The FTSE 100 was little changed on Wednesday despite the S&P 500 closing just shy of a record high overnight, fueled by a tech rally.
But Europe’s lack of technology shares meant the optimism in the US didn’t translate to a higher FTSE 100 with European indices dragged lower by the luxury sector.
Hopes of a ceasefire and the IEA cutting its 2026 global demand growth forecast amid a weakening demand picture weighed on oil prices and helped provide some support for the FTSE 100, which was up 5 points at 10,615 at the time of writing.
“The optimism that had been fired up on hopes that fresh talks could end the Iran conflict has begun to seep away,” said Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist, Wealth Club
“Stocks on Wall Street nudged fresh record levels as oil prices dipped back. But given the hurdles to cross, this could be interpreted as a dose of irrational exuberance. In Europe there’s a lot more caution around as companies count the cost of the conflict.
“The FTSE 100 has struggled to hold onto early gains while the CAC 40 in Paris is deep in the red, dragged down by luxury goods giants.”
Burberry was among the FTSE 100’s top fallers, declining in sympathy with French luxury names that reported lower sales, driven by a lack of Middle Eastern buyers.
Antofagasta is often among the FTSE 100 top gainers or losers and has one of the highest betas of the index. Today, it released production figures that show copper production falling but gold strengthening. The net result
Alex Pugh, Investment Writer at Freetrade, said: “Gold saves the day for Antofagasta. The mining firm’s Q1 was a softer production quarter but a stronger net cost quarter. Copper production fell 8% year on year to 143,000 tonnes, but net cash costs dropped to $1.08/lb thanks to a surge in by-product credits from gold and molybdenum.”
“Management is sticking to full year guidance and expects production to improve quarter on quarter as grades and processing rates recover at Los Pelambres copper mine. So the question now is whether Q1 was simply a planned soft start, or whether the second-half ramp will need to do more of the heavy lifting than investors might like.”
Barratt Redrow shares were 2% higher after the company reaffirmed its completions outlook for the year, despite warning of a potential impact from the war in Iran.
“The conflict in Iran and the implications it has for inflation and interest rates have shaken the foundations of the housebuilding sector, so there will be a modicum of relief after Barratt Redrow’s third-quarter update,” Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, explained.
“The company is sticking with guidance, albeit for a financial year which ends in a matter of weeks. Demand is holding up for now, with sales rates ticking higher and the order book in reasonable shape, but the company’s decision to materially scale back land purchases feels instructive as it reacts to limited forward visibility.”
Standard Life’s proposed acquisition of Aegon UK in a deal that would create the UK’s largest pensions and savings group helped firm the stock up by 1.7%.