The FTSE 100 struggled on Thursday on a mixed day for stocks in London, and despite fresh falls in the oil price, as investors await fresh developments in the Middle East.
“The wild streak of enthusiasm which hit markets amid hopes for a major de-escalation in the Iran conflict is tempering,” said Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club.
“There’s a realisation that there are more hurdles to climb for a longer-term resolution to be agreed, even though Iran is reported to be studying a US peace proposal aimed at formally ending the conflict.”
The FTSE 100 closed down 161.71 points, 1.6%, at 10,276.95. The FTSE 250 ended up 50.30 points, 0.2%, at 22,882.72, and the AIM All-Share rose 9.70 points, 1.2%, at 818.32.
The oil price fell back amid continued hopes for a peace deal between the US and Iran.
US President Donald Trump said an agreement could be near after positive talks, with Iran adding that it would pass on its latest position to mediator Pakistan.
Brent crude for July delivery was trading at 97.76 dollars a barrel on Thursday, down compared with 102.12 dollars at the time of the equities close in London on Wednesday.
But with no fresh news to drive further gains, equity markets took a breather, with European markets following London lower.
In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 1.2%, and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ebbed 1.0%.
“Having rallied strongly over the past two sessions, bouncing back from their sharp sell-off at the beginning of the week, there’s been some evidence of profit-taking today,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.
“Investors appear to be expressing some caution and taking some risk off the table as yesterday’s euphoria on hopes of a quick end to the US/Iran war start to fade. While yesterday’s report of a one-page memorandum for ending hostilities is the most optimistic news for several weeks, it does look as if there are some high hurdles to jump for Tehran to accept.”
In New York, markets were mixed, as the record-breaking recent run showed few signs of running out of steam.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2%, the S&P 500 rose 0.1% while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.5%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury widened to 4.36% on Thursday from 4.35% on Wednesday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was at 4.95% on Thursday, up from 4.94%.
The pound firmed to 1.3616 dollars on Thursday afternoon from 1.3602 dollars on Wednesday. Against the euro, sterling was little changed at 1.1567 euros from 1.1566 euros on Wednesday.
The euro traded higher against the greenback, at 1.1768 dollars on Thursday from 1.1756 dollars on Wednesday. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at 156.41 yen, higher than 156.27 yen.
Friday sees the closely watched US jobs report. Goldman Sachs estimates nonfarm payrolls rose by 70,000 in March, slightly above consensus of 65,000.
On the positive side, Goldman expects a 32,000 boost from the end of worker strikes and a moderate tailwind from sequentially better weather after poor weather likely weighed on February payroll growth.
On the negative side, the broker expects a 5,000 decline in government payrolls. Goldman expects the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.4% in March.
Back in London, and investors ploughed through a slew of trading updates and earnings.
On the FTSE 100, JD Sports Fashion took the gold medal, up 7.4%, as an improved free cash flow position offset a continued struggling sales performance.
Deutsche Bank called it a “mixed bag” with in line full-year pre-tax profit, a sequential slowdown in like-for-like sales, 2027 profit guidance around 4% below consensus at the midpoint but a “welcome” free cash beat combined with a new capital return framework of growing dividends and a rolling £200 million share buyback.
Insuer Hiscox also fared well, rising 5.4%, as it said the outlook for 2026 is “positive” and reporting accelerating growth in its retail business.
Chief executive Aki Hussain said: “Hiscox is building on strong momentum delivered in 2025, through capturing diverse, high-quality growth opportunities across each of our businesses.”
The rising gold price lifted Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining for the second day in a row, up 5.8% and 5.1% respectively.
Gold traded higher at 4,742.97 dollars an ounce on Thursday, from 4,692.73 dollars on Wednesday.
Weighing on the FTSE 100, Relx fell 6.2% as it traded ex-dividend and as Morgan Stanley downgraded its rating to ‘equal weight’.
While Shell fell back 2.9%, amid the oil price falls, and as investors weighed first quarter numbers.
The London-based oil major reported profit well ahead of consensus and said it was rebalancing its shareholder distributions.
Shell raised its quarterly dividend by 5% from the prior quarter, but trimmed its quarterly buyback to three billion dollars from 3.5 billion dollars.
On the FTSE 250, Helios Towers surged 14% as it raised guidance for 2026 adjusted earnings to reflect a “significant” tenancy pipeline amid “exceptionally strong” demand for data.
“Demand for data and connectivity across Africa and the Middle East remains exceptionally strong, with our mobile operator customers accelerating investment, driving significantly increased demand for our infrastructure,” said chief executive Tom Greenwood.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were JD Sports Fashion, up 5.00p at 73.00p, Fresnillo, up 201.00p at 3,663.00p, Hiscox, up 84.00p at 1,634.00p, Endeavour Mining, up 238.00p at 4,916.00p, and Autotrader, up 20.60p at 520.80p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Relx, down 163.00p at 2,462.00p, Admiral, down 181.00p at 3,165.00p, Centrica, down 10.80p at 198.70p, BAE Systems, down 97.70p at 1,991.80p, and Smiths Group, down 78.00p at 2,522.00p.
Friday’s global economic calendar has the US jobs report, including nonfarm payrolls, Canada unemployment figures, German trade and industrial production data and the Halifax house price index in the UK.
Friday’s local corporate calendar has full-year results from Airtel Africa.
Contributed by Alliance News
