24th Apr 2026 12:09
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were lower at midday on Friday, as the conflict in the Middle East seemed to reach a stalemate, which sent oil prices higher again.
The FTSE 100 index was down 57.52 points, 0.6%, at 10,399.49. The FTSE 250 was down 226.83 points, 1.0%, at 22,537.69, and the AIM all-share was down 6.63 points, 0.8%, at 795.50.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.7% at 1,035.42, the Cboe UK 250 was 1.1% lower at 19,614.31, and the Cboe small companies was down 0.6% at 18,117.08.
In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.9%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt fell 0.3%.
Sterling was at USD1.3487 at midday on Friday, down from USD1.3500 at the London equities close on Thursday. Against the euro, sterling was lower at EUR1.1526 from EUR1.1551.
The euro was slightly lower at USD1.1702 from USD1.1708. Against the yen, the dollar was a little higher at JPY159.66 versus JPY159.50.
Stocks fell on Friday amid heightened uncertainty about the length of the conflict in the Middle East and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which sent the price of oil higher.
Brent oil climbed to USD106.62 a barrel at midday on Friday from USD103.25 on Thursday.
The Strait of Hormuz remains shut, while US President Donald Trump issued orders for the US Navy to fire on any boats laying mines.
Trump also said he has "all the time in the world" to fix the crisis.
AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould said: "Oil prices currently trade at USD105 per barrel which is higher than the sub-USD70 price seen at the start of 2026, but below the USD120+ level when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. One could argue current oil prices are high enough to cause pain for businesses and consumers as everything becomes more expensive. There are already signs it is causing problems for companies as they report cautious outlook statements."
In response, shares in oil majors BP and Shell were up 1.2% and 1.0% respectively on Friday.
Mould added: "Central banks such as the Bank of England will be watching key data points around inflation and the jobs market to see if interest rates need to change. It's a tough call as a swift resolution to the Middle East could mean that an inflation spike is only temporary, and that monetary policy may not need to go down a different path. But wait too long to respond and central banks could face criticism that once again they didn't act fast enough."
Stocks in New York were called to open mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called down 0.3%, while the S&P 500 index was called up 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite 0.9% higher.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.33% on Friday, widened from 4.29% on Thursday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury advanced to 4.92% from 4.89%.
Back in London, shares in J Sainsbury were up 1.4%, after the stock fell 3.7% on Thursday off the back of a disappointing outlook in its annual results.
The grocer started the first GBP200 million tranche of this year's GBP300 million share buyback programme on Friday.
The first tranche will run to the mid-point of the financial year on September 11, while the full programme will conclude by the end of the current financial year on February 27.
Shares in Mondi were down 7.6% as it reported lower profit.
AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould said: "There's no papering over the cracks in packaging outfit Mondi's latest update. The business is heavily exposed to rising energy and raw materials costs and that's putting significant pressure on profit.
"Mondi is now down more than 60% over the last five years as demand has eased back and the company has battled waves of inflationary pressure. The immediate outlook suggests Mondi will have to run hard just to stand still."
On the AIM market, shares in Light Science Technologies sank 18%.
The Ashbourne, England-based agriculture technology and fire protection company reported a wider pretax loss of GBP894,000 for 2025, compared to a GBP31,000 in 2024.
Revenue fell to GBP8.6 million from GBP12.0 million. "This was a transitional period for the group with a focus on creating a platform for high-margin growth across all of our divisions," said Chief Executive Officer Simon Deacon.
Quantum Data Energy shares were down 11%, as it continued to fall after sinking 25% on Thursday.
The power infrastructure developer on Thursday said it is in advanced term sheet negotiations with an established UK-based institutional investor. QDE expects to complete a binding definitive funding agreement in the second quarter of 2026.
As a result of the progress made and to fund construction capex, QDE raised GBP1.0 million via fundraise at 2.6 pence per share.
Gold was lower at USD4,681.38 an ounce at midday on Friday from USD4,731.39 late Thursday.
Still to come on Friday's economic calendar is the Michigan consumer sentiment index and Canadian retail sales data.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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