18th Mar 2026 09:10
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Wednesday, ahead of a swathe of central bank meetings, after Iraq signed a deal to resume oil exports through Turkey.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 24.86 points, 0.2%, at 10,428.46. The FTSE 250 was up 164.10 points, 0.7%, at 22,350.72, and the AIM all-share was up 3.59 points, 0.5%, at 763.73.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 1,035.76, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.7% higher, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.1% at 17,546.70.
In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.8%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.5% higher.
Sterling was at USD1.3351 on Wednesday morning, up slightly from USD1.3345 at the London equities close on Tuesday. The euro was marginally higher at USD1.1532 from USD1.1531. Against the yen, the dollar was lower at JPY158.93 versus JPY159.01.
Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya said oil is "sharply down" after Iraq signed a deal to resume oil exports via Turkey, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent oil was trading higher at USD102.72 a barrel on Wednesday morning from USD101.95 on Tuesday. The price had fallen from USD103.47 earlier in the day.
The state-owned North Oil Company said it "has begun operating the Sarlo pumping station to resume pumping and exporting Kirkuk oil to the port of Ceyhan with an initial capacity of 250,000 barrels per day".
"The region is reorganizing, preparing for the possibility of a prolonged conflict. Restoring oil exports fully will take time, and we may soon see physical-market shortages — likely keeping oil prices under upward pressure. Yet, as flows adapt to alternative routes, the initial surge in oil prices seen at the start of the war could ease," Ozkardeskaya said.
On the FTSE 100, oil majors Shell and BP were down 0.7% and 0.6% respectively.
Investors are also focused on the US Federal Reserve decision later today.
"Recent data show US price pressures had been building even before the latest spike in oil prices, suggesting challenging months ahead. The Fed will need to decide whether to look through these pressures, assuming they are short-lived, or act by signaling no rate cuts in the foreseeable future," Ozkardeskaya said.
In Asia on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was up 2.9%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was 0.3% higher, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong gained 0.6%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was 0.3% higher.
In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.1%, the S&P 500 0.3% higher and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.5%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury slimmed to 4.18% on Wednesday morning from 4.20% at Tuesday's close. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury narrowed to 4.83% from 4.85%.
Back in London, shares in Diploma jumped 17% and led the FTSE 100 as it said trading remains "very strong" as it announced a "significant" increase to full-year guidance.
The London-based supplier of specialised technical products and services now expects organic revenue growth of 9% in the financial year to September, up from 6% previously. It expects an operating margin of around 25%, raised from around 22.5% before.
Overall, Diploma said this represents an around 13% upgrade to consensus operating profit for the financial year, which it currently puts at GBP377 million.
In the financial year to September 2025, Diploma reported revenue of GBP1.52 billion, adjusted operating margin of 22.5% and adjusted operating profit of GBP342.7 million.
"We expect another year of sustainable quality compounding, with earnings growth over 20% at strong returns on capital," the firm said in a statement.
Shares in Prudential were down 1.8% despite reporting sharply stronger 2025 annual results, with higher profit and improved per‑share performance supported by broad growth across its Asian operations.
The London-based insurer focused on Asia said pretax profit increased 67% to USD4.94 billion in 2025 from USD2.95 billion the previous year.
Annual premium equivalent sales was USD6.66 billion, up 7.4% from USD6.20 billion a year prior. The figure is below the USD6.73 billion forecast according to company-compiled consensus.
On the FTSE 250 index, Softcat shares climbed 6.0% as it lifted its yearly profit guidance, after a first half that beat expectations.
The provider of IT infrastructure products said pretax profit in the half-year to January 31 shot up 15% to GBP88.2 million from GBP76.7 million a year prior. Revenue surged 54% on-year to GBP837.5 million from GBP545.6 million.
Underlying operating profit pushed 27% higher to GBP93.8 million from GBP73.7 million and for the full-year, Softcat now expects high single-digit growth, its forecast raised from low-single digits. In financial 2025, underlying operating profit amounted to GBP180.1 million.
Ithaca Energy shares were 6.1% lower after it reported a more than doubling of annual profit, as oil and gas production grew, though it guided 2026 production below its 2025 exit rate.
The shares were hit as the rapid rise in oil prices stalled as Iraq restarted exports.
Pretax profit was USD840.3 million in 2025, up from USD334.3 million in 2024. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and exploration expense were USD2.03 billion, up 46% from USD1.41 billion.
The adjusted Ebitdax was in line with guidance provided by Ithaca back in February.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that Unilever is in the early stages of considering a separation of its food assets as it seeks growth from beauty, personal care and wellbeing brands.
Shares in Unilever were down 0.8%.
Bloomberg sources said the London-based consumer goods firm, which owns Hellmann's mayonnaise and Marmite spread, is speaking with advisers as it studies future options for streamlining its sprawling portfolio, including a potential separation of most or all of the food business.
The report said this would sharpen Unilever's focus on brands such as Dove soap and Axe deodorant.
A transaction would likely value the Unilever food brands at tens of billions of dollars, the report added.
Last year, Unilever spun off its ice cream division into Magnum Ice Cream, keeping an almost 20% stake that it will sell down in the coming years.
Gold was lower at USD4,987.70 an ounce early on Wednesday from USD4,994.57 late Tuesday.
Still to come on Wednesday's economic calendar is the interest rate call in the US, as well as producer inflation and factory orders. Canada also has its rate decision, and the eurozone has consumer inflation.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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