- FTSE 100 up 33 points at 10,462
- Oil sinks to new three-month low
- Segro tops leaderboard after bid from US giant Prologis
- Reports say Burnham to replace Reeves as Chancellor
5.30pm: Oil and gold take a hit
It was another muted session for London stocks, with the FTSE 100 up almost 33 points at 10,461.6, as gold fell almost 3% to hover just above $4,000 per ounce and oil down 3.5%.
Chris Beauchamp, IG chief market analyst, noted that gold’s price is seeing its largest pullback in four years.
“The parabolic move of late 2024, through 2025 and on into 2026 has firmly come unstuck. The bigger the party, the bigger the hangover, and gold is still working off its own exuberance,” Beauchamp said.
“2022’s selloff took longer, but we have to go back to the distant days of 2013 to find a bigger percentage loss. As the dollar keeps strengthening, there is more pain to come for gold.”
4.16pm: FTSE, France and Wall Street all on front foot
The FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 are the only two European indices in positive territory this afternoon, while over the Atlantic, Wall Street is flashing green across the board.
London's leading blue-chip is still Segro, while other REITs, housebuilders and related stocks are in the lead, including Barratt, Persimmon and Howden's.
The FTSE 250 is up 0.7% compared to its senior sibling's 0.2% gain, with B&M European Value up 13% after appointing a new CFO, Atheeq Akbar, who joins with experience from Asda and Morrisons.
Berkeley is up 7.6% after its results earlier, while Travis Perkins (LSE:TPK) and Wetherspoons are other names that, along with Kingfisher on the Footsie, are expected to do well from the current hot weather.
In France, the standout gainers include L'Oréal, Danone (OTCQX:DANOY), Pernod Ricard and LVMH, stocks that have been among the biggest casualties of concerns about slowing consumer spending and weaker demand in China.
Across the pond, the Dow Jones is in the lead, with retailer Home Depot, stationery maker 3M and Amazon are among the biggest risers.
3.39pm: UK electricity system coping with extreme heat thanks to natural gas
It's darn hot but not too hot for the UK energy system operator.
Yesterday the National Energy System Operator issued an 'electricity margin notice' to the market, a tool it routinely uses where generators are asked to make any additional generation capacity they may have available.
Its forecasts were showing "tight margins on the electricity system" for this evening, "due to the impact of extremely high temperatures affecting Great Britain and the continent and low wind".
But the EMN has now been withdrawn.
"Electricity supplies remained secure throughout. We'll share a further update from our Director of System Operations, shortly," the NESO said on social media.
It seems that this was through use of gas-fired generation.
Yesterday #gas produced 39.9% of British electricity, more than wind 15.4%, solar 13.9%, nuclear 10.5%, imports 9.8%, biomass 5.7%, other 3.1%, hydro 1.8%, *excl. non-renewable distributed generation pic.twitter.com/Jrkd0LiFeW — National Energy System Operator (@neso_energy) June 24, 2026
I'll be surprised if all the gas plant outages today are really due to the temperature… We'll soon see how many of them happen to find that missing output again and are instructed to turn up via the balancing system, at much higher cost. Same thing happened last year with… https://t.co/P5vtErz1aZ — Robin Hawkes (@robhawkes) June 24, 2026
Recent updates show that gas has been Britain's largest source of electricity generation in recent days, topping the mix on seven of the last 12 days. Gas accounted for between 30% and 40% of generation on most days this week, including 39.9% yesterday.
Renewables led on five of the 12 days, with wind the dominant source on each occasion. The strongest performance came over the weekend before last, when wind generated more than half of Britain's electricity on both Friday and Saturday.
However, weaker wind conditions since then have increased reliance on gas-fired generation, while solar has consistently contributed around 10%-16% of the power mix during the recent spell of sunny weather.
Yesterday #wind generated 29.7% of GB electricity followed by gas 24.5%, imports 15.7%, solar 12.3%, nuclear 9.3%, biomass 4.5%, other 2.5%, hydro 1.5%, *excl. non-renewable distributed generation pic.twitter.com/cI6dzNIPvK — National Energy System Operator (@neso_energy) June 20, 2026
2.54pm: US stocks open higher, big tech stabilises
US stocks have opened higher, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 both up 0.4%.
The Dow Jones has climbed 0.3% in early trading.
Healthcare and life sciences stocks are topping the S&P, with IQVIA up 6.6%, Charles River Laboratories gaining 5%, followed by Bio-Techne, Danaher and Agilent.
Consumer and travel names were also in demand, led by homebuilder Pulte, Booking Holdings, Expedia, Royal Caribbean and Carnival.
