11th Jun 2026 09:15
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Thursday, despite weak sessions in the US and Asia amid fresh strikes by US and Iranian forces.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 50.86 points, 0.5%, at 10,305.67. The FTSE 250 was down 36.00 points, 0.2%, at 22,915.34, and the AIM all-share was up 0.58 points, 0.1%, at 772.86.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.5% at 1,023.15, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.3% at 19,723.01, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.1% at 18,612.73.
In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.1% higher.
Sterling was at USD1.3383 on Thursday morning, down from USD1.3397 at the London equities close on Wednesday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR1.1585 from EUR1.1593.
The euro was lower at USD1.1546 from USD1.1556. Against the yen, the dollar edged up to JPY160.51 from JPY160.46.
Developments in the Middle East remained in focus on Thursday, after the US launched fresh attacks against Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate.
Pakistan's foreign ministry said the country's leaders would continue mediation efforts to end war between the US and Iran despite the surge in conflict, calling for a "negotiated settlement".
"Pakistan remains deeply concerned at the situation in the region marked by recent escalation... we are of the view that diplomacy and dialogue should be the guiding principles for achieving a negotiated settlement of all contentious issues," foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told journalists.
US President Donald Trump, who had repeatedly said negotiations with Tehran were close to an end, said on Wednesday that Iran keeps "playing us for suckers" and will now "have to pay the price".
Hours after, US Central Command said American forces began "additional self-defense strikes" in response to what it called Tehran's "unwarranted and continued aggression".
The renewed hostilities came as Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said that if Trump required it, "we'll negotiate with bombs, and we're very good at it".
Brent crude was trading lower at USD92.70 a barrel on Thursday morning from USD92.98 on Wednesday, but was up at USD95.44 earlier in the day.
Investors were also waiting for the European Central Bank interest rate call on Thursday, due at 1315 BST, followed by a press conference with President Christine Lagarde at 1345 BST.
The deposit facility rate stands at 2.00%, the main refinancing operations rate at 2.15%, and the marginal lending facility at 2.40%.
Markets are pricing a near-certain 25 basis point increase, which would lift the deposit rate to 2.25%. Investors are also assigning a high probability to another interest rate hike in September.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was up slightly. In China, the Shanghai Composite was 0.1% lower, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 0.8%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney lost 0.2%.
In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.9%, while the S&P 500 sank 1.6% while the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.0%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.54% on Thursday morning, widened slightly from 4.53% on Wednesday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury advanced to 5.02% from 5.00%.
Back in London, Halma shares were down 12%, the most on the FTSE 100, despite beating full-year sales and profit forecasts with record revenue.
The Amersham, England-based safety products manufacturer said pretax profit jumped 28% to GBP490.7 million in the 12 months to the end of March from GBP384.3 million a year earlier.
Adjusted earnings before interest and tax grew 22% to GBP594.5 million from GBP486.3 million, or by 19% on an organic basis, ahead of company compiled consensus of GBP567.9 million.
The company declared a final dividend of 15.11 pence per share, up 7.0% from 14.12p a year ago, taking the total payout for the financial year up by 7.0% to 24.74p from 23.12p, below 25.9p consensus.
It expects to deliver low double-digit percentage organic constant currency revenue growth in financial 2027, in line with 11% consensus, including premium growth of around five percentage points in the photonics business.
JPMorgan said the financial 2027 Photonics guide is "likely a disappointment", slightly higher than sell-side expectations, but "likely lower than buy-side expectations in our view."
Intertek shares edged up 2.7% after it agreed to extend the deadline for a firm offer from suitor EQT Fund Management to Thursday next week.
Last month, Intertek backed a final proposal from EQT worth GBP60 per share in cash, or GBP9.40 billion in total.
EQT has requested additional time to complete the due diligence and governance process, and confirmed the financial terms of the final proposal remain unchanged.
On the FTSE 250 index, Wizz Air shares climbed 4.2% after it reported higher earnings but said it is not giving full-year guidance.
The Budapest-based budget carrier said pretax profit jumped 37% to EUR27.0 million in the financial year to the end of March from EUR19.7 million a year prior.
Revenue climbed 8.0% to EUR5.69 billion from EUR5.27 billion, while total operating expenses rose 8.9% to EUR5.55 billion from EUR5.10 billion.
"The actions taken during [financial 2026] have further strengthened our resilience and the foundations of our business. With a clear strategy, a highly efficient operating model, a young fleet and financial resilience we are well positioned to deliver sustainable growth and create value over the long term," said Chief Executive Officer Jozsef Varadi.
Looking ahead, the company said it is not giving guidance for financial 2027 due to the lack of visibility across its trading seasons, and uncertainty from the conflict in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz closure.
A range of stocks were trading ex-dividend on Thursday, meaning new investors do not qualify for the latest payout. Among those, B&M European Value Retail fell the most on the FTSE 250 and was down 3.8%, while C&C Group lost 3.7%.
On the AIM index, shares in RWS Holdings sunk 12% after it cut its dividend but said it continues to trade in line with full year expectations.
The Maidenhead, England-based language services and artificial intelligence solutions provider said its pretax loss for the six months to the end of March narrowed to GBP9.5 million from GBP12.7 million a year prior.
Revenue climbed 4.6% to GBP360.3 million from GBP344.3 million.
However, RWS cut its interim dividend by 29% to 1.75 pence per share from 2.45p a year ago.
The company said it has made a good start to the second half, but said current foreign exchange rates, after, hedging, are expected to have a GBP2 million adverse impact on full-year pretax profit.
Shares in Haydale climbed 7.7%.
The advanced materials and clean technology firm said it has expanded its agreement with Lloyds Banking through its SaveMoneyCutCarbon platform.
Lloyds has confirmed it plans to proceed to a national roll-out across its SME & Mid Corporates customer base after a successful regional pilot launched last year.
"This is the model that drives repeatable revenue at scale, with programmes expected to convert into recurring, programme-based revenues over time," said Haydale Chief Executive Officer Simon Turek.
Gold was lower at USD4,109.87 an ounce early on Thursday from USD4,129.15 late Wednesday.
Still to come on Thursday's economic calendar is an interest rate call by the European Central Bank, plus US PPI and weekly jobless claims data.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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Related Shares:
HalmaIntertek GroupWizz AirB&MC&C GroupRWS HoldingsHaydale Plc