12th Mar 2026 08:58
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened lower on Thursday, as fresh attacks on shipping in the Gulf pushed oil prices higher and kept investors wary.
The FTSE 100 index opened down 72.59 points, 0.7%, at 10,281.63. The FTSE 250 was down 120.10 points, 0.5%, at 22,261.24, and the AIM all-share was down 2.90 points, 0.4%, at 770.71.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 1,022.48, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.5% at 19,477.52, and the Cboe small companies was marginally higher at 17,813.49.
In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.7%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.5%.
Oil prices climbed sharply after explosions were reported on three more foreign ships in the Gulf. Brent crude traded at USD97.57 a barrel early Thursday, having earlier hit USD101.74 and hovering around the USD100 mark overnight, up from USD91.93 late Wednesday.
The gains came despite efforts by major economies to calm markets by releasing oil from emergency reserves. The International Energy Agency said its members will release a record 400 million barrels from strategic reserves, equivalent to roughly four days of global oil consumption.
The US Department of Energy confirmed it will release 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve starting next week, a process expected to take around 120 days.
Iran warned that oil prices could surge as high as USD200 a barrel as attacks on shipping intensify in the Strait of Hormuz.
The regional conflict boosted defence-related stocks. BAE Systems and Babcock topped the FTSE 100, up 2.4% and 2.2% respectively. Rolls-Royce Holdings was up 0.8%. Elsewhere in Europe, Germany's Rheinmetall rose 3.0% and Thales in Paris gained 2.0%.
Italy's aerospace and defence firm Leonardo jumped 7.6% in Milan after Italy's defence ministry said a missile struck an Italian base in Erbil, in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region, overnight. No casualties were reported. Italy has around 300 soldiers stationed in Erbil training Kurdish forces.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3378 early Thursday, lower than USD1.3410 at the London equities close on Wednesday. The euro traded at USD1.1550, lower than USD1.1571. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY158.96, higher versus JPY158.81.
In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.6%, the S&P 500 down 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.1%.
On the trade front, the Trump administration has launched the first in a series of wide-ranging trade investigations that could pave the way for fresh tariffs, following the Supreme Court's decision to strike down previous levies.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said his office will begin probes into more than a dozen major economies, including China, the EU, Japan and India, focusing on alleged excess manufacturing capacity.
Such investigations, which typically take months, are required before the president can impose duties unilaterally on specific countries.
China criticised the move, calling the new investigations "political manipulation". A foreign ministry spokesperson said so-called overcapacity is a "false proposition" and warned that tariff and trade wars do not serve the interests of any party.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.23%, widening from 4.21%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.88%, widening from 4.85%.
Back in London, several of the largest moves in the FTSE 100 were driven by stocks trading ex-dividend, meaning new buyers are no longer entitled to the next dividend payment.
HSBC was down 4.2% at the bottom of the index as it traded ex-dividend, alongside Schroders, down 2.5%, LondonMetric Property, down 1.9%, Tritax Big Box REIT, down 2.2%, and Entain, down 1.0%.
On the FTSE 250, Trainline and Computacenter were among the biggest losers, both down 5.5%.
Savills reported higher revenue and profit for 2025, citing strong growth across its global real estate advisory and management businesses, and announced the acquisition of real estate investment bank Eastdil Secured Holdings LLC.
Revenue rose 6.1% to GBP2.55 billion from GBP2.40 billion a year earlier. Underlying pretax profit increased 11% to GBP145.3 million, while reported pretax profit climbed 14% to GBP101.0 million from GBP88.3 million.
Savills said it has seen improving momentum in global markets at the start of 2026, though it remains difficult to gauge the potential impact of the Middle East conflict. The group has around 800 colleagues in the region, accounting for roughly 5% of underlying pretax profit in 2025.
Computacenter said profit and revenue increased, supported by strong performance in the US and improvements in the UK and Germany, partly offset by weakness in France. Jefferies cut its price target on the stock to 3,700 pence from 3,800p but maintained a 'buy' rating.
Trainline fell 4.7% after reporting higher ticket sales in its 2026 financial year trading update. Total group net ticket sales rose 7% year-on-year to GBP6.32 billion in the year to February 28, while revenue increased 2% to GBP453 million.
UK consumer ticket sales climbed 6% to GBP4.14 billion, driven by leisure travel and a recovery in commuter journeys. However, UK revenue declined 2% to GBP204 million following a reduction in commission rates introduced in April 2025.
Among smaller caps, On the Beach Group plunged 14% after suspending its full-year profit guidance as the Middle East conflict triggered a sharp slowdown in bookings to key destinations including Turkey, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt.
The online holiday retailer withdrew its adjusted pretax profit guidance of GBP39 million to GBP43 million. It noted that trading earlier in the financial year had been strong, with bookings up 10% year-on-year and repeat customer bookings up 19% to February 28.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo ended down 1.0%. In China, the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 0.7%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 1.3%
Gold was quoted at USD5,179.50 an ounce early Thursday, higher than USD5,172.30 on Wednesday.
Still to come on Thursday's economic calendar are Ireland CPI, US weekly jobless claims, US trade balance, US building permits and Canada trade balance.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
BAE SystemsBabcockHSBC HoldingsLondonMetricSchrodersTritax Big BoxEntainTrainlineComputacenterOn The BeachRolls-Royce