London open: FTSE falls amid renewed US-Iran hostilities

(Sharecast News) - London stocks edged lower in early trade on Wednesday amid renewed hostilities between the US and Iran. At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 10,754.08, while Brent crude was up 0.6% at $95.22 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was 0.1% higher at $90.34 after the US launched a new series of strikes against Iranian targets and as Donald Trump warned Tehran against retaliatory strikes.

In a post on Truth Social, the US President said: "The United States is, as we speak, striking Iranian Targets near the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes are large and powerful, and in retaliation for the Iranians' failed attempt at adding sea mines to the Strait, which currently has no mines (They have been completely removed or detonated!), and the Iranians shooting eight missiles, all successfully knocked down, at our Military Base in Jordan.

"If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings and, when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran!"

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "The resumption of the military spat between the US and Iran has done little to calm markets, with the oil price pushing higher again to over $95 per barrel, an increase of 57% since the beginning of the year. This exacerbates inflationary concerns once more, at a time when governments are being increasingly punished by high levels of indebtedness by paying more to service the debt, let alone raising fresh capital for funding purposes."

In equity markets, oil giant BP was in focus as it announced that Ian Tyler has been appointed chairman, taking up the role immediately following an extensive search that considered both internal and external candidates. Tyler joined the board as a non‑executive director in April 2025 and became interim chair in May 2026.

Halma edged up as it agreed to acquire Pyxis, a US‑based specialist in water‑quality monitoring technology, in a deal worth an initial $170m (£126m). Halma said that further earn‑out payments of up to $30m may be made depending on Pyxis' performance over the next two financial years.

Educational publisher Pearson lost ground after a downgrade to 'neutral' from 'buy' at Citi. "At the current valuation, the shares fairly reflect the balance of operational momentum with limited upside to short-term consensus," the bank said.