London open: FTSE flat ahead of US inflation reading; oil at pre-war levels

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were flat in early trade on Thursday as investors eyed a key US inflation reading, while oil prices eased back to pre-war levels as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz picked up.

At 0847 BST, the FTSE 100 - which is tech-light - was steady at 10,458.75, underperforming European peers, which were boosted by a strong showing from technology stocks after well-received results from Micron and Qualcomm in the US.

Meanwhile, Brent crude was down 1.2% at $72.88 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was off 0.8% at $69.79.

Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said: "Fears of a long-lasting global energy crunch induced by the Iran conflict are slinking away, with oil prices sinking back towards pre-crisis levels. Instead of relief coursing through European markets, there's still a big dose of caution as the knock-on effects of the record-breaking heatwave collide with concerns about weak growth across the region.

"Brent crude has dipped to around $72 a barrel, close to levels seen before the US strikes on Iran. The chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz has been released, tanker traffic is flowing more freely, and supply concerns are fading. There's still a long way to go to clear the backlog and fully meet demand, but with oil-producing nations turning on the taps and repairs to infrastructure ongoing, oil prices are on the decline. Energy efficiency measures adopted during the crisis, coupled with fears of slowing global growth, are contributing to the bearish outlook for the sector."

Looking to the rest of the day, all eyes will be on US personal spending figures for May, out at 1330 BST, along with first-quarter US GDD data.

Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill Group said: "Today's PCE print is the gatekeeper: a soft core reading lets the Fed look through the energy spike and reopens the cut conversation, while a sticky one keeps the hawkish narrative alive and drags the tape back into range."

In equity markets, 3i Group surged to the top of the FTSE 100 as it hailed 3.3% like-for-like sales growth at Dutch discount retailer Action in the year to date and said it was set for a quarter of profit growth. Action is 3i's largest portfolio holding

EasyJet flew higher after it rejected a fresh �4.9bn approach from US suitor Castlelake but agreed to enter discussions. This was Castlelake's fourth approach.

Moonpig was also in the black as the online greeting cards and gift retailer backed its outlook for 2027, reported a rise in full-year profit and revenue and lifted its dividend.

Chemring gained as it secured two new US defence contracts worth a combined $345m.

On the downside, Experian, United Utilities and Metlen Energy all fell as they traded without entitlement to the dividend, while BP and Shell were a little weaker amid lower oil prices.

Domino's Pizza was knocked lower by an initiation at 'underweight' by JPMorgan.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,458.75 -0.03%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,162.27 0.26%

techMARK (TASX) 5,804.37 -0.40%

FTSE 100 - Risers

3i Group (III) 2,483.00p 10.47%

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 290.00p 3.27%

SSE (SSE) 2,403.00p 2.04%

Persimmon (PSN) 1,113.50p 1.97%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 487.40p 1.52%

National Grid (NG.) 1,256.00p 1.50%

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 173.85p 1.40%

Kingfisher (KGF) 291.30p 1.28%

Barclays (BARC) 514.30p 1.28%

Abrdn (ABDN) 235.60p 1