London midday: Stocks fall, oil rises as Trump deadline extension fails to allay fears

(Sharecast News) - London stocks had fallen into the red by midday on Friday as oil prices pushed higher, with Donald Trump's extension to the pause on attacking Iranian energy facilities failing to allays investors' fears about the conflict in the Middle East.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 9,929.38. At the same time, Brent crude was up 2.5% at $110.68 and West Texas Intermediate was 2.1% higher at $96.44.

The US president announced the 10-day extension to 6 April on Truth Social on Thursday.

In a brief post, he said: "As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time.

"Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well."

Trump first announced on Monday that the US was postponing "any and all" military strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure following "very good and productive conversations" about a resolution to the hostilities in the Middle East.

The U-turn came just two days after he threatened to "obliterate" the country's power plants if it did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "As we move to the end of the fourth week of this war, markets are once again nervous about the potential for oil to remain elevated for the long term. Brent crude is above $110 a barrel on Friday, which is still a 1% drop on the week, but the rise in the oil price in the last two days is a sign that the market is not buying hopes for a quick resolution to this conflict.

"It is worth noting that once the oil price reaches $100 a barrel, historically it remains sticky above triple figures for a prolonged period, for example back in 2022. After falling to as low as $96 per barrel earlier this week on comments from President Trump that the war could soon be over, oil traders are now discounting the daily torrent of posts and incoherent press conferences from the White House, as the war rages on. On Friday, investors are facing the facts: the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed and it does not appear that there is a real end in sight to the war.

"Not even news that Trump would avoid striking Iranian energy targets for a further 10 days helped to calm markets. Effectively, this is just another 10 days where nothing will be achieved and 20% of the world's oil supply will remain constrained. This is why traders have failed to react to this 'positive news' and instead the sell-off continues."

On home shores, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that retail sales fell less than expected in February.

Sales were down 0.4% following a revised 2% increase in January. Although it marked the first decline in three months, it was not as steep as the 0.8% fall expected by economists.

Supermarkets' sales volumes fell back following a rise in January, the ONS said. Meanwhile, non-store retailers' volumes also fell, with retailers suggesting that consumers brought forward their spending to January to maximise on discounting during the period.

In the three months to February, sales rose 0.7% compared with the three months to November 2025. The ONS attributed the jump to better sales for non-store retailers following a weaker November last year, as well as strong artwork sales volumes in January 2026.

Hannah Finselbach, senior statistician at the ONS, said: "Retail sales rose in the three months to February, with online shops seeing strong sales and art dealers also faring well.

"These were partially offset by a weak period for clothing stores."

Investors were also mulling the latest survey from GfK, which showed that consumer confidence fell to an 11-month low in March, as concerns about the knock-on effects of the US-Iran war on the economy weighing on sentiment.

The overall GfK consumer confidence index fell to -21 in March from -19 in February, marking the lowest reading since April 2025.

In equity markets, AstraZeneca shot higher after saying its respiratory treatment tozorakimab showed a meaningful reduction in flare-ups of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in two late-stage trials.

Mony Group was boosted by an upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold' at Jefferies, which cited an attractive entry point and said it was best placed to overcome sector-wide headwinds, i.e. AI fears and competition.

However, Future tumbled as Jefferies downgraded the media group to 'hold' from 'buy' saying it expects dual structural headwinds from Agentic AI and New Media to cloud the company's near-term prospects. "Future's highest-margin revenue streams face significant AI disintermediation risks, while the company lags peers in pivoting to New Media formats," it said.

Metlen Energy & Metals slid as it said full-year results will be delayed by nine days after PricewaterhouseCoopers asked for more time to complete its audit of the first financial statements of the firm as a dual-listed company in the UK and Greece.

Harbour Energy slumped after German chemicals firm BASF sold 80m shares in the company in a placing. The shares were sold at 273p each, which is a 9% discount to the closing share price on Thursday.