Similar on the Nasdaq with Booking joined by Airbnb.
The biggest trend is a tentative stabilisation in AI and mega-cap tech after two days of heavy selling, with Alphabet up around 1.5%, Amazon gaining 1.8%, Microsoft rising 1.2%, Broadcom up 1.5% and Meta adding 1.1%. Micron was also modestly higher ahead of earnings.
Energy stocks were under pressure as oil prices fell, with Exxon Mobil down 2.3%, while financials lagged, led by JPMorgan's 1.1% decline. Semiconductor equipment names such as Applied Materials and Lam Research also remained in the red, suggesting investors are not yet ready to fully re-embrace the AI trade.
2.05pm:
The Treasury yesterday unveiled plans for tweaks to the ISA savings regime.
One change is that savers will be charged for any interest earned on cash holdings in stocks and shares ISAs from next April, to prevent savers using stocks and shares ISAs to hoard cash.
People will also not be allowed to put 100% of their investment portfolio in money market funds.
This comes as the cash ISA limit is being cut (for under-65s only) from £20,000 to £12,000 from next April, as set out during last year's Budget.
These changes are designed to encourage more people to invest in stocks and shares.
The Lifetime ISA (Lisa) is also being replaced by a new First Time Buyer ISA, with the existing scheme seen as too complex and leaving too many savers facing withdrawal penalties.
The new ISA will offer a government bonus of 25% of the sum saved, paid when a property is bought instead of every year, and there will no longer be a 25% penalty if the money is withdrawn for another reason.
However, key details remain missing, experts say, including the size of any government bonus, annual contribution limits and the maximum property value that will qualify.
AJ Bell welcomed efforts to simplify the saving-for-a-home system but warned some buyers could end up worse off.
Head of public policy Rachel Vahey said delaying the government bonus until a property purchase means savers would miss out on years of investment growth on that money.
The investment platform also questioned what the changes mean for self-employed workers seeking a flexible retirement savings vehicle.
Rebecca Robertson, director at Evolution Financial Planning, said she agreed that the Lisa "hasn't worked", with the number of unauthorised withdrawal charges increasing year on year.
"In addition, provider data shows that thousands of individuals are making multiple unauthorised withdrawals. It hasn't been used for buying a home, LISA was replacing Help to Buy which also didn't work. Why? the cost of living, mortgage interest rates and people worried about house prices.
"This has caused them to use the savings they had started out intended for a house purchase. It would be better to lift inheritance tax gifting rules for grandparents for wealth to be passed on more easily, or create more shared ownership opportunities to scale up over time purchasing a whole property rather than in one go."
1.34pm: Pound strong v euro, weaker v dollar
The pound is at its highest against the euro since last August at €1.1603
Meanwhile, it has slid to a seven-month low versus the resurgent dollar at $1.3159.
As noted below, the US dollar index is on a roll, striding to its highest level in well over a year. The DXY index has broken above 101.6 today, the highest since March last year.
This has an angle on M&A, points out Susannah Streeter at Wealth Club.
"With the pound falling back as the dollar strengthens and UK assets feeling the effects of uncertainty on the UK political scene, British firms will stay sought after.
"The stampede to take over slices of the UK market, at an attractive price, isn’t likely to slow any time soon."
She notes that suitors for London-listed companies are "coming thick and fast", such as the rejected bids for Sergo and easyJet as well as the recommended offer for Intertek.
12.53pm: US futures in green, Micron in focus
The key trio of US futures indices are all in green now, with under two hours til the opening bell.
S&P 500 futures are up 0.25% and the Nasdaq is expected to rebound 0.5%, although both have slightly pared earlier gains.
Dow Jone futures are 0.04% higher after earlier trading in negative territory.
As a reminder, this follows a bruising session when the Nasdaq plunged 2.2% as chipmakers and AI-linked stocks tumbled.
The S&P fell 1.4% and the Dow Jones slipped 0.1%.
Attention is now squarely on Micron, which reports after the closing bell and with analysts seeing it as an important gauge of AI infrastructure spending, as the company sits at the centre of the AI supply chain, supplying high-bandwidth memory used in AI servers. Having just hit an all-time high above $1,213, before plummeting over 13% yesterday, the shares are up 4.7% pre-market.
Investors will also be watching new home sales and building permit data later today.
12.22pm: FTSE just above flat, oilers and miners drag
The FTSE 100 is hovering just above ground as we tick past midday, supported by an 18% gain for Segro, with all four fellow property sector blue-chips also in green.
