The FTSE 100 was lower in early trade on Thursday before recovering as the recent rally in global stocks showed signs of consolidation after a surging recovery rally from Trump tariffs that has taken UK and US stocks into positive territory for the year.

Lower oil prices were the main detractor from improving investor sentiment as investors reacted to Trump’s comments on Iran and prepared for a number of risk events, including central bank speeches.

London’s leading index had just turned positive on the session at the time of writing after falling 60 points in the very early stage of trade on Thursday.

“A big pullback in oil prices weighed on markets across Europe,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Traders focused on the prospect of a US/Iran nuclear deal which could see economic sanctions lifted on the latter and potentially lead to greater supplies of oil. That weighed on shares in BP and Shell which pulled down the FTSE 100. Commodities trader Glencore was also weak.”

Investors also digested stronger-than-expected UK GDP figures, which showed the economy successfully navigated a number of risks in Q1 to produce growth of 0.7% – the fastest pace of growth for a year.

However, analysis of the numbers reveals that the uptick in activity can be attributed to businesses preparing for the trade war as opposed to any meaningful improvement in demand.

“The better-than-expected growth snapshot also appears to have underwhelmed investors,” explained Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“UK GDP data may have surprised on the upside, but the upswing in activity risks fizzling out given the uncertainty on the horizon. There was a surge in business investment during the quarter, after a fall at the end of last year. With the threat of tariffs hovering which looked set to push up prices, it looks like there was a spell of buying of machinery and IT.”

FTSE 100 movers

Aviva shares helped the FTSE 100 turn positive with a 2% gain after releasing a very respectable round-up of Q1 trading. General insurance premiums rose 9%, wealth flows boosted AUM, and retirement sales increased 4%.

“Aviva’s prowess as an insurance titan shone through in the first quarter with strong signals across the board. The benefits of recent acquisitions are starting to manifest with both new business and the Probitas deal driving General Insurance premiums up 12% to £2bn in the UK and Ireland,” said Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Meanwhile, last year’s acquisition of assets from AIG helped spur a 19% increase in Protection and Health Sales. And despite a major client loss, net flows into Wealth were positive at 5%.”

JD Sports was the FTSE 100’s top riser as investors bought into the sports retailer after Footlocker shares soared 60% in the US pre-market on a takeover approach from Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Natural resources shares BP, Glencore, and Antofagasta were among the fallers amid lower commodity prices. Recent gains for the sector have also created short-term profit-taking opportunities for traders.

3i was the top faller after the investment trust reported NAV growth that fell short of analyst estimates. 3i shares were down 7% despite NAV increasing 22% in the year to 31 March.

ITV shares dipped on Thursday after the broadcaster and media group announced Q1 trading and an overall drop in total revenue as their advertising-focused media business experienced a slowdown.

The group’s total revenue fell 1% in the first quarter while the total external revenue rose 4%.

ITV Studios has long been ITV’s bright spot, demonstrated by the 1% increase in revenue during the first quarter, as streaming services boost their spending on ITV’s content.

“ITV put in a solid showing over the first quarter, with strong sales of content to the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video helping to offset a tough comparable period for advertising revenue,” said Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“The Studios business returned to growth after shrugging off the after-effects of the US writers’ and actors’ strike, and it’s expecting to grow revenue ahead of the broader content market, with performance weighted to the second half.”

However, it’s ITV’s traditional advertising and media business that is dragging on performance. Despite online revenue surging 15% during the period, total advertising revenue declined 2%.

“The Media & Entertainment (M&E) side of the business saw revenues decline slightly, with comparable numbers set to get worse next quarter as last year’s figures benefited massively from the men’s Euro’s 2024,” Chiekrie explained.

“Compared to 2023, first-half total advertising revenues are expected to be broadly flat. Within M&E, ITVX continued its stellar run, with an uptick in monthly active users and total streaming hours growing at double-digit rates. With more eyeballs on ITV’s screens, advertising revenues are flowing in, and the group remains hopeful of delivering at least £750mn on digital revenue by 2026.”

