(Sharecast News) - London stocks dipped on Tuesday, with oil prices up as investors mulled conflicting accounts of the progress being made to agree the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The FTSE 100 closed down 0.2% at 10,844.19, while Brent crude was up 1.1% at $88.70 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was also 1.1% higher, at $83.04.
Thadeu Dos Santos, regional director at Infinox, said: "Crude prices remained volatile as markets reacted to developments in the Middle East. Reports that talks between Iran and Oman had progressed to an advanced stage revived hopes of progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
"However, direct US-Iran engagement remains stalled, while President Trump's tougher demands have complicated the diplomatic outlook, leaving markets sensitive to further headlines. Without a concrete breakthrough, volatility is likely to remain elevated."
On home shores, industry data showed that growth in retail sales eased in July as non-food sales took a hit from the heatwave. According to the latest BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor, total sales rose 1.3% year-on-year following 2.5% growth in July 2025. This was below the 12-month average of 1.8% growth.
Food sales were up 3.8% last month following 3.9% growth in the same month last year, while non-food sales fell 0.7%, having risen 1.4% in July 2025.
In-store non-food sales declined by 1.9% following a 1.9% increase in July last year, while online non-food sales rose 1.3%, an improvement on July 2025's increase of 0.3%.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive at the British Retail Consortium, said: "July saw modest sales growth, with food sales boosted by the final week of the World Cup. Non-food sales were hit by the decline in footfall as shoppers avoided the heat. Clothing was a bright spot, driven by demand for affordable summer essentials, while footwear struggled to keep up. Shoppers also prioritised smaller indulgences such as beauty products and fashion jewellery, while delaying bigger-ticket purchases including furniture and computing.
"Consumer demand has struggled in the heat, leaving retailers facing a challenging start to the second half of the year. Household budgets remain stretched, consumer confidence is fragile, and retailers continue to grapple with rising operating costs. If the Government wants to drive growth and keep inflation under control, it must reduce the cost of doing business by tackling the taxes and regulatory burdens that are holding back investment and putting upward pressure on prices. These include business rates, new packaging taxes, and the rising costs of employment."
Separate figures from Barclays showed consumer confidence hit its highest level in nearly two years in July as hospitality and leisure spending was boosted by warm weather and the World Cup.
In equity markets, Spirax Group tumbled even as it posted a rise in first-half profit and revenue and said it was on track to meet full-year guidance. Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, attributed the share price slump to disappointment over the lack of upgrades to earnings guidance in the results.
Legal & General and M&G were both weaker after downgrades to 'sell' from 'neutral' at UBS. The bank lifted its price target on L&G to 280p from 260p and on M&G to 330p from 300p.
IWG fell even as the provider of office space backed its full-year and medium-term expectations thanks in part to cost-cutting measures.
Genuit slumped as it reported a sharp fall in interim profit, but held its expectations for the year, with pricing action, cost control and a strengthening infrastructure pipeline expected to support an improvement from next year.
On the upside, InterContinental Hotels ended a smidgen higher after saying it was on track to meet full-year earnings estimates as it reported a 10% jump in profits driven by better-than-expected demand globally.
Oil giants BP and Shell gushed higher as oil prices rose.
Bellway gained as the housebuilder said it built more homes than expected in the year to the end of July, but also cautioned the near-term outlook remained uncertain and called on the government to introduce an immediate cut to stamp duty to boost demand.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,844.19 -0.17%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,799.75 0.22%
techMARK (TASX) 6,153.71 0.02%
FTSE 100 - Risers
St James's Place (STJ) 1,176.50p 3.20%
Compass Group 11 (CPG) 33.03p 2.83%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 1,390.00p 2.21%
Entain (ENT) 553.80p 2.18%
BP (BP.) 535.90p 1.75%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 19,230.00p 1.74%
Autotrader Group (AUTO) 528.60p 1.65%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,163.00p 1.44%
Shell (SHEL) 3,356.00p 1.43%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,424.50p 1.42%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Spirax Group (SPX) 7,225.00p -5.56%
M&G (MNG) 350.40p -3.50%
Standard Life (SDLF) 902.00p -3.27%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 301.60p -3.08%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 92.20p -2.72%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,614.00p -2.33%
Prudential (PRU) 1,012.50p -2.30%
3i Group (III) 2,742.00p -2.00%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 344.50p -1.91%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,720.00p -1.84%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Patria Private Equity Trust (PPET) 624.00p 4.35%
Hansa Investment Company Limited (DI) (HAN) 338.00p 3.68%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 220.60p 3.28%
The Schiehallion Fund Limited NPV (MNTN) 2.22p 3.26%
IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 393.50p 3.01%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 434.00p 2.94%
Applied Nutrition (APN) 349.50p 2.92%
Vistry Group (VTY) 257.20p 2.89%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 86.20p 2.86%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 492.00p 2.82%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Genuit Group (GEN) 288.00p -5.64%
THG (THG) 32.28p -4.36%
XPS Pensions Group (XPS) 330.00p -1.92%
Foresight Environmental Infrastructure Limited (FGEN) 85.40p -1.73%
Utilico Emerging Markets Ltd (DI) (UEM) 285.00p -1.72%
WH Smith (SMWH) 436.00p -1.62%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 4,848.00p -1.62%
Oakley Capital Investments Limited (DI) (OCI) 526.00p -1.50%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 106.20p -1.48%
Derwent London (DLN) 2,068.00p -1.44%
18.31 (0.17%)
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