Consumer-focused names and cyclicals are also bid, with Games Workshop, Haleon, Whitbread, Howden's and M&S all up at least 2%.
Builders are also in demand, following Berkeley's results, with Perimmon and Barratt Redrow in the top 20 risers.
However, the index is being held back by falls for many of its heavy hitters, with only six of the top 20 largest companies in green, with three of the index's top four in the red: HSBC, Shell and Rio Tinto.
Miners, oil giants and defence are the notable sectors acting as a brake. BP, Glencore, BAE and Anglo American are all down more than 1%.
12pm: Oil, gold and the dollar
Oil is falling, with Brent down 2% to below $76 a barrel for the first time since 2 March, while copper, gold and silver continue to fall as the dollar rises.
"The US dollar has emerged as one of the biggest winners from last week's Federal Reserve meeting, climbing to its highest level in more than a year as investors reassess the outlook for US interest rates under new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh," says market analyst Daniela Hathorn at Capital.com.
The dollar index (DXY) has broken "decisively" above the 100 level and is now trading at 13-month highs.
Kenny Polcari at Slatestone focuses on goldm which is down another 1.7%, trading at $4,050 an ounce, trading at levels last seen in November.
"If geopolitical tensions continue to ease, the dollar remains firm, and inflation stays under control, then the fundamental reasons investors rushed into gold begin to fade and if that is true, gold could continue to break down and potentially revisit levels last seen in August 2025 near $3,500/oz," he says.
"I know that sounds aggressive. But who thought gold would be up 174% in 2 yrs? Markets overshoot in both directions, and if the fear premium continues to come out of the trade, a move toward $3,500 is not impossible. It’s simply a scenario you need to consider."
11.50am: UBS view on global market risks
UBS has told investors to focus on building resilient portfolios rather than trying to predict market outcomes, arguing that geopolitical and policy uncertainty remains unusually high.
In its latest 'global risk radar' note, the bank's chief investment office set out strategies for downside, base and upside scenarios, rather than attempting to forecast which will play out.
The base case, for which the Swiss bank assigns a 60% probability, is for equities to move higher over the next 12 months, with the S&P 500 reaching 8,200 by next June (from yesterday's 7,365), supported by traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to resuming gradually, a resilient US economy, AI spending, the European Central Bank to raise rates in 2026, while the Federal Reserve resumes cutting in early 2027.
However, it still sees a 20% chance of a more severe oil shock that could send Brent crude towards $150-$200 a barrel, and another 20% chance of a bullish scenario in which the Strait of Hormuz normalises quickly and equities deliver double-digit gains.
11.26am: In hock to bond markets?
Bond markets are chilling out about the UK political situation it seems, with Gilt yields down not far off thee-month lows.
Apparent PM-in-waiting Andy Burnham has appointed James Purnell, a former Blair-era cabinet minister, as his chief of staff.
An FT column calls it an appointment that "ticks not only the essential boxes for a chief of staff (he is qualified to do the job, knows the principal well enough to act as his vicar on earth, has a political sense of his own and experience of working in large organisations) but also because it offers further reassurance to MPs who are worried about Burnham’s plans for the economy".
"One Blairite described the appointment as 'the first bit of good news since the exit poll' last night."
For any Burnham sceptics worried about what he might do on the economy, "no one in that group thinks that Purnell is going to pull together some kind of leftwing Liz Truss administration".
10.33am: Higher offer for Segro needed, say analysts
More on Segro, as other analysts are saying that a bid based on current NAV is not fair (even though the shares have persistently traded at a discount to NAV).
Bjorn Zietsman at Panmure Liberum says has had argued previously on other companies in the sector, "shareholder value is driven by the returns that can be generated from equity capital, not by a point-in-time appraisal value.
"The more relevant question is whether 925p adequately compensates shareholders for the future earnings growth and returns available from SEGRO's development pipeline, urban logistics assets, power infrastructure and emerging data centre opportunities."
Notably, Prologis' own rationale "appears to support this view", Zietsman says, noting that the US company repeatedly highlighted the embedded value within these opportunities and its belief that its scale and financial strength can accelerate their monetisation.
Peel Hunt's Matthew Saperia agrees that future returns are a key consideration, arguing that the latent value in Segro's pipeline alone warrants a premium valuation. As such, he said, "we do not view an offer on these terms as attractive".
10.09am: Segro says Prologis bid "falls a long way short"
Segro has posted its response to the Prologis bid, saying its board "unanimously and unequivocally" rejected the proposal.
Directors argued that the US giant's proposed offer "falls a long way short" of its assessment of the company's value.
