24th Jun 2026 09:03
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were mixed on Wednesday morning, as tensions between the US and Iran remain high despite progress at the weekend's talks in Switzerland, and with Andy Burnham still seen as the most likely successor to outgoing UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Burnham and Starmer met on Tuesday in a face-to-face meeting that took place away from No 10 and was reportedly "frosty", according to the Guardian. Burnham has also been offered government briefings to prepare for power after Civil Service access talks were authorised by Starmer. Meanwhile, other MPs continue to be discussed as potential leadership contenders, including former defence minister Al Carns.
Meanwhile in geopolitical news, Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi spoke with senior Hamas officer Basem Naeem regarding talks between Iran and the US, state television reported.
During the call, Araghchi "reaffirmed the Islamic republic's continued support for Palestinians and their just cause until their legitimate national rights are fully realised", according to a transcript reported by Iranian television.
The FTSE 100 index was up 4.80 points early on Wednesday, at 10,433.65. The FTSE 250 was up 31.97 points, 0.1%, at 22,958.44, and the AIM all-share was down 2.74 points, 0.4%, at 779.85.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.2% at 1,036.47, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 19,660.84, and the Cboe small companies was down 0.2% at 18,034.25.
In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.5%.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3192 early Wednesday, down from to USD1.3198 on Tuesday. Against the euro, sterling rose to EUR1.1611 from EUR1.1595 a day prior. The euro stood lower at USD1.1357, against USD1.1382. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JPY161.67 compared to JPY161.54.
In Asia on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.9%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.5%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was up 0.2%.
Policymakers and the Bank of Japan identified the need for additional rate hikes going forward, flagging inflation risks, the summary of opinions released on Wednesday showed.
Following the monetary policy board meeting ending June 16, Japan's central bank hiked its policy rate to the highest level since 1995, with a 25 basis point increase to 1.0% from 0.75%.
According to the latest summary of opinions from the meeting, one policymaker argued that it is appropriate for the BOJ to continue increasing the policy rate considering the consumer price index inflation has been approaching the central bank's 2% target.
However, another argued that the rate should be held "steady", as raising it "could suppress aggregate demand by curbing firms' business fixed investment, potentially inducing simultaneous declines in inflation and in production and employment."
In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.1%, the S&P 500 down 1.4% and the Nasdaq Composite down 2.2%.
Swissquote Senior Analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya said technology stocks "are being battered" thanks to "their massive AI spending, increasingly financed by debt, with an unclear path to profitability for some of them"; and "the prospects of higher interest rates that will increase the cost of debt in the months to come."
"Note that the unease in US tech stocks started after the latest Federal Reserve (Fed) announcement, which came in more hawkish than expected, as the new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh put 'price stability' at the centre of his statement," she added. "The dot plot suggested that half of the Fed members are looking for at least one rate hike this year...So the question is: is the recent technology selloff the beginning of a potential AI bubble burst, or just another correction on the way up?
"I don't have the answer. But some stocks are screaming for a correction to return to healthier and more down-to-earth levels."
In US political news, President Donald Trump said he has ordered an investigation into major oil companies over high gasoline prices as he faces criticism over the impact of the Middle East war.
"The big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Those prices are dropping like a rock! In other words, customers are being 'gouged'," he added.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.48%, narrowing from 4.49%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted unchanged at 4.93%.
Brent oil was quoted lower at USD76.10 a barrel early in London on Wednesday from USD77.10 late Tuesday.
Gold was quoted lower at USD4,079.37 an ounce against USD4,134.67.
Back on the London Stock Exchange, Segro led the FTSE 100 with a 16% jump.
This was after San Francisco-based logistics real estate investment trust ProLogis revealed an an all-share takeover proposal valuing the UK warehouse landlord at around GBP12.6 billion or 925 pence per share.
Segro's board rejected the possible combination bid, which offered 0.084 new Prologis shares for each Segro share.
Prologis urged Segro shareholders to encourage the board to engage and allow a binding offer to be considered.
Berkeley Group was the highest FTSE 250 stock, up 5.3% despite reporting lower earnings in its annual results.
The housebuilder's pretax profit for the financial year ended April 30 fell 15% on-year to GBP451.4 million from GBP528.9 million, while revenue decreased 4.2% to GBP2.38 billion from GBP2.49 billion.
"This robust performance, which is in line with guidance, reflects the focused execution of our Berkeley 2035 strategy, disciplined cost control and our agile response to extremely challenging macro-economic and regulatory conditions," commented Executive Chair Rob Perrins.
Trainline was the second-worst performer, down 5.2%.
The rail travel platform has named Ian Brown as its next chief executive officer, succeeding Jody Ford from September 28.
Wednesday's economic calendar includes Canadian manufacturing sales, and US new home sales and crude oil stocks.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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