London close: FTSE slides as Brent crude tops $100 a barrel

(Sharecast News) - London stocks slid on Wednesday amid concerns about inflation and interest rates, as Brent crude topped $100 a barrel for the first time since 24 July amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran. The FTSE 100 closed down 1.3% at 10,670.06, while Brent crude was up 3.3% at $101.16 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was 3.6% higher at $96.34 after US military strikes on Iranian oil tankers near Kharg island.

The US Central Command said it had destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days. Tehran retaliated by launching missile strikes in Jordan.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "The second oil surge in a year has really begun to drag stock markets lower, as it combines with pre-CPI anxiety among investors who already regard next week's Fed meeting with plenty of trepidation.

"A sea of red has washed over European markets today, once again hit hard because of their dependence on imported energy. A few more days of surging oil prices, a higher inflation print and then a Fed hike on Wednesday would be a very dangerous cocktail indeed for global markets."

In equity markets, Burberry was hit by a downgrade to 'hold' from 'buy' at HSBC, which said the turnaround has progressed well, but there is not much scope for upwards sales and earnings revisions from here.

On the upside, BP gushed higher in tandem with oil prices, while Aberdeen rallied as it appointed Torbjörn Magnusson as chair-designate with immediate effect. He succeeds Douglas Flint, whose departure was announced last year.

Polymer solutions firm Victrex surged after it lifted its full‑year profit guidance as strong trading momentum continued into the final quarter. The company now expects underlying pre-tax profits of £45m to £47m for FY26, up from previous guidance for £42m to £44m.

Energean rallied after the Israel-focused oil and gas producer held guidance and reported a recovery in production after a 41-day suspension due to the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,670.06 -1.31% FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,108.66 -0.99% techMARK (TASX) 5,951.56 -1.20%

FTSE 100 - Risers

BP (BP.) 557.10p 1.27% IG Group Holdings (IGG) 1,354.00p 1.04% Pearson (PSON) 1,166.50p 0.86% Computacenter (CCC) 5,190.00p 0.48% Abrdn (ABDN) 248.60p 0.40% GSK (GSK) 1,803.50p 0.39% Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 47.68p 0.38% Whitbread (WTB) 2,320.00p 0.13% Shell (SHEL) 3,504.00p 0.10% Beazley (BEZ) 1,300.00p 0.08%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Autotrader Group (AUTO) 489.00p -4.64% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,035.00p -4.56% Anglo American (AAL) 4,175.00p -3.51% Melrose Industries (MRO) 481.30p -3.45% The Sage Group (SGE) 983.60p -3.43% 3i Group (III) 2,701.00p -3.16% Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,456.00p -2.92% Airtel Africa (AAF) 341.00p -2.90% M&G (MNG) 345.00p -2.90% Games Workshop Group (GAW) 17,570.00p -2.82%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Victrex plc (VCT) 1,010.00p 16.23% Energean (ENOG) 865.00p 9.29% Ithaca Energy (ITH) 280.60p 8.04% Michael Page (PAGE) 213.00p 4.31% Auction Technology Group (ATG) 430.20p 3.46% B&M European Value Retail (BME) 232.00p 2.65% Rosebank Industries NPV (ROSE) 345.00p 2.37% Harbour Energy (HBR) 274.60p 2.08% Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 2.48p 2.06% Hays (HAS) 67.45p 1.73%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

NCC Group (NCC) 125.40p -6.70% Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 579.50p -5.72% Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 444.00p -5.13% Rightmove (RMV) 467.20p -5.02% Wickes Group (WIX) 182.00p -4.31% Vistry Group (VTY) 261.80p -4.24% Workspace Group (WKP) 355.60p -4.10% Dunelm Group (DNLM) 734.00p -4.05% Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,535.00p -4.00% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,014.00p -3.70%