Having considered the bid with its advisers, they believe the proposal "was opportunistically timed and sought to take advantage of the clear dislocation between Segro's current share price and its highly attractive underlying business and strong prospects.
"This has been accentuated by major geopolitical issues which have adversely impacted trading valuations across the UK and European real estate sectors relative to the US REIT sector."
Segro said it remained "very confident" in its strategy, balance sheet strength and ability to deliver substantial value for shareholders in the years ahead.
9.43am: FTSE 100 still not decisive
The FTSE 100 is still not making a decisive move either way, currently two points below flat at 10,427.
European markets are mixed, with Germany's DAX the worst of the lot, down 0.8%, while the French, Italian and Spanish benchmarks are up 0.1%, down 0.3% and 0.4% respectively.
The broader Stoxx 600 is flat, with property stocks dominating the leaderboard on Prologis unveiling its £12.6 billion tilt for Segro, with peers Tritax Big Box, British Land, Land Securities and Big Yellow all included in the index.
At the other end, defence stocks gave back recent gains as Rheinmetall fell 14.9%, after the FT said Germany is set to scrap plans to build its biggest warship since second world war.
Other defence names have been sent lower, with Renk, Hensoldt and Leonardo also down around 4-5%. In London, Chemring, BAE, Babcock and Qinetiq are all down between 3% and 1.6%
"The dropping of the multi-billion-euro plan for Berlin to build six new warships Is not just a disappointment for firms engaged in the contract, it has broader implications about Germany's commitment to defence spending, which has been a lynchpin of the long defence sector investment thesis," says market analyst Neil Wilson at Saxo.
" At the same time Britain's defence industry is in a state of uncertainty over the government's delayed ten-year defence investment plan.
"Starmer wants to force it through before a Nato summit but Burnham wants to wait until he can deal with it. There is a lack of credibility either way."
Elsewhere, the abating of the tech selloff is the key angle of the day for Wilson, as South Korea’s Kospi rallied 3% to trim some of the 10% decline from Monday as SK Hynix and Samsung bounced.
"The ‘June swoon’ part deux has yet to see the Nasdaq 100 revisit the lows of 10 June, nor the Kospi retest its month-to-date lows from 8 June. So, in those two big barometers of the AI trade, we have seen a pullback in June...but buyers are still fishing."
The Mag 7 giants have sunk back to their lowest since April, down 3% this year, with attention is now on Micron earnings later.
This is "more technical repositioning than a fundamental questioning of the AI bubble," Wilson says.
9.16am: Sterling and oil
The pound sterling is trading at near its lowest in more than two months amid reports Rachel Reeves will be replaced by PM-in-waiting Andy Burnham.
And oil prices have continued to fall. Brent crude is down 1.8% to $75.66 a barrel, its lowest since the start of March (though a reminder that we saw sub-$63 oil at the start of the year).
Analysts noted that Brent has now fallen below its 200-day moving average, though fundamentals are key as the main issue is the deal between the US and Iran for shipping to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
8.59am: Berkeley 'makes a strong case' for resetting stamp duty
Berkeley's shares jumped over 5% in early trade, but have eased to 3.7% now.
The wider housebuilding sector is lifted too, with Persimmon up 2.2%, followed by gains above 1% for Vistry, Bellway and Taylor Wimpey, with Barratt Redrow lagging.
Berkeley's PBT was down 15% to £451 million but in line with its guidance and consensus expectations of £453 million says analyst Charlie Campbell at Stifel.
He notes that Berkeley launched its first rental units in the year at two sites, with one more starting since April and a further three in the year ahead, plus reiterating a target portfolio of around 4,000 properties by 2035.
The group reiterated that the regulatory climate is still unhelpful, that it does not believe that current London land prices will allow it to make its required rate of return, given selling prices, build costs and the regulatory environment.
"Management also reflects that sites take eight years now from start to finish, compared to five ten years ago, asking government to accelerate the planning process again. It makes a strong case for resetting stamp duty."
Campbell sees "upside risk from a faster London market, which may come in due course, or an improvement in the planning system but the latter is more likely outside London. Downside risk would come from further weakening in London demand and/or easier planning not materialising".
8.41am: Prologis 'could go higher' for Segro
Segro's current market cap of £10 billion represents just under 20% of the entire UK REIT index, points out Stifel analyst John Cahill.
"If Segro were to be taken over, it would represent a serious challenge to the long-term viability of the UK Listed property sector," he says.
"Given Prologis's size (market cap $139 billion) and financial resources at its disposal, an improved offer is clearly possible (though we have no knowledge of any such intentions)."
