London close: Stocks flatline at five-week high as investors watch ceasefire news

(Sharecast News) - Thursday was a subdued day for London's stock market with the FTSE 100 flatlining following a surge the previous session as investors awaited newsflow on whether the US-Iran ceasefire would hold.

The UK benchmark index was trading within a narrow range for most of the session, settling down just 0.05% at 10,603.48 after jumping 2.5% on Wednesday to its highest in five weeks.

The mood was decidedly more wary following the previous day's relief rally as Iran said the ceasefire had already been violated by Israel following its worst attack on Lebanon since the start of the conflict.

Investors were also digesting reports that Iran has mined the vital Strait of Hormuz. According to charts published on Tehran-linked social media accounts, it has placed mines in a large area at the centre of the waterway.

"Another day of increasingly exasperated diplomatic exchanges over the exact scope of the ceasefire has resulted in a recovery for oil prices. Both Brent and WTI are back to where they were a week ago," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.

Brent was up 2.2% at $96.84 a barrel by the close in London, while WTI spiked 5.5% to $99.63 a barrel, following their biggest daily percentage drops since the Covid-19 pandemic of 13% and 16% respectively.

"This reflects markets catching up with the reality on the ground, where Hormuz is closed, damage has still been done, and the full impact has yet to register. Oil's move back below $100 seems fated to be reversed, which puts equity markets at risk of fresh falls."

Oil stocks higher, gambling and housing stocks fall

FTSE 100 energy majors BP and Shell gushed higher, rebounded after heavy falls the previous sessions as oil prices recovered amid uncertainty over the US-Iran ceasefire.

On the FTSE 250, Diversified Energy, Ithaca, Harbour and Energean all made gains. The latter was also boosted by the Israeli government approving a restart of production and operations at its Energean Power floating gas production, storage and offloading facility near the country's coast. The facility was shut down last month after the Iran conflict began.

Ladbrokes owner Entain and Flutter Entertainment both tumbled as Swedish gambling firm Betsson tanked on the back of disappointing first-quarter results.

Housebuilders were mostly lower, with Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Bellway firmly in the red, after a RICS survey showed that buyer enquiries and agreed sales fell sharply last month, while house prices tracked lower. The new buyer enquiries index, in particular, fell to its lowest level since August 2023, on the back of rising borrowing costs and geopolitical uncertainty.

British American Tobacco lost ground as it announced the appointment of Dragos Constantinescu, currently the boss of Asahi Europe & International, as its new chief financial officer.

Sales, marketing and support services group DCC was in the black after an upgrade to 'outperform' from 'neutral' by BNP Paribas, which lifted the price target to 6,000p from 5,500p.

Meanwhile, heavyweights Standard Life, Reckitt Benckiser, Croda and Lloyds Banking all fell as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,603.48 -0.05%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,205.64 -1.02%

techMARK (TASX) 5,847.72 -0.76%

FTSE 100 - Risers

BP (BP.) 580.50p 3.16%

United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,396.00p 2.27%

GSK (GSK) 2,167.00p 1.98%

Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,607.00p 1.97%

SSE (SSE) 2,757.50p 1.90%

Severn Trent (SVT) 3,252.00p 1.88%

DCC (CDI) (DCC) 5,070.00p 1.81%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 74.54p 1.50%

National Grid (NG.) 1,350.60p 1.43%

Shell (SHEL) 3,448.50p 1.40%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Entain (ENT) 535.20p -8.39%

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 7,676.00p -5.47%

Informa (INF) 774.40p -3.80%

Compass Group 11 (CPG) 28.09p -3.59%

Standard Life (SDLF) 707.40p -3.49%

Experian (EXPN) 2,590.50p -3.29%

Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,080.00p -3.23%

Croda International (CRDA) 2,907.00p -3.10%

Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,180.00p -3.07%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,677.00p -2.65%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 492.60p 3.49%

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 250.20p 3.39%

Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 1,230.00p 2.67%

Energean (ENOG) 853.50p 2.65%

Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 341.00p 2.25%

AJ Bell (AJB) 530.00p 2.22%

CMC Markets (CMCX) 373.00p 1.91%

Wickes Group (WIX) 225.00p 1.81%

Mony Group (MONY) 157.70p 1.68%

PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 1,660.00p 1.59%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

GB Group (GBG) 192.55p -8.83%

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 104.50p -8.73%

SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 42.50p -6.59%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 322.60p -6.22%

Man Group (EMG) 247.20p -6.15%

ITV (ITV) 74.75p -6.09%

NCC Group (NCC) 115.40p -5.72%

Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 158.00p -4.82%

Vistry Group (VTY) 342.00p -4.58%

Close Brothers Group (CBG) 421.20p -4.45%