- FTSE 100 down 119 points at 10,213
- Oil prices top $117
- AstraZeneca, GSK, Lloyds, Halfords, SJP, Jet2 results out
- DCC in talks over private equity bid
5.30pm: Stocks struggle
The FTSE 100 finished Wednesday’s session down 119 points at 10,213 as oil prices surged amid renewed energy supply concerns.
“The nervousness in markets is palpable. So much rides on the next 24 hours or so,” IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp said.
“Earnings growth has been the one thing keeping markets from completely losing it about the surge in oil prices, so it is up to the heavyweights tonight to deliver the goods in terms of earnings growth and a solid outlook.”
4.01pm: Oil prices surge higher
Oil prices have spiked yet higher on reports that Washington is preparing for an extended blockage of Iran.
Brent crude has topped $117 a barrel. up from just over $100 a week ago and below $70 in February.
Peace talks with Iran remain stalled, and Donald Trump is reportedly looking to extend the US blockade around the Strait of Hormuz, adding to energy supply concerns and other inflation worries.
The US President met with oil company executives earlier today.
Talks took place at the White House, including with Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, according to an Axios report, as well as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were present.
Topics for the meeting included domestic production, progress in Venezuela, oil futures, natural gas and shipping, according to the Axios report.
"The latest news from the White House suggests that President Trump is looking at measures to maintain the blockade for an extended period if necessary," says Kathleen Brooks at XTB.
She says speaking to oil company executives presumably was to boost production of jet fuel and gasoline.
"However, if US oil refineries focus on ramping up production of jet fuel and diesel, it could reduce output of other products, which may lead to broader inflationary pressures for the global economy.
"This is a new phase of the war in Iran, and we could now see oil prices go back to the March highs around $120 per barrel for Brent.
"As always with President Trump, his rhetoric on Truth Social may not reflect reality. The President has also urged Iran to sign a deal to end the US blockade. The US is using the blockade to squeeze Iran, we will now find out how long they can hold out.
"If this is a long-term blockade, we will find out whether financial markets are underpricing the risks of the war in the Middle East."
3.33pm: GSK the biggest faller
The FTSE is down over 100 points, with GSK, Haleon and AstraZeneca big weights.
GSK is now the biggest faller, down 7.8%, as investors seem to be reappraising this morning's results, which were the first full quarter under new CEO Luke Miels.
Reuters is reporting that there are "concerns about the 'one-off' nature of the results", citing analysts at Verso Investment Management who say the fall was likely due to "quality concerns around the earnings beat (that) will be in question given that they were driven by one-off factors".
Miels told reporters on the call that he wants to shift focus beyond the group’s HIV business, helped by accelerating drug development in other areas.
He highlighted plans for 10 late-stage trials this year, including five targeted cancer therapies licensed from China’s Hansoh Pharma after strong early results.
Miels said the company is employing AI to accelerate development and is aligning resources more tightly with key opportunities, accordsing to the Reuters report, with a review of more than 50 late-stage programmes completed in oncology, HIV and other areas.
A shortlist of priority assets and supporting rationale will be shared with the market in the second quarter.
2.53pm: US stocks mixed on earnings
The US major stocks indices are all in the red so far, led by some mixed earnings reports.
In early trades, the Dow Jones fell 0.5%, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropping 0.1%.
More than two-thirds of the Dow's constituents are in the red, led by Home Depot, Sherwin-Williams and Salesforce.
Biggest fallers on the S&P are Teradyne, down 16.5%, GE HealthCare Technologies, down 12.5%, and Robinhood Markets, down 11.2%, all on the back of earnings.
At the top of the leaderboard are NXP Semiconductor, up 23% on the back of earnings overnight. Seagate Technology, up 18%, also posted afterhours. Western Digital is following in its wake.
2.20pm: Ceres powered up by Goldman
Ceres Power shares are up 23% to 616p today.
This seems to be on the back of Goldman Sachs upgrading its share price target to 670p from 530p.