Cahill says the Segro board and management team "would need to consider the best interests of shareholders given the UK REIT sector has traded at a significant discount to NTA for some years, impacting even companies such as Segro that benefit from fully liquid equity, a portfolio in a structurally supported sector, a strong balance sheet and a management team with a proven track record for excellence".
He also notes that while Prologis has until 22 July to make a formal offer, "in the recent wave of UK REIT M&A, PUSU dates have been extended frequently".
8.15am: FTSE opens indecisively
The FTSE 100 is searching for direction in early trades, falling 14 points then climbing just into positive territory at 10,429.
Segro is top of the leaderboard, up 16%, with other property developers in its wake as investors get excited about the prospect for M&A interest in the sector.
Tritax Big Box REIT is up 5.4%, British Land 3.2%, Land Sec 3% and Londonmetric 2.8%.
At the other end, defence groups are among the leading fallers, with Babcock and BAE Systems down 1.6%, with LSEG, Prudential and RELX other fallers.
7.59am: THG and Berkeley numbers
Two FTSE 250 stories.
Hut Group and MyProtein owner THG has put out an upbeat half-year trading update, saying it remains on track to meet full-year expectations after a return to revenue growth and a sharp improvement in profitability and cash flows.
Revenue in the first half of 2026 is expected to increase by around 6.5%, compared with a 2.5% decline a year earlier, while adjusted EBITDA is forecast to be at least £40 million, versus £24 million last time.
And Berkeley Group has posted final results, with the housebuilder confirming that it will step up share buy-backs as it prioritises cash generation and existing developments over new land purchases.
Against a backdrop of changes at 10 Downing Street, executive chair Rob Perrins urged the government to cut property taxes, speed up planning decisions and reform housing regulation, warning that London is building less than 10% of the homes it needs despite recent policy changes designed to boost supply.
7.44am: Segro rejects offer from Prologis
NYSE-listed Prologis has gone public with a possible offer for Segro, after the FTSE 100 logistics property group rejected a £12.6 billion all-share takeover proposal.
The US-listed warehouse landlord said it wrote to Segro's board on 16 June with an indicative proposal under which Segro shareholders would receive 0.084 new Prologis shares for each Segro share held, which was rejected yesterday.
Based on Prologis' closing share price on that day and prevailing exchange rates, the proposal values Segro at 925p a share, compared to a closing share price of 742p.
If completed, Segro shareholders would own about 10.5% of the enlarged group, Prologis said, along with lots of other arguments it has offered to UK investors to try and get them to pressure the board.
7.29am:
The equity weakness in the US, Asia and mainland Europe "happened despite a couple of good news stories on the economy yesterday", notes Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid.
June flash PMI surveys generally beat expectations, with the US composite index rising to a five-month high of 52.2 and the eurozone reading improving to 49.5.
Lower energy prices helped sentiment for some sectors, with Brent crude falling to a three-month low as investors grew more confident that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would normalise.
The decline in oil eased inflation concerns, pushing bond yields lower and reducing expectations of interest-rate rises in both the US and Europe.
The UK was an exception to the stronger PMI trend, with the flash composite reading falling to 49.4 from 50.5 expected, leaving activity in contraction territory.
"So coupled with the decline in oil prices, that led to growing doubt about a Bank of England rate hike happening this year," Reid says.
FTSE 100 Live pre-open
London's blue-chips are expected to open on the back foot again on Wednesday, as news emerges that Prime Minister in-waiting Andy Burnham is likely to replace Rachel Reeves as Chancellor.
The FTSE 100 has been called around 45 points lower on the futures market, having finished yesterday nine points lower than it started at just under 10,429, after recovering from an intraday deficit of over 100 points at one stage.
Overnight, Wall Street ended sharply lower, as investors pulled back from the artificial intelligence trade, with the Nasdaq tumbling 2.2% and the S&P 500 fell 1.4%. The Dow Jones proved more resilient, slipping just 0.1%.
Of the 22 biggest Nasdaq 100 fallers, around 18 are directly involved in chips, chip manufacturing equipment, semiconductor components or AI hardware, with Micron plunging 13% ahead of its quarterly results due today, ARM down 10%, and Nvidia, AMD, ASML and Intel all down between 4% and 6%.
Asian markets are calmer this morning, with Korea's Kospi rebounding 2.8% and the Hang Seng up 0.4%, though the Nikkei has dropped 0.8%.
Closer to home, the BBC reported that, as largely expected, if Andy Burnham becomes PM he is expected to replace Reeves as chancellor and offer her a more junior cabinet position.
