London midday: Stocks flat as energy names slump, airlines gain

(Sharecast News) - London stocks had flattened out by midday on Monday at the start of a busy week that includes a raft of central bank policy announcements - including the Bank of England - the US midterm elections and the US non-farm payrolls report.

The FTSE 100 was steady at 10,731.47, having been just a touch higher earlier in the session. Brent crude was down 4.4% at $108.46 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was off 4.6% at $99.37 amid reports the US and Iran are seeking diplomatic options to end the conflict in the Middle East.

According to Axios, Benjamin Netanyahu is pressing Trump to strike Iran immediately after the midterm elections. However, for now, the US President wants to let negotiations play out - a strategy Netanyahu is concerned about.

Angeline Ong, senior technical analyst at IG, said the drop in oil prices is a technical pullback, not a change in fundamentals.

"Supply is still tight as the market counts down to Tuesday's US midterms. A positive US reply to Qatar's two-day plan would ease the war premium and likely be a positive for airlines and negative for oil majors in the near terms," she said. "The real risk is a deal that is announced but not honoured."

Investors were also mulling a survey showing that UK manufacturing growth hit a five-month high in October, but hiring slowed.

S&P Global's manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 52.8 from 51.9 in September, unchanged from the flash estimate and above the 50.0 level that separates contraction from expansion.

Rob Dobson, director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "UK manufacturing showed resilience in the lead up to the Autumn Budget. Rates of growth in output and new orders both gathered pace in October, as companies responded to signs of improving demand in both domestic and overseas markets, including new work received from mainland China, the EU and the US.

"Concerns about possible policy changes filtered through to the labour market, however, with the upturn in employee numbers halting following a six-month sequence of increased hirings. The remainder of 2026 will see if the confirmed rise in the minimum wage for next year will continue to weigh on employment trends."

Looking ahead to the rest of the week, the BoE is widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points to 4%. This would mark the first move in the base rate of 2026. Rate decisions are also due from the Reserve Bank of Australia, Riksbank and Norges Bank.

In equity markets, Ithaca Energy, BP and Shell gushed lower as oil prices fell. EnQuest, Energean and Harbour Energy also lost ground.

Building products group Ibstock tumbled as it cut its full-year profit outlook after a sharp deterioration in UK brick demand, with market volumes falling around 17% year-on-year in July and August. The company now expects adjusted EBITDA in the mid-£40m range, "materially below previous expectations", after weaker sales and production cuts put further pressure on profitability.

Iconic bootmaker Dr Martens was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'underweight' by Barclays, which cut the price target to 60p from 75p.

On the upside, FirstGroup rallied as it agreed to sell five West Yorkshire depots and 330 buses to WYCA for £109m, generating an expected post-tax gain of about £30m and cash proceeds of around £55m in FY27. The phased fleet transfer will coincide with the rollout of bus franchising. Separately, the group also said it has won two West Yorkshire franchise contracts covering Leeds Bramley and Huddersfield. The five-year deals, which start in May 2027, are expected to generate around £40m of annual revenue.

Ryanair flew higher after the budget airline reported a 15% decline in first-half profit after tax amid rising fuel costs and announced plans for a cost-cutting drive that will include freezing pay. Airlines more generally were on the rise, with BA and Iberia owner IAG and Wizz Air sharply higher as falling oil prices alleviated concerns about fuel costs.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,731.47 0.02%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,627.00 0.71%

techMARK (TASX) 6,304.22 -0.11%

FTSE 100 - Risers

St James's Place (STJ) 1,073.50p 3.08%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 413.50p 2.78%

Weir (WEIR) 2,624.00p 2.74%

Kingfisher (KGF) 361.10p 2.64%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 94.22p 2.52%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,195.00p 2.34%

Whitbread (WTB) 2,798.00p 2.01%

Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,036.00p 1.92%

British Land Company (BLND) 432.60p 1.79%

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 328.80p 1.67%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 296.70p -2.01%

Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 11,810.00p -1.75%

BP (BP.) 617.90p -1.51%

Vodafone Group (VOD) 117.45p -1.34%

Shell (SHEL) 3,993.50p -1.05%

HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 1,264.80p -0.94%

Relx plc (REL) 2,965.00p -0.87%

AstraZeneca (AZN) 13,886.00p -0.80%

WPP (WPP) 402.90p -0.64%

Haleon (HLN) 317.40p -0.63%

FTSE 250 - Risers

THG (THG) 41.54p 6.13%

FirstGroup (FGP) 226.80p 4.61%

Vistry Group (VTY) 270.40p 3.76%

Young & Co's Brewery 'A' Shares (YNGA) 1,218.00p 3.57%

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 547.75p 3.25%

Johnson Service Group (JSG) 147.70p 3.14%

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,009.00p 3.12%

Ocado Group (OCDO) 332.20p 3.10%

Genus (GNS) 2,368.00p 2.78%

Pets at Home Group (PETS) 250.60p 2.62%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

EnQuest (ENQ) 30.80p -3.13%

Energean (ENOG) 723.00p -2.76%

Harbour Energy (HBR) 300.00p -2.66%

VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 420.00p -2.21%

Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 1,062.00p -2.21%

Dr. Martens (DOCS) 64.20p -2.13%

AEP Plantations (AEP) 151.80p -2.06%

Foresight Group Holdings Limited NPV (FSG) 460.50p -1.91%

SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 31.40p -1.87%

TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 4,464.00p -1.85%