The FTSE 100 slipped on Friday after Israel launched an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities and Iran responded with a drone attack.

Oil prices soared and stocks sank in the immediate reaction. Risk aversion spread through markets sending European equities sharply lower. 

“‘Israel strikes Iranian nuclear facilities’ is always a shocking headline to read, so it’s no surprise the immediate financial market reaction was significant, with oil prices surging by as much as 10% at one point,” said Michael Field, chief equity strategist at Morningstar.

“Thankfully markets have calmed since, as participants have had time to digest the news fully and assess the real impact of Israeli strikes. Currently, the oil price is up around 6% and equity markets down less than 1%, which gives us a good indication as to what equity markets are thinking.”

The FTSE 100 fared better than most with its weighting towards oil providing support for the index. BP and Shell gained around 2% and helped offset heavy losses elsewhere. 

“Oil majors Shell and BP both felt the tailwind of rising oil prices, while precious metal producers Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo both had a good day,” explained Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown.

Airlines were down sharply. IAG lost 4% and easyJet dropped 3%.

The spike in Middle East tensions overnight have sparked a wave of selling in equity markets that were already vulnerable to a sell off.

After a riproaring rally since the post-Trump tariff lows, stocks markets had begun to trade sideways and struggled for direction. Israel’s strike on Iran has proved to be the catalyst traders needed to take some risk off the table.

“Equity markets have risen for two months and had begun to flag, and news prompted sharp drops. While futures have edged higher, we can expect more short-term volatility as the two sides trade further blows,” said Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG.

Another day, and another London-listed company is snapped up by an overseas entity.

Today, Dundee Precious Metals Inc. has agreed to acquire Adriatic Metals Plc in a recommended cash and share offer that values the British mining company at approximately US$1.2 billion.

Adriatic Metals began silver production at its Vareš mine last year and has been ramping up production since. In the quarter ended March 31st, Adriatic Metals’ production increased 46% compared to the prior quarter, and sales increased 26% to $34m.

Rising silver prices, increasing production and Adriatic Metals’ lowly valuation appear to have been too attractive for Dundee to let the opportunity slip by.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Adriatic shareholders will receive 0.1590 new DPM shares and 93p in cash per Adriatic share held.

The deal values each Adriatic share at 268p, based on DPM’s closing price of CAD$20.33 on 11 June 2025. The consideration will be settled 34.7% in cash and 65.3% in equity.

The transaction represents a 50.5% premium to Adriatic’s closing price of 178p on 19 May 2025 and a 31.8% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price prior to the offer period.

DPM’s acquisition strategy centres on Adriatic’s flagship Vareš Silver Operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The company believes the transaction aligns with its goal to create a combined group with enhanced operational and financial capabilities.

DPM highlighted its existing presence in the Balkans, where it currently operates both underground and open-pit mining operations, as providing operational synergies.

The Vareš operation represents a new underground precious metals mining operation with what DPM describes as a low-cost profile, extended mine life, and significant exploration potential.

The deal will be a boost to junior miners moving towards production, but another kick in the teeth for London’s markets.

“Adding Adriatic’s Vareš operation to our strong asset portfolio creates a premier mining business with a peer-leading growth profile, high-quality development and exploration pipeline and a robust platform to deliver above-average returns,” said Commenting on this Announcement, David Rae, the CEO of DPM.

“The Vareš is a logical fit with our portfolio, and adds near-term production growth and mine life, a highly prospective land package, and cash flow diversification. We are well-positioned to leverage our expertise in underground mining and our strong financial position to further optimize the operation and realize Vareš full value potential, based on our analysis.”

AFC Energy has slashed the build cost of its 30kW hydrogen fuel cell generators by approximately 85% through low-cost stack technology and value engineering, the AIM-listed company announced.

Hydrogen fuel cell delivery is still expected to commence in mid-2026 as previously guided by the firm.

To help accelerate global expansion and reduce costs, AFC has signed a supply agreement for future fuel cell systems and is progressing plans for volume manufacturing.

AFC said it intends to enter a global strategic partnership with integrated manufacturing specialist Volex Plc to support its expansion plans.

The cost reduction exceeds AFC Energy’s target for substantial generator cost cuts and aims to achieve cost parity with diesel alternatives. The partnership with Volex is expected to drive costs down further through materials leverage and economies of scale.

AFC Energy says the cost reductions will help accelerate the adoption of its technology to replace diesel generators, combined with its hydrogen production capabilities.

“As previously announced, our strategy is to deliver commercial viability of the hydrogen economy, without reliance on Government subsidy,” said John Wilson, CEO of AFC Energy.

“In April, alongside our results, we announced an aggressive plan to target a significant reduction of the cost of our 30kW hydrogen fuel cell generators to drive market adoption.  I’m delighted that this ambition has been fulfilled, with an expected c.85% reduction, and we target mid-2026 for delivery of our first low cost generators.  We are grateful for the support of Volex Plc to date and look forward to developing our strategic partnership.”

EDF Energy has announced a recommended cash acquisition of Pod Point Group Holdings PLC, valuing the electric vehicle charging company at approximately £10.6 million.

Pod Point operates one of Britain’s leading EV charging networks, with over 250,000 charging points and strong commercial relationships with major automotive manufacturers, housebuilders, and fleet companies.

