27th Mar 2026 12:02
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were lower at midday Friday, with losses accelerating after a muted open as conflicting signals over Iran weighed on sentiment.
The FTSE 100 index was down 62.41 points, 0.6%, at 9,909.76. The FTSE 250 was down 256.22 points, 1.2%, at 21,039.85, and the AIM all-share was down 4.55 points, 0.6%, at 714.51.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.6% at 987.34, the Cboe UK 250 was down 1.3% at 18,272.26, and the Cboe small companies was down 0.3% at 16,924.78.
In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 1.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 1.6%.
Brent oil was trading at USD104.49 a barrel at midday on Friday, lower than USD108.80 late Thursday and retreating from morning peaks of USD109.83.
Israel said it had targeted a "major" missile and sea mining production facility in central Iran.
Meanwhile, Israel's defence minister has said Israeli attacks on Iran "will escalate and expand".
Earlier, US President Donald Trump said he would postpone plans to begin destroying Iranian energy plants by another 10 days, after claiming talks with Tehran were "going very well".
Iran has not publicly responded to Trump's decision, though Tehran previously said it was awaiting Washington's reply to its conditions for a ceasefire.
At a cabinet meeting, special envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed the US had sent Iran a 15-point peace proposal, raising questions over how realistic a deal might be.
However, 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 deployment would significantly boost US military presence in the region, despite Trump's repeated assertions that Tehran is engaged in peace talks.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the move would provide Trump with "more military options" in a region engulfed by war since US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
The additional forces would join thousands of paratroopers and Marines already deployed.
An Iranian official said Wednesday that Tehran would respond to any US ground invasion by activating its Houthi allies in Yemen to target shipping in the Red Sea, potentially opening a new front in a conflict already carrying major economic, political and military consequences.
Trump has repeatedly said he does not plan to deploy ground troops into combat with Iran.
The Journal added that while the exact deployment locations remain unclear, troops would likely be positioned within striking distance of Iran and Kharg Island, a key oil export hub.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3302 at midday Friday, lower compared to USD1.3338 Thursday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR1.1555 from EUR1.1561 a day prior. The euro stood at USD1.1511, lower against USD1.1563. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY159.88, up compared to JPY159.65.
In the FTSE 100, AstraZeneca provided much of the support, up 3.3%, 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.
Metlen Energy, by contrast, was among the biggest fallers, down 5.9%.
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.
On the FTSE 250, Harbour Energy was down 5.3% after BASF cut its stake to 35% from 41.5% via an accelerated placing.
BASF sold 80 million shares at 273p each, raising around GBP218.4 million, with the deal upsized from 60 million shares on strong demand.
The reduction follows BASF's acquisition of shares through the Wintershall Dea asset transfer.
Separately, Goldman Sachs raised its price target to 250p from 230p but reiterated a ‘sell' rating.
Playtech rose 6.0% after launching a share buyback programme for up to 5.7 million shares, worth about GBP19.0 million at current market prices.
The company plans to complete the buyback before its next annual general meeting at the end of May. The programme will be run by Jefferies International Ltd, with repurchased shares to be used for future employee share awards.
Among smaller caps, Future fell 13% after Jefferies cut its rating to 'hold' from 'buy' and slashed its price target to 466p from 1,220p.
Seeing Machines was down 4.8% after reporting a wider first-half loss as revenue declined. Revenue for the six months to December 31 fell to USD22.9 million from USD25.3 million, while pretax loss widened to USD22.8 million from USD18.5 million. The company said trading remains in line with market expectations.
Stocks in New York were called lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called down 0.4%, the S&P 500 index down 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.6%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.46%, widening from 4.40%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.98%, widening from 4.94%.
Gold was quoted at USD4,414.76 an ounce at midday Friday, up from USD4,383.70 on Thursday.
Still to come on Friday's economic calendar is Canada's budget balance data.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter
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