London close: Stocks fall late on as investors watch US-Iran developments

(Sharecast News) - UK stocks finished lower on Wednesday, pulling back slightly after eking out a new six-week high the previous session, as financial markets continued to track geopolitical developments in the Middle East.

After swinging between gains and losses for most of the morning, the FTSE 100 fell 0.5% in afternoon trade to settle at 10,559.58, after finishing at 10,609.06 on Tuesday - its highest since 2 March.

"After weeks of seeing strikes across the Middle East, the absence of further significant conflict remains a cause for celebration, especially since both sides appear willing to continue negotiating. But the risk is that the US blockade pushes Iran into a corner and forces them to lash out," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump said the war was "close to over", while CNBC reported a White House official as saying that a second round of negotiations between the US and Iran was being discussed. The official said nothing has been officially scheduled yet.

Both sides also continued to threaten each other, however, even as talks were ongoing. Military leaders in Tehran said they would look to strangle trade in the Red Sea as well as the Gulf should the US continue to blockade Iran, while The Washington Post reported that over 10,000 American troops would reach the Middle East this month.

Brent crude rose 1% to $95.78 a barrel by the close in London after a brief stint lower, but remain firmly below the $100 mark reached earlier in the week and well below the $110 level hit last week.

Entain rallies ahead of update; Burberry slumps

Entain was the top riser among blue chip stocks ahead of a trading update on Thursday and as Peel Hunt upgraded the Ladbrokes owner to 'buy' from 'add'. The broker said fundamentals at BetMGM - Entain's joint venture with MGM Resorts - remain strong even though the first quarter was slightly weak.

Burberry Group was under the cosh, in line with the wider European luxury sector, following disappointing first-quarter updates from Paris-listed industry giants Kering and Hermes, both of which fell sharply.

Imperial Brands was lower after a downgrade to 'neutral' from 'buy' by UBS, which cut the price target to 3,150p from 3,500p as it pointed to limited near-term catalysts and the fact it has outperformed its tobacco peers over the last four years.

Barratt Redrow rose as it reiterated guidance but warned that war in the Middle East was making visibility beyond the current year more uncertain.

Antofagasta rallied in tandem with copper prices and following a production update, in which it reiterated guidance for growth in copper production over the year.

Standard Life rose as the insurer agreed to buy the UK business of Dutch insurer Aegon for �2bn, which it said will create the UK's largest retirements and savings and income business.

Lastly, on the FTSE 250, shares in Rank surged after the gambling operator guided to higher-than-expected full year operating profits after an improvement in third-quarter net gaming revenue.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,559.58 -0.47%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,661.08 -0.28%

techMARK (TASX) 5,916.54 -0.23%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Entain (ENT) 585.00p 4.88%

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 267.30p 3.48%

ICG (ICG) 1,781.00p 3.31%

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 8,200.00p 3.17%

Autotrader Group (AUTO) 495.30p 3.17%

Experian (EXPN) 2,735.50p 2.80%

Relx plc (REL) 2,636.00p 2.77%

The Sage Group (SGE) 868.80p 2.53%

Standard Life (SDLF) 729.00p 2.13%

Pearson (PSON) 1,050.00p 2.04%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,829.50p -3.53%

Airtel Africa (AAF) 360.80p -3.17%

Fresnillo (FRES) 3,579.00p -3.03%

GSK (GSK) 2,131.00p -2.69%

Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,828.50p -2.53%

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,329.00p -2.30%

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,143.60p -2.24%

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 7,065.00p -2.01%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,286.80p -1.94%

Weir Group (WEIR) 3,066.00p -1.86%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Rank Group (RNK) 106.60p 17.92%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 401.60p 15.54%

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 621.50p 11.68%

Playtech (PTEC) 420.20p 6.62%

Ocado Group (OCDO) 191.45p 4.96%

THG (THG) 36.58p 4.57%

Hays (HAS) 32.14p 3.01%

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 116.20p 2.92%

Vistry Group (VTY) 347.00p 2.91%

Unite Group (UTG) 482.20p 2.90%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Applied Nutrition (APN) 226.50p -3.62%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 660.00p -3.51%

Oakley Capital Investments Limited (DI) (OCI) 492.00p -3.15%

Volution Group (FAN) 625.00p -3.10%

Mitie Group (MTO) 180.00p -3.07%

Currys (CURY) 133.00p -2.92%

Keller Group (KLR) 2,130.00p -2.92%

SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 42.85p -2.72%

ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 1,370.00p -2.70%

Pan African Resources (PAF) 158.54p -2.48%