London open: Stocks dip amid earnings deluge; Middle East remains in focus

(Sharecast News) - London stocks edged lower in early trade on Thursday amid an avalanche of earnings, with airlines under the cosh after Wizz Air warned on profits, citing the conflict in Iran. At 09000 GMT, the FTSE 100 was 0.2% lower at 10,541.79.

Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The FTSE 100 has slipped around 0.3% after recovering some ground on Wednesday. But despite some understandable nerves following the initial strikes against Iran, the index has gained a healthy 6.2% year-to-date, significantly outperforming global benchmarks.

"Overnight attacks on Iran, Israel and regional US bases paint a nervy backdrop for today. It's too early to call whether Iranian forces are staging a last stand or are digging in. Outside of geopolitics, there are plenty of financial results to drive today's market performance. In housebuilding and insurance, Taylor Wimpey and Admiral respectively came out with solid numbers for 2025, while signalling a more cautious outlook for this year."

In equity markets, airlines were among the worst performers, with easyJet, BA and Iberia owner IAG, and Wizz all sharply lower.

After the close of markets on Wednesday, Wizz Air said the conflict in Iran would dent its FY26 net profits by around €50m. The airline now expects net profits to be below the guidance given in January for between a net loss of €25m and a net profit of €25m.

It said about a third of the hit was a result of the cessation of certain scheduled services to the Middle East, with the remainder from the adverse movement in macroeconomic factors as a result of the Iran conflict.

Wizz said its assessment was based on jet fuel and US$/€ rates as of Wednesday, and assumes these will remain at current levels for rest of 2026.

Reckitt Benckiser was weaker as the consumer goods giant hailed a strong full-year performance, ahead of its expectations, but also cautioned it expects a continued challenging trading environment in Europe.

Aviva fell despite posting a 25% jump in full-year operating profit supported by a strong performance in its UK & Ireland and Canadian operations.

PageGroup tumbled as the recruiter said annual profits plunged 67% and slashed its dividend as persistent economic uncertainty hit hiring across Europe. The company also warned that the outlook remained uncertain.

Ibstock lost ground as it posted a drop in full-year profit in a "challenging" market, while Lancashire Holdings also fell after results.

On the upside, Rentokil shot higher as the pest control firm reaffirmed guidance following a strong finish to the year.

Entain advanced as the Ladbrokes owner said full-year underlying EBITDA was ahead of expectations.

Admiral rallied as the insurer reported a rise in full-year profit, hailing a growing customer base and an "exceptional" performance form the UK motor division.

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey rallied even as it reported a 54.3% slide in full-year pre-tax profit to £146.5m, as it pointed to 'uncertainty' ahead of the Budget last year.

Senior gained as the aero parts supplier said that Arcline Investment Management has made a preliminary, non-binding all-cash offer for the company. Arcline joins a consortium comprising of Tinicum Incorporated and Blackstone, and private equity firm Advent International.

Harbour Energy and Grafton also made gains on the back of results.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,541.79 -0.24% FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,786.72 -0.48% techMARK (TASX) 5,987.78 -0.03%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Rentokil Initial (RTO) 467.40p 9.14% Entain (ENT) 615.20p 5.74% Admiral Group (ADM) 2,970.00p 4.13% Mondi (MNDI) 859.40p 3.01% Weir Group (WEIR) 3,130.00p 2.70% DCC (CDI) (DCC) 4,876.00p 2.22% BP (BP.) 485.70p 1.53% Bunzl (BNZL) 2,214.00p 1.47% BAE Systems (BA.) 2,270.00p 1.25% Shell (SHEL) 3,090.00p 1.08%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

easyJet (EZJ) 417.30p -3.97% Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 35.00p -3.32% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 375.50p -3.29% Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,952.00p -3.15% St James's Place (STJ) 1,306.50p -2.37% Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,926.00p -2.08% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 131.85p -1.83% Anglo American (AAL) 3,487.00p -1.65% Fresnillo (FRES) 3,808.00p -1.56% Aviva (AV.) 658.00p -1.26%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Harbour Energy (HBR) 274.20p 4.44% Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 105.25p 3.38% Grafton Group Ut (CDI) (GFTU) 952.70p 3.02% Senior (SNR) 308.50p 2.83% 3i Infrastructure (3IN) 358.50p 2.73% Vistry Group (VTY) 482.00p 2.45% Ithaca Energy (ITH) 244.00p 2.41% Henderson Smaller Companies Inv Trust (HSL) 909.00p 2.13% ITV (ITV) 79.10p 1.87% Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 322.00p 1.45%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Pagegroup (PAGE) 148.00p -13.32% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,026.00p -8.36% Ibstock (IBST) 114.40p -6.09% Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 179.40p -5.99% Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 613.00p -4.77% Pan African Resources (PAF) 165.20p -3.65% Foresight Environmental Infrastructure Limited (FGEN) 72.00p -3.49% Serco Group (SRP) 297.40p -3.43% Carnival (CCL) 2,075.00p -3.13% WH Smith (SMWH) 592.00p -2.64%