The US bank has had a 'buy' rating, following an upgrade last October.
1.22pm: Broker views differ on Lloyds
Shore Capital has reiterated its 'sell' recommendation on Lloyds, arguing that a strong first-quarter performance is already reflected in a share price that has gained 34% over the past year.
Analyst Gary Greenwood points out that the stock is trading at approximately 1.7 times first-quarter tangible net asset value, a level he considers stretched given the risks still facing the group.
Chief among those is the prospect of further government intervention on bank taxation, which Greenwood says could undermine the sustainability of Lloyds' elevated returns on tangible equity.
Greenwood prefers Barclays, where he sees 25% upside for the shares.
UBS takes a more sanguine view on Lloyds, maintaining a 'neutral' rating with a 110p target and flagging several operational positives that Shore's bearish framing plays down.
12.49pm: US futures in green
US stock futures are slightly above flat, with investors sitting on their hands ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision later.
Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures are both up less than 0.1%, while those for the tech-heavy Nasdaq are up 0.4%.
This follows a weaker session on Wall Street overnight, when all the major indices fell, led by a 0.9% decline in the Nasdaq.
While the Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged, investors will be watching closely for comments on inflation, particularly related to oil prices linked to the US-Iran war.
"This will be Jerome Powell’s last monetary policy meeting before he steps down as chair," says market analyst David Morrison at Trade Nation.
The key issue today is hearing the Fed’s view on the war, as it relates to high oil prices, and thereby their outlook for inflation for the rest of the year, he says.
"Could the FOMC indicate that rates could be raised this year? According to the CME’s FedWatch Tool the probability of no change in rates in 2026 now stands at 78%, so any hawkishness could throw a spanner in the works as far as risk appetite is concerned."
12.32pm: Significance of the DCC bid
DCC is the fourth member of the FTSE 100 to attract a takeover bid so far this year, following Beazley, Schroders and Intertek.
The total value of bids on the table for listed UK companies is already £29.7 billion this year, already a lot higher by this point in the year compared to 2021-2025, says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould, with the Irish energy group potentially adding at least £5 billion to that based on its current market cap
The bid for DCC from US private equity firms Energy Capital and KKR "suggests that the UK equity market continues to offer value, judging by how prospective trade and financial buyers from home and abroad seem keen to snap up London-listed companies", says Mould.
He says this is also "telling" as "would-be buyers still think the FTSE 100 firms offer good value even as the index sits within 6% of February’s all-time closing high".
DCC's approach also highlights how investor interest in "energy security and its importance in the context of both industrial supply chains and also national security", following the disruption caused by COVID lockdowns, Russia's attack on Ukraine and the Iran war.
There are also five other deals outside the FTSE 100 where the bidder is "yet to fully show their hand", says Mould, involving Advanced Medical Solutions, Audioboom, Gamma Communications, Capricorn Energy and Spire Healthcare.
All in all, the average takeover premium on all of the deals tabled so far in 2026 is 39%, which is below the 52% and 47% average uplift seen for deals in 2023 and 2024, but on a par with 2025, 2022 and 2021.
11.56am: Investors move away from airlines
Investor sentiment across European airlines deteriorated sharply last week, with positioning moving unanimously negative amid mounting concern over fuel supply, according to a note from Citi this morning.
The bank's quant team tracked long and short positioning across the sector, finding that consensus longs (ie all investors are buying the stock) have been entirely eliminated.
British Airways owner IAG and Ryanair, historically the two most favoured names in the sector, recorded the steepest negative moves week-on-week.
Citi says the market appeared slow to react to bearish comments made by Ryanair's chief executive the previous week, in which he flagged softer summer fares.
11.14am: FTSE dives lower as oil at 4-year high
The FTSE 100 is sinking lower as we enter the last hour of morning trading, as oil prices continue to press higher.
Brent crude front-month futures are up another 2.9% to $114.40 a barrel, on a par with the highest levels prices have reached since the start of the Iran war, essentially four-year highs.
