27th Mar 2026 17:07
(Alliance News) - Blue chips in London outperformed European and US peers on Friday, but closed marginally lower, as oil prices rose once more amid few signs of progress in ending the Iran war.
"The simple fact is that sentiment is likely to stay negative for as long as the Strait of Hormuz remains unsafe for shipping and controlled by Iran," commented David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.
The FTSE 100 closed down just 4.82 points at 9,967.35. The FTSE 250 ended down 331.32 points, 1.6%, at 20,964.75, and the AIM All-Share closed down 13.43 points, 1.9%, at 705.63.
For the week, the FTSE 100 rose 0.5%, the FTSE 250 fell 1.8% and the AIM All-Share Index fell 1.7%.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 992.86, the Cboe UK 250 was 1.9% lower at 18,164.13, and the Cboe Small Companies Index was down 0.8% at 16,850.53.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump issued a 10-day extension on his deadline for Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its energy assets.
But with Iran maintaining a hold on the Straits, Trump's announcement largely failed to lift the mood for markets.
"Traders are now discounting the daily torrent of posts and incoherent press conferences from the White House, as the war rages on," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. "Investors are facing the facts: the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed and it does not appear that there is a real end in sight to the war."
Trump has insisted Iran wanted "to make a deal" to end the war engulfing the region, but the Iranian side has indicated no let-up in reprisal attacks against Israel and targets across the Gulf.
Kuwait said Friday its main commercial port was damaged in a drone attack.
Iran's Tasnim news agency said the country has responded to Washington's 15-point plan to end the war and was awaiting a reply.
Reports also suggested the US is weighing sending up to 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East, fuelling speculation that Washington may be preparing for a potential ground operation in Iran.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the move would provide Trump with "more military options".
Amid the impasse, the oil price's upward trajectory resumed.
Brent oil was higher at USD111.63 a barrel on Friday afternoon, from USD108.80 late Thursday.
In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed down 0.9%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended 1.4% lower.
"Trump's 10-day TACO ['Trump always chickens out'] has had a less profound impact compared with Monday's 5-day reprieve, with equities losing ground in Europe despite the President's decision to once again postpone strikes on key energy infrastructure. Instead, there is a real concern that we could see escalation through the use of boots on the ground," said Joshua Mahony at Scope Markets.
Stocks in New York were lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.1%, the S&P 500 index was 1.0% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.4%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury widened to 4.42% on Friday from 4.40% on Thursday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury stretched to 4.95% from 4.94%.
The pound fell to USD1.3288 on Friday afternoon from USD1.3338 at the equities close on Thursday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR1.1554 from EUR1.1563 a day prior.
The euro stood lower against the greenback at USD1.1521 from USD1.1534. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JPY160.10 compared to JPY159.65.
Supporting the FTSE 100, AstraZeneca rose 3.4% after reporting positive phase three results for its chronic obstructive pulmonary disease treatment, tozorakimab.
The company said the drug delivered "significant and highly clinically meaningful" reductions in exacerbations in two replicate trials, Oberon and Titania.
Bank of America said the data was a "pleasant surprise" after failed trials at Roche and Sanofi for similar drugs.
Cambridge-based AstraZeneca is the FTSE 100's most valuable company, worth around GBP223 billion.
The firm sees peak sales for tozorakimab of USD3 billion to USD5 billion, while the current Visible Alpha consensus is USD1.2 billion.
3i rallied by 1.0%, after slumping 18% on Thursday amid disappointing like-for-like growth at its main investment, Dutch discount retailer Action.
JPMorgan said lower guidance for flat margins and lower like-for-like sales at Action "than we were expecting, was disappointing."
Nonetheless, JPM said Action remains a "leading compound growth story" and "3i now offers a cheap way in."
Elsewhere, the rising gold price boosted Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining, up 0.6% and 1.9% respectively.
Gold rose to USD4,517.90 an ounce on Friday from USD4,383.70 at the same time on Thursday.
NatWest rose 0.9% as Deutsche Bank raised its share price target to 840p from 730p.
"NatWest has unfairly derated in our view," analyst Robert Noble said.
In the debit column, Metlen Energy was the biggest faller, down 8.6%.
The Athens-based energy and metallurgy company said auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers have requested more time to complete work on its 2025 financial statements, its first as a dual-listed company in London and Athens.
The group now expects to release results on April 9, a nine-day delay, and reiterated guidance for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of around GBP750 million.
Housebuilders were once more under pressure. Bank of America cut price targets by 20% across the sector and lowered pretax profit forecasts by 7% through 2026 to 2028, with sector earnings per share expectations now 6% below consensus.
Barratt Redrow fell 4.7%, Persimmon 3.9% and Taylor Wimpey 1.7%.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were AstraZeneca, up 472.00p at 14,302.00p, Endeavour Mining, up 80.00p at 4,262.00p, Rio Tinto, up 115.00p at 6,545.00p, Reckitt Benckiser, up 90.00p at 5,164.00p and Glencore, up 6.40p at 538.40p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Metlen Energy & Metals, down 3.00p at 31.75p, Barratt Redrow, down 12.60p at 255.70p, Babcock International, down 57.00p at 1,155.00p, Persimmon, down 43.00p at 1,075.00p and Autotrader, down 17.50p at 447.30p.
Monday's global economic calendar has UK mortgage approvals data at 0700 BST. German and Italian inflation figures are also due, along with the Dallas Fed manufacturing index in the US.
Monday's local corporate calendar has full-year results from Artisanal Spirits, Aoti and RTW Biotech.
In Europe, daylight saving time starts on Sunday, and clocks go forward by one hour.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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