ITV’s wariness about the outlook for its revenue and profit was underscored by its decision to include £30m cost savings in the financial highlights of the announcement made on Thursday.

ITV shares were down 2% at the time of writing. Probably a stock to buy on any weakness to trade the range.

Innovative Eyewear shares soared in the US pre-market after announcing unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2025, highlighting substantial improvements in gross margin and continued revenue growth.

The company reported net revenue of $454,501 for the quarter ended 31 March 2025, representing a 19% increase from $383,471 in the corresponding period of 2024.

This growth was primarily driven by increased unit sales volume following the launch of Nautica and Eddie Bauer Powered by Lucyd collections and the Lucyd Armor safety smart glasses line during 2024.

Innovative Eyewear shares were 55% higher in the US premarket.

The recently launched Reebok line was released after the period, and investors will look forward to their contribution to sales in the company’s next quarterly update.

Most notably, Innovative Eyewear achieved a remarkable improvement in gross profit margin, which rose to 49% in Q1 2025 compared to just 2% in Q1 2024.

The bumper increase in margins was attributed to lower frame costs through greater economies of scale and improved product price/mix, along with reduced prescription lens fulfilment costs following strategic management actions.

To support the expansion of its Reebok and Lucyd Armor product lines, the company has strengthened its sales team with two new directors who bring substantial experience in optical and hardware sales.

“Our 2025 first quarter revenue reflects our continued investments in product lines, marketing and advertising initiatives, as well as increased public interest and growth in smart glasses,” said Harrison Gross, CEO of Innovative Eyewear Inc.

“We are also happy to see our efforts to improve gross margins bear effect. As we look ahead to the rest of 2025, we believe we are well positioned to build on our momentum and significantly grow total revenues and market share. I am particularly excited about the potential of our newly launched Reebok® product line, which expanded our portfolio to include smart glasses for active lifestyles, coupled with the continued significant traction of the Lucyd Armor^TM smart safety glasses. Both product lines address vast subsets of the eyewear market which were previously underserved by smart eyewear providers.”

The FTSE 100 lagged behind US stocks again on Wednesday as concerns about interest rates weighed on sentiment, and declines for Imperial Brands and Compass Group offset gains in BAE Systems.

The S&P 500 added another 0.7% yesterday to take the index 0.3% higher on the year. The rally was led by the world’s largest tech shares, with Nvidia rallying 5% and Palantir jumping 8%.

However, concerns about interest rates in the UK prevented London’s leading index from absorbing enthusiasm radiating from the US.

The FTSE 100 was just about positive, adding 0.1%, at the time of writing.

“Stocks stateside have gone on a run as more trade deals are inked, but the baton hasn’t been passed to the FTSE 100, which is flat in early trade,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“The more cautious sentiment may partly have been prompted by concerns that interest rates look set to stay higher for longer in the UK. Bank of England policymakers have been striking notes of wariness about the risk that inflation may stay stubbornly above target.”

Imperial Brand was the FTSE 100’s top faller after currency swings sent reported revenue 3.1% lower and operating profit down by 2.5% in the six months to 31st March. However, it was the news that the CEO was stepping down which caused shares to drop by over 7%. The group enjoyed constant currency growth across all regions.

Gold shares were again among the losers as ongoing improvements in trade relations between the US and key partners further reduced the interest in gold mining stocks. Endeavour Mining fell 0.7% while Fresnillo gave up 0.1% on Wednesday.

“Despite yesterday’s rebound, gold continues to show clear signs of short-term weakness. The precious metal is now trading steadily below $3,300/oz as key drivers in recent weeks — including trade tensions and inflationary pressure — have simultaneously shown signs of easing,” said Linh Tran, Market Analyst at XS.com.

Compass Group shares were down 4% after the food group announced reasonable first-half sales growth but opted to invest cash back into the business and hold off fresh share buybacks.

BAE Systems was the FTSE 100 top riser after Saudi Arabia demonstrated its defence spending power through a deal with the US. BAE Systems shares were 2% higher at the time of writing.