London open: FTSE gains as oil dips on hopes over US-Iran talks
London stocks rose in early trade on Wednesday as oil prices fell on hopes of progress in US-Iran talks, and as investors eyed flash PMIs for the UK and eurozone.
At 0835 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 10,747.13, while Brent crude was down 0.5% at $98.72 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was off 1.1% at $89.51 following news that US and Iranian officials have held their first talks in months, through mediators, on the sidelines of the UN Summit.
US President Trump said on Tuesday that Iranian officials held "very good" three-hour talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff on the sidelines of the assembly and that there would be another meeting in the "very near future".
In his comments to the general assembly, Trump also said he was faced with a choice of making a deal with Iran that would let the country rebuild, or "annihilate" it if no deal is reached. "Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?" he said.
"There are two options; one could be a very bad thing, and the other could lead to greatness and progress for this country. Therefore, I think they want to do this."
Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said: "Despite the threats being dangled, the TACO trade is in play to some extent, with markets expecting some kind of deal to be more likely, especially after Trump described talks with Iranian officials as 'very productive'.
"Brent Crude has weakened a little further, trading around $98 a barrel, helped by some signs of more oil flowing from the Gulf region. Nevertheless, it’s still around a third higher than back in July, a demonstration of just how complex the conflict has become to unwind, especially with advances by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Although Saudi’s rapid repairs to the East-West oil network have seen oil flows resume, full operations aren't likely to be back up and running for weeks, and there’s always the risk of fresh rebel attacks until a longer-lasting deal is reached. For now, markets are taking a glass-half-full approach."
On the corporate front, specialist engineer Renishaw rallied as it posted a 27% rise in annual profit driven by accelerating demand in several markets, including the semiconductor and aerospace and defence sectors. Pre-tax profit for the 12 months to 30 June came in at £150m, while revenue rose 14% to £816m. Renishaw said the current year had started strongly on increased demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
JD Sports Fashion fell as it posted a slide in half-year earnings as it warned that the tough conditions seen in the first half were set to continue. The retailer reported a 0.7% decline in sales to £5.9bn in the 26 weeks to 1 August, with like-for-like sale down 2.8%. Operating profits were 20.5% lower at £294m.
The group called it a "resilient" performance amid a challenging backdrop, including cost-of-living pressures, footwear product cycle headwinds and widespread promotional activity. But it acknowledged that a number of these conditions were likely to persist into the second half.
Shares of drinks business Diageo fizzed lower as it said that Joanne Wilson will join the company as chief financial officer in 2027, succeeding Nik Jhangiani. Wilson, who currently serves as CFO of WPP, has previously held senior financial and commercial roles at Britvic, data‑science firm dunnhumby, Tesco and KPMG.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,747.13 0.36%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,551.32 0.10%
techMARK (TASX) 6,199.24 0.42%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 323.20p 2.27%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 988.00p 1.64%
The Sage Group (SGE) 1,004.50p 1.56%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 2,296.00p 1.41%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,256.00p 1.37%
BAE Systems (BA.) 2,013.00p 1.35%
3i Group (III) 2,705.00p 1.27%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,496.20p 1.23%
Barclays (BARC) 468.60p 0.99%
BP (BP.) 546.70p 0.96%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Spirax Group (SPX) 7,155.00p -2.40%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 123.05p -1.28%
BT Group (BT.A) 189.40p -1.02%
GSK (GSK) 1,887.50p -1.00%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 2,756.00p -0.97%
Pearson (PSON) 1,195.50p -0.87%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,023.50p -0.82%
Diageo (DGE) 1,629.00p -0.64%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,388.00p -0.50%
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,983.00p -0.47%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Renishaw (RSW) 5,775.00p 3.43%
XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 2,160.00p 2.86%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 507.00p 2.84%
Hansa Investment Company Limited (DI) (HAN) 338.00p 2.42%
Foresight Environmental Infrastructure Limited (FGEN) 90.50p 2.38%
Rathbones Group (RAT) 1,602.00p 2.37%
NCC Group (NCC) 136.60p 1.94%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 1,010.00p 1.71%
Target Healthcare Reit Ltd (THRL) 115.80p 1.58%
Capital Gearing Trust (CGT) 520.00p 1.56%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited NPV (CORD) 123.00p -2.77%
Breedon Group (BREE) 310.00p -1.40%
THG (THG) 27.00p -1.39%
The Global Smaller Companies Trust (GSCT) 187.60p -1.37%
ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 1,402.00p -1.27%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 208.60p -0.95%
WPP (WPP) 380.00p -0.94%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 648.00p -0.92%
Rank Group (RNK) 81.30p -0.85%
Inchcape (INCH) 802.50p -0.80%