All but a quarter of the top 20 largest companies in the blue-chip index are in the red.
Among those, AstraZeneca, GSK and Lloyds down 1.6%, 2.7% and 1.3% on the back of their results. They are joined by Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems and RELX from the upper echelons, all falling 1.5% or more.
"UK defence stocks in particular, have drifted lower following President Trump’s decision to opt for a prolonged blockade of Iran rather than re-escalating back into a military conflict," says market analyst Joshua Mahony at Scope Markets.
"While the absence of immediate war is a relief to humanitarian concerns, the 'forever blockade' scenario removes the short-term speculative premium from defence firms."
Mahony says King Charles's speech, including a defence of a strong NATO and an appeal for transatlantic unity, "serves as a welcome counterpoint to Washington’s isolationist leanings, [but] it is unlikely to shift the ongoing MAGA narrative that sees the weakness of NATO allies as a core topic to shift the narrative away from the failings of this war."
10.36am: Market movers
Some movers from around the London market.
DCC has jumped over 13% after confirming recent speculation relating to a possible offer, saying it has today received an indicative cash bid from US private equity firms Energy Capital Partners and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, AKA KKR. The DCC board is evaluating the proposal and said there is no certainty that any firm offer will be made etc.
In accordance with Rule 2.6(a) of the Irish Takeover Rules, the Consortium must, by not later than 5.00 pm (London time) on 10th June 2026, either announce a firm intention to make an offer for DCC in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the Irish Takeover Rules or announce that it does not intend to make an offer, in which case such announcement will be treated as a statement to which Rule 2.8 of the Irish Takeover Rules applies. This deadline may only be extended with the consent of the Panel in accordance with Rule 2.6(c) of the Irish Takeover Rules.
Aston Martin shares are up around 5% after the supercar maker reported higher revenue and profit margins in the first quarter, and said it had agreed a new £50 million funding injection.
ADM Energy, a natural resources investing company, surged as much as 75% after announcing the formation of a joint venture to acquire a portfolio of producing oil and gas wells in Oklahoma for a base purchase price of approximately $14.9 million.
Warpaint London, the AIM-listed cosmetics group behind the W7 and Dirty Works brands, fell 7% after saying the difficult trading conditions that dogged 2025 extended into the new year, with first-half 2026 sales running materially below the prior year.
SpaceandPeople dropped 15% despite financial results that, on primary metrics, gave a relatively upbeat read. The promotions and retail-space specialist noted cost pressures and more conservative purchasing across the broader brand market in the first quarter of 2026.
10.05am: It's good to talk
Telecoms regulator Ofcom has launched an investigation into whether BT Group "failed to comply with legally binding requests for information from the regulator".
The watchdog says that in December 2023, it issued formal requests to BT for data about the experiences of customers who agreed or ordered for fixed landline or broadband services, in order to prepare an annual report comparing customer service between firms.
"The available evidence suggests that the responses from EE and Plusnet may have been incomplete and/or inaccurate.
"We will now gather further evidence to determine whether BT failed to comply with its statutory duties in relation to Ofcom’s information requests, and publish an update on our investigation in due course."
9.55am: FTSE wallowing
The FTSE 100 is wallowing down 58 points at just under 10,275 after almost two hours of trading, around its lowest point since the first day of the month.
A flurry of corporate updates is failing to help lift the London market, says Anna Macdonald, investment strategy director at Hargreaves Lansdown.
"Oil prices have remained broadly flat this morning, prices nonetheless remain well elevated relative to historical norms," she adds.
"The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues to be a significant overhang, and US-Iran peace talks appear to have stalled.
"Issues spread beyond the oil price itself: it's about LNG, availability of refining capacity and the ability to ship vital supplies to several sectors such as helium for semiconductors, urea and ammonia for fertilisers for the agricultural sector. "
Looking to the Wall Street session later, Macdonald notes that S&P 500 futures are trading flat ahead of the Federal Reserve interest rate decision, which is due after the London session closes, with no change widely expected.
