The FTSE 100 was broadly flat on Tuesday after recovering early losses as oil prices marched higher towards the $100 mark.
London’s leading index was little changed at the time of writing after recovering early losses.
“Oil and gas prices are painfully elevated, with Brent crude heading above $98 a barrel and wholesale gas prices shooting sharply higher as the market prices in heightened risks around the Strait of Hormuz,” explained Susannah Streeter, Chief Investment Strategist, Wealth Club.
“Talks between Iran and Oman to manage shipping through the key Strait of Hormuz appear to be making good progress and while that’s encouraging in the short term, it could allow Iran to wield much more control over this key waterway in the future, paving the way for potential future disruption.”
Higher oil prices are feeding into inflation concerns that have raised the chances of a US interest rate hike in September. However, another dynamic in this equation, bond yields, have eased, which will instil a sense of calm across financial markets.
“For now, government bond yields remained steady and that applied to stocks too,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.
“Investors will have a laser focus on US inflation data out later this week to see if the impact of rising energy prices is starting to feed into broader inflationary pressures.
“Record copper prices add to a picture which is becoming as complicated for investors as an M.C. Escher work, as the threat of US tariffs on refined copper adds to declining production and rampant demand linked to AI, power grids and electric vehicles.
“In London, miners and oil and gas companies were in demand with investors while banks and housebuilders were among those dragging on UK stocks’ performance.”
Antofagasta was the FTSE 100’s top riser at the time of writing, gaining 3%. Autotrader shares rose 2% on the back of a broker upgrade while Weir Group added 2% after winning a contract with a mining firm.
Computacenter was back among the FTSE 100’s best performers in early trade after the group announced surging revenues powered by AI demand. However, the company sank to the bottom of the leaderboard as the session progressed, most likely due to a bout of profit-taking in the FTSE 100’s top riser so far in 2026.
“The sharp open in Computacenter shares is the market treating this as an AI infrastructure stock rather than another tidy IT reseller beat,” said Adam Vettese, market analyst for etoro.
“This morning’s numbers confirm the July update was not a one-off. Volume with hyperscalers and neoclouds is real, the £9.3 billion backlog is extraordinary for this model, and lifting full-year profit guidance to at least £380 million, well above the already-raised consensus, shows management is more confident about the second half than the usual seasonal caveats suggested. North America now writes most of the profit cheque.”
Computacenter shares were down 3% at the time of writing but are still over 90% higher year-to-date in 2026.