London midday: Stocks gain amid cautious optimism ahead of US-Iran talks

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were firmer by midday on Friday amid cautious optimism ahead of this weekend's peace talks between the US and Iran, despite growing confusion over the ceasefire.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 10,638.60. Brent crude had erased earlier gains, trading flat at $95.96 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was 0.2% higher at $98.07.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said investor sentiment was showing tentative signs of recovery heading into the weekend.

"While the term 'ceasefire' is used somewhat loosely, there has been enough perceived de-escalation in the Middle East to ease some of the pressure on risk assets we saw earlier in the week," he said. The prospect of in-person talks between the US and Iran over the weekend is also helping steady nerves, offering hope that diplomatic channels remain open. Taken together, investors are becoming more comfortable that, while risks remain, the broader trajectory is moving in the right direction."

Israeli attacks on Lebanon continued on Thursday, as Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet to start direct talks with the country "as soon as possible".

The Israeli prime minister said in a statement that the talks "will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations" between Israel and Lebanon. The announcement came a day after Israel launched its worst attack on Lebanon since the start of the conflict, hitting more than 100 targets in 10 minutes and leaving more than 300 people dead.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump criticised Iran's handling of the oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz, saying on Truth Social that Tehran was doing a "very poor job, dishonourable some would say" in allowing shipments through the strait.

He added: "That is not the agreement we have!"

Trump also wrote a post highlighting reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait. He said: "They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!"

Looking to the rest of the day, the US consumer price index for March will be in focus at 1330 BST.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: "The headline figure is likely to have been pushed up by higher fuel prices at the pump - one of the very first things to be impacted by the conflict.

"For this reason, there may be greater focus on the core number - which strips out food and energy - to see if inflationary pressures are seeping into other parts of the economy."

On home shores, industry data showed that retail footfall ticked higher in March, boosted by the early timing of Easter.

According to the latest BRC-Sensormatic footfall monitor, total UK footfall rose by 2.4% in the five weeks from 1 March to 4 April. Easter Sunday fell on 5 April this year, whereas 2025's later timing meant the long weekend was included in BRC-Sensormatic's April reporting period.

The largest increase was seen at shopping centres, where footfall rose 2.6% year-on-year. Retail parks saw a 2.5% jump, while on high streets, footfall increased by 2%.

Andy Sumpter, retail consultant, EMEA, at Sensormatic, said: "March brought a welcome return to growth for UK retail footfall, the first positive month in nearly a year.

"On the surface, this marks an encouraging shift in momentum. However, the improvement needs to be viewed in context. Much of March's uplift was driven by an Easter boost; last year's comparison was also relatively weak due to the later timing of Easter, amplifying the apparent growth.

"Without the final week's Easter bump, March would likely have remained in negative territory."

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: "With Easter and the school holidays falling earlier this year, retailers were expecting a stronger boost to footfall than March delivered. Warmer weather might help sustain footfall in the months ahead, but without an Easter uplift in April, momentum is far from guaranteed."

She added that conflict in the Middle East was weighing "heavily" on both retailer and consumer confidence, and warned that further pressure on the cost of living would likely hit footfall.

In equity markets, student accommodation provider Unite Group was a smidgen higher as it held annual guidance and said 74% of beds for the new academic year had been reserved.

Wizz Air, which is focused on Central and Eastern Europe, flew to the top of the FTSE 250. Traders pointed to a Bloomberg report which cited Ukraine's top negotiator with Russia as saying that he sees progress towards a potential peace deal with the Kremlin. He reportedly said a resolution to the war may not take long to achieve.

AO World surged as it confirmed it remained on track to meet full-year guidance despite "material" cost headwinds.

Updating on year-end trading, the white goods retailer said total group revenue growth was expected to be around 11% in the 12 months to 31 March, with adjusted pre-tax profits slated to come in at the top end of its �45m to �50m range.

Trustpilot gained as JPMorgan reiterated its 'overweight' stance on the shares. "With the shares having risen more than 30% on the day of the FY25 results, they are now -13% from recent highs, partly as a result of a recent block listing," the bank said.

"We think this presents an attractive entry point into a uniquely positioned AI winner set to potentially compound earnings and free cash flow well above sector-average rates."

Catering group Compass slumped after Frech peer Sodexo posted below-forecast interim earnings and slashed its full-year outlook.

B&M European Value Retail fell as it said that Helen Cowing has stepped down from her role as interim chief financial officer and as an executive director with immediate effect. Group finance controller Peter Waterhouse has been appointed to the role.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,638.60 0.33%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,426.99 1.00%

techMARK (TASX) 5,889.48 0.71%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Convatec Group (CTEC) 233.80p 4.38%

Kingfisher (KGF) 311.00p 3.77%

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,564.00p 3.66%

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,173.20p 3.58%

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 7,932.00p 3.36%

Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,190.00p 2.70%

CRH (CDI) (CRH) 8,728.00p 2.61%

Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,189.00p 2.57%

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 268.00p 2.57%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,748.80p 2.28%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 33.94p -4.12%

BAE Systems (BA.) 2,194.00p -3.64%

Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,239.00p -3.36%

Melrose Industries (MRO) 531.80p -3.03%

Compass Group 11 (CPG) 27.64p -1.46%

Centrica (CNA) 209.50p -1.45%

BP (BP.) 574.20p -1.14%

SSE (SSE) 2,732.00p -0.96%

Shell (SHEL) 3,415.50p -0.96%

3i Group (III) 2,671.50p -0.87%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,035.00p 11.45%

AO World (AO.) 95.40p 7.43%

Trustpilot Group (TRST) 223.60p 5.85%

W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 120.00p 5.45%

Mony Group (MONY) 165.15p 4.72%

Foresight Group Holdings Limited NPV (FSG) 380.00p 3.97%

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 110.00p 3.88%

WPP (WPP) 257.35p 3.78%

4Imprint Group (FOUR) 3,732.00p 3.67%

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 41.66p 3.63%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

B&M European Value Retail (BME) 177.00p -3.28%

SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 41.40p -2.59%

Chemring Group (CHG) 541.50p -2.44%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 316.60p -2.36%

QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 477.30p -2.01%

Patria Private Equity Trust (PPET) 572.00p -1.72%

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 247.30p -1.24%

Avon Technologies (AVON) 1,754.00p -1.02%

The Global Smaller Companies Trust (GSCT) 182.00p -0.87%

AJ Bell (AJB) 526.50p -0.75%