"The inflation picture remains uncertain, progress had been encouraging prior to the escalation of conflict in the Middle East, but the situation has since become more complex. The Fed, in common with other major central banks reporting this week, including the Bank of England tomorrow, is expected to hold steady until greater clarity emerges.
"The longer the conflict persists and the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted, the more pronounced the inflationary pressures are likely to become. I’ll be listening out for Powell’s comments on this and any concerns on what central bankers call ‘second round effects’ from higher prices – that’s when they worry about higher costs feeding into higher wages and inflation becoming more embedded. It’s expected to be Powell’s last as Fed chair."
Today also marks a major moment in the US earnings calendar, with four of the 'Mag 7' technology titans due to report: Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta, all after the US close.
9.18am: Melrose drops despite confirming guidance
Shares in Melrose Industries are down 3.2% after releasing a first-quarter trading update that confirms full-year guidance.
Revenue was up 11%, with engines up 20% and airframes up 4%.
Analyst Harry Philips at Peel Hunts says this represents a continuation of run rates from the second half of last year, "which we view as encouraging".
Profit is well ahead of last year though no figure is provided and guidance is unchanged, including free cash flow of £150-200 million.
Philips says the stock is trading on a 2026 EBITDA multiple of 7x, compared with the peer group on 14x. "We believe this valuation gap highlights the opportunity," he says, explaining his 'buy' rating.
8.57am: SJP drops but numbers don't seem that bad
St James's Place has dropped 5.75% after first-quarter funds under management at the end of March rose less than expectations at £217 billion. The market had forecast around £219 billion.
Net inflows of £1.53 billion bested the consensus of £1.49 billion but were more than offset by downward market movements of £4.6 billion in the quarter.
Analyst Abid Hussain at Panmure Liberum says client retention remained strong and there seemed to be no signs of outflow accelerations despite the fee structure change.
"The business is simplifying its model and charging structure, with this the first wholly clean quarter under the new fee changes, so it is encouraging to see retention levels holding up well and we continue to believe that the advice led business should create stickier flows."
8.39am: Halfords pedals higher
Halfords shares opened 11% higher after the motoring and cycling retailer said full-year underlying profit before tax is expected to come in around the upper end of the consensus range of £36 million to £41.2 million.
Like-for-like sales grew 4.8% in the year to 3 April, with cycling outperforming motoring within the retail division, posting like-for-like growth of 6.4% against 2.9% for motoring.
The stronger-than-expected profit outcome reflects further gross margin expansion and well-managed costs.
8.28am: Frasers now owns a fifth of UK designer outlets
Mike Ashley's Frasers Group has continued its property buying spree, with the purchases of designer outlets near York and Nottingham.
The owner of Flannels, House of Fraser and Sports Direct now owns more than 20% of the UK designer outlet market.
Michael Murray, CEO and son-in-law of Ashley, said the acquisitions "reinforce our vision, leveraging strong partnerships with leading global brands to unlock mutual value - supporting their outlet strategies while driving growth".
He added that Frasers has "a clear ambition" to grow its share of the UK outlet market further.
8.15am: FTSE opens in red
The FTSE 100 has opened 40 points lower at 10,292.
St James's Place, GSK and Haleon are the biggest fallers, down 6.1%, 3% and 2.1% respectively.
AstraZeneca is down 1.3% on its results, Lloyds is up 0.1%.
8.01am: AZ, GSK and Haleon stick to guns
AstraZeneca, currently the second biggest company on the FTSE 100, has stuck to its guns on its full-year 2026 guidance after reporting first-quarter total revenue of $15.3 billion, up 8% at constant exchange rates, driven by double-digit growth in oncology and rare disease.
The drug giant expects full-year total revenue to increase by a mid-to-high single-digit percentage at constant exchange rates, with core earnings per share forecast to grow by a low double-digit percentage.
