17th Mar 2026 12:05
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were higher at midday on Tuesday, as the FTSE 100 strengthened despite ongoing uncertainty around the conflict in the Middle East and the high price of oil.
The FTSE 100 index was up 71.85 points, 0.7% at 10,389.54. The FTSE 250 was up 110.66 points, 0.5%, at 22,133.13, and the AIM all-share was up 5.18 points, 0.7%, at 759.44.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.7% at 1,031.97, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.3% higher at 19,296.64, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.1% at 17,533.97.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.6%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.3% higher.
Sterling was at USD1.3337 at midday on Tuesday, up from USD1.3293 at the London equities close on Monday. The euro was higher at USD1.1515 from USD1.1480. Against the yen, the dollar was slightly lower at JPY159.00 versus JPY159.34.
"The FTSE 100 ticked higher and outperformed some of its counterparts as oil continued to climb," said AJ Bell analyst Dan Coatsworth.
"The longer the oil price stays above USD100 per barrel, the louder the alarm bells for the market over inflation risks. Iran's continued attacks on regional energy infrastructure are helping to keep crude at elevated levels."
Brent oil was trading higher at USD103.53 a barrel at midday on Tuesday from USD102.83 on Monday evening.
"The FTSE 100 has a large weighting towards oil and gas producers, although it also has plenty of constituents that have big energy or fuel requirements or which might lose out from interest rates staying higher for longer," Coatsworth added.
Oil majors BP and Shell were up 1.6% and 1.1% respectively on the FTSE 100.
Iran's top security official and the head of the Revolutionary Guard's Basij militia were killed in overnight strikes in a blow to the country's leadership, Israel's defence minister said.
Both security official Ali Larijani and General Gholam Reza Soleimani were "eliminated last night", Israel Katz said in a statement.
Iranian state media did not immediately confirm either death. However, it said a message from Larijani's office would be published shortly.
Stocks in New York were called to open lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 index were called down 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite was called 0.2% lower.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury slimmed slightly to 4.21% at midday on Tuesday from 4.24% at Monday's close. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury narrowed to 4.87% from 4.88%.
Back in London, shares in Travis Perkins were up 6.0% on the FTSE 250 index after it cut its dividend as losses widened amid a subdued housing market.
The Northampton-based building materials company said its loss widened to GBP134.7 million in 2025 from GBP38.4 million in 2024.
Profit was hit by a 60% increase in adjusting items to GBP222.2 million from GBP139.1 million, mainly reflecting impairments at the firm's Merchanting and Toolstation Europe businesses.
Adjusted operating profit fell 13% to GBP133 million from GBP152 million, reflecting lower margins in Merchanting.
Revenue fell 0.9% to GBP4.56 billion from GBP4.61 billion.
Chief Executive Gavin Stark, who joined Travis Perkins in January, said the firm will "maintain our disciplined and selective approach to capital allocation as we navigate our way back to better market conditions."
CEO Stark said: "I have no doubt that we can restore the group's performance and create significant shareholder value over the medium term."
Trustpilot extended its gains and surged 28%, after it announced a new share buyback as annual earnings beat expectations, supported by rising volume from artificial intelligence searches.
The Copenhagen, Denmark-based consumer review platform reported pretax profit of USD14.1 million in 2025, almost tripled from USD5.2 million a year earlier.
Revenue climbed 24% to USD261.1 million from USD210.7 million, or 20% at constant currency, driven by strong retention and the compounding effect of bookings.
Trustpilot said it will start a GBP22.5 million share buyback programme, to be run by Deutsche Bank, after the completion of the 2025 buyback programme.
Shares in Trustpilot were knocked at the back end of 2025 after short-seller Grizzly Research accused the company of "mafia-style extortion campaigns against non-paying businesses" and a "concerning pattern of apparently falsified reviews".
Looking ahead, Trustpilot said it expects its revenue to grow a "high-teen" percentage at constant currency in 2026, "reflecting strong 2025 bookings" with a two to three percentage point improvement in the adjusted Ebitda margin.
AJ Bell analyst Dan Coatsworth said: "Like a lot of businesses, Trustpilot is working hard to convince the market it can be a beneficiary of the continued roll-out of artificial intelligence. Management's decision to sanction a chunky share buyback programme helps underpin their faith in prospects."
Shares in Harworth fell 1.7% as it reported lower full-year revenue and pretax profit, as it warned that ongoing market volatility could weigh on the wider UK economy.
The Rotherham, South Yorkshire-based regenerator of land for sustainable development said its total accounting return was 1.7% for 2025 as it reported revenue of GBP129.8 million for the year, 29% lower than GBP181.6 million in 2024.
Harworth also reported GBP14.7 million in pretax profit in 2025, 75% lower year-on-year from GBP69.4 million.
The firm increased its final and total dividend for the year. It declared a final dividend of 1.237 pence per share, up 10% from 1.125 pence last year, bringing the final dividend up by the same amount to 1.775 pence from 1.614 pence.
On the AIM market, Intercede shares were down 18%, after it said it expects adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be around 15% and 18% below current market expectations for the financial year to the end of March.
The cybersecurity software firm said the current market consensus is for adjusted Ebitda of GBP4.6 million.
Intercede said it expects to deliver annual recurring revenue growth, but sees full year revenue between 8% and 9% below current market expectations of GBP18.7 million.
"This reflects procurement delays, particularly in the US, and customer purchasing deferrals attributable to heightened geopolitical uncertainty, including the ongoing Middle East conflict," the firm said.
It noted that "these opportunities are delayed, not lost". Intercede reaffirmed its financial 2027 revenue target of GBP21 million, which its says reflects its "confidence that the FY26 revenue delays represent timing shifts rather than fundamental demand weakness".
Gold was higher at USD5,009.80 an ounce at midday on Tuesday from USD4,983.55 late Monday.
Still to come on Tuesday's economic calendar are pending home sales figures for the US.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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