Under the terms of the deal, Pod Point shareholders will receive 6.5 pence in cash for each share held. The offer represents a 24 per cent premium to the closing price of 5.24 pence per share on 23 April 2025, the last trading day before the offer period commenced.

EDF currently holds approximately 53% of Pod Point’s issued share capital.

Today’s announcement comes after a long, painful period of financial difficulties for Pod Point. The company has remained cash flow negative throughout its history, relying on grant funding and EDF’s financial support to execute its business strategy. The company faces liquidity pressures and would require substantial third-party financing to continue as an independent entity—financing that would be difficult to secure under current market conditions.

EDF says they believe full ownership will provide Pod Point with long-term stability and enhanced operational support, enabling continued investment in charging technology and customer service.

The deal also provides a way out for Pod Point that would likley face administration if EDF didn’t step in.

Another UK-listed company bites the dust.

The FTSE 100 outperformed its European counterparts by some margin on Thursday, as strong results from Tesco and Halma and stronger oil prices helped support the index.

Global trade was again at the top of the list of things causing investors concern on Thursday after a US/China trade deal left many trade restrictions in place, threatening global growth. 

Other countries will be concerned that they also come away with a trade deal that leaves them vulnerable and that’s being reflected in European stocks on Thursday. The German DAX fell more than 1% while the French CAC lost 0.4%.

“There’s more of a downbeat mood in play as tariffs are once again the talk of the town and countries brace for punishment if they don’t play ball with the US,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“The Trump/Bessent good cop–bad cop routine is in full swing. Trump is saying nations can ‘take it or leave it’ when it comes to tariff deals on offer. But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is offering a carrot in the form of potential extensions to the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for those willing to negotiate. Markets have reacted badly nonetheless, and there’s a sea of red across Europe this morning, but the FTSE 100 is escaping the worst for now.”

The FTSE 100’s outperformance on Thursday is yet another example of its resilience as the index shrugged off poor UK GDP figures.

Following the release of disappointing UK jobs data and retail sales earlier this week, investors were provided with a more comprehensive, but equally disappointing, assessment of the economy in the form of 0.3% contraction in UK GDP in April.

“It’s hard not to look at today’s headline fall in economic growth as anything other than inevitable,” said Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis.

“Company after company had warned the chancellor that the decisions taken during last year’s Budget would impact business growth and create huge uncertainty about existing staffing levels.

“The latest jobs figures highlighted the fall in payrolled employees and rising unemployment earlier this week, and all those bill rises in April delivered another knock to consumer confidence, with the latest BRC retail sales figures showing spending on big ticket items has been reigned back.”

Donald Trump’s tariffs also played a major part in the slowdown, with exports dropping sharply.

Thankfully, there were plenty of good news stories for FTSE 100 companies to provide support for the index on Thursday.

Halma was the FTSE 100 top riser, jumping over 5%, after the company issued upbeat results, including an 11% increase in revenue.

“Health, safety and environmental solutions group Halma confirmed its status as one of the unsung heroes of the London market with its latest set of impressive results as revenue reached record levels,” said AJ Bell’s Russ Mould.

“The company is not resting on its laurels with strong cash flow being reinvested into the business to support future growth.”

Tesco shares were also higher as group like-for-like sales rose 4.6% despite the ongoing price war with the discounters.

“Britain’s largest grocer has delivered a resilient performance, despite a price war initiated by Asda and waning consumer confidence,” said Garry White, Chief Investment Commentator at Charles Stanley.

“Tesco reported a modest rise in UK like-for-like sales in its first-quarter update, during which it continued to gain market share. This was supported by its Aldi Price Match and Clubcard Prices initiatives, which helped retain cost-conscious shoppers amid ongoing inflationary pressures.”

BP and Shell provide the most support to the FTSE 100 index in terms of points as oil prices rose.

Quantum computing shares soared on Wednesday after Nvidia boss Jensen Huang said the industry was at inflection point. 

Speaking at Nvidia’s GTC Paris developer conference, Huang said he expects quantum computing to solve real-world problems in the next couple of years.  

Rigetti Computing shares jumped 14%, and Quantum Computing Inc. surged 30%.

Huang’s comments were in sharp contrast with a speech in January in which he said that useful quantum computers would be many years away. His dramatic change in tack will be music to the ears of quantum bulls who have recently cheered commercial progress by companies such as D-Wave.

AI Infrastructure

While the biggest market reaction to Huang’s Paris speech can be found in quantum shares, the bulk of his keynote was centred around AI infrastructure and the deployment of Nvidia’s Blackwell systems across Europe.

Nvidia partnered up with the Viva Technology conference to deliver GTC Paris, and the chip maker used the opportunity to announce several new AI infrastructure projects, including plans to build an AI Cloud with French AI firm Mistral and an AI factory in Germany.

“Every industrial revolution begins with infrastructure. AI is the essential infrastructure of our time, just as electricity and the internet once were,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA.

“With bold leadership from Europe’s governments and industries, AI will drive transformative innovation and prosperity for generations to come.”

Huang’s delivery in Paris came days after he headlined London Tech Week, saying the UK was in a goldilocks position and revealing that Nvidia would help establish an AI training centre in the UK. Nvidia also announced several partnerships with UK firms.