CEO Pascal Soriot says calls it "strong growth" that demonstrates consistent commercial execution.
"We are advancing through our catalyst‑rich period, with positive readouts for four high-value Phase III programmes since our last quarterly results, including first pivotal data for two key NMEs - tozorakimab in COPD and efzimfotase alfa in hypophosphatasia."
Elsewhere, GSK (9th largest in the blue-chip list) also reiterated its full-year guidance after delivering a strong first quarter.
Haleon (25th largest) has also backed its outlook as it reported modest sales growth in the first quarter, as strength in oral health was offset by a weak cold and flu season.
7.53am: Treatt backs new takeover offer
Treatt has agreed to a recommended £183 million cash takeover by Döhler, offering 305p per share – a premium of about 48% to the latest closing price and 17% to the previous recommended offer from Natara Global in September, which lapsed in November.
The ingredients maker’s board intends to back the deal.
Döhler is already a shareholder and has backing from investors representing around 12% of shares.
7.44am: Jet2 in line, coming summer somewhat clouded
Jet2 said it expects to report full-year profit for the year to March in line with market expectations, but said visibility for the coming summer season is unclear as later and later bookings have become the norm.
The package holiday and airline group said operating profit for the year to 31 March 2026 will be around £435-440 million, down from £446.5 million the previous year.
Looking ahead, capacity for summer 2026 is 7.7% higher at 19.9 million seats, with passenger bookings up 6.2% so far.
7.32am: Lloyds backs outlook as Q1 comes
Lloyds Banking Group results look solid at first glance, with good year-on-year growth in profit for the first quarter as higher income and improved margins met slightly lower costs.
The UK lender posted statutory profit before tax of almost bang-on £2 billion for the three months to 31 March 2026, up 2% from the final quarter of last year and 33% from the first quarter.
Return on tangible equity was 17.0%, up from 15.7% in the preceding quarter and 12.6% a year ago.
With provisions for motor finance commissions unchanged, despite flagging ongoing uncertainty over response rates, costs and potential litigation, guidance for the full year was not changed.
7.15am: FTSE 100 heading for sluggish start
The FTSE 100 may be heading for a sluggish start on Wednesday, as markets await a new catalyst, with Middle East deadlines and central bank meetings to come.
On the futures market, a decline of around six points is the bet for the London index, after it mamnaged to eke out a gain of almost 12 points to close at 10,332.79 the day before.
Wall Street was in reverse overnight, as weakness in chip stocks weighed heavily on sentiment, with the Nasdaq falling 0.9% after reports tied to OpenAI rattled investor confidence across the semiconductor space.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.5% and the Dow Jones dipped 0.1% by the finish, following which there came earnings after the bell from Visa and Starbucks.
Stocks are mixed in Asia this morning, with the Nikkei down 1% in Tokyo, while the Hang Seng and Sensex rise 1.5% and 1.2% in Hong Kong and Mumbai.
On the latest from the Middle East, here's Jim Reid at Deutsche Bank: "The US and Iran seem to be no closer to resolution over the closure of the Strait of Hormuz."
The Wall Street Journal reported last night that President Trump had instructed aides to prepare for an extended blockage of Iran, while Trump posted earlier that Iran "has just informed us that they are in a 'state of collapse'. They want us to 'open the Hormuz Strait,' as soon as possible, as they try to figure out their leadership situation".
CNN reported that Iranian officials were expected to submit a revised peace proposal in the next few days.
Reid adds: "This uncertain backdrop saw Brent crude rise +2.80% to $111.26/bbl yesterday, its highest level in four weeks (flat overnight).
"So concerns about a more prolonged stagflationary shock have risen, not least as slightly further out the oil futures curve, the 3- to 6-month Brent futures are now trading within a dollar of the highs reached in late March."
Among the UK corporate results this morning are AstraZeneca, Lloyds, GSK, Haleon, Jet2, Aston Martin, Melrose and Halfords.