (DPLM) 5,095.00p -2.30% Airtel Africa (AAF) 338.60p -2.13% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,059.50p -1.98% Spirax Group (SPX) 7,165.00p -1.98% Halma (HLMA) 3,840.00p -1.84% SEGRO (SGRO) 741.20p -1.77%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Balfour Beatty (BBY) 749.00p 6.77% Breedon Group (BREE) 335.20p 4.04% Bodycote (BOY) 727.50p 3.18% Utilico Emerging Markets Ltd (DI) (UEM) 286.00p 2.88% Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 344.00p 2.38% Schroder Oriental Income Fund Ltd. (SOI) 385.00p 1.99% Pacific Horizon Inv Trust (PHI) 935.00p 1.19% Playtech (PTEC) 359.00p 1.13% THG (THG) 32.06p 1.01% Rathbones Group (RAT) 2,090.00p 0.97%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

4Imprint Group (FOUR) 3,480.00p -9.57% Harbour Energy (HBR) 257.20p -9.29% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 656.50p -4.94% Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 116.80p -3.39% TP Icap Group (TCAP) 250.00p -3.09% Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 634.00p -2.61% ITV (ITV) 82.65p -2.53% Pan African Resources (PAF) 156.00p -2.49% Genuit Group (GEN) 314.00p -2.48% Man Group (EMG) 251.40p -2.48%