The FTSE 100 was lower on Tuesday as equities continued to trade cautiously amid geopolitical uncertainty and higher-than-desired oil prices.
Declines in London’s leading stocks were measured, reflecting a market seeking the next catalyst rather than being overly concerned about the landscape.
The FTSE 100 was trading down 0.2% at the time of writing.
“Oil prices continue to ebb and flow as the narrative around the Iran war takes endless twists and turns,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.
“Brent crude has put on $10 in less than a week, which is a significant move, with the black stuff now trading just below $89 a barrel.
“It’s troubling but not enough to cause panic. Instead, it’s knocked the wind out of investors’ sails and left European markets drifting sideways.”
Most FTSE 100 shares were down at the time of writing, with around 75 of its constituents trading negatively.
IHG was among the worst performers despite posting interim results showing reasonable revenue growth of 6%.
Garry White, Chief Investment Commentator at Raymond James, said: “InterContinental Hotels’ interim results reflect a global travel industry that is outperforming the wider economy. Growth remains strong despite a moderation from the post-pandemic years.
“Today’s results show InterContinental’s hotel openings and signings up 8% on an organic basis, supporting confidence in longer-term earnings growth.”
But investors seemed to want a little bit more from IHG, and shares dipped 1.5% following results.
“IHG shares slipped at the open despite a perfectly serviceable set of numbers, underlining how unforgiving the market has become once the easy recovery gains are banked,” said Adam Vettese, market analyst for etoro.
Reinforcing Vettese’s point, Spirax Group was the FTSE 100’s top faller, tanking 10%, after issuing guidance that failed to inspire investors.
“Steam engineer Spirax fell 10% as investors were disappointed by the lack of upgrades to earnings guidance in its half-year results,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.
Higher oil prices translated to firmer share prices for the oil majors BP and Shell, which were the top two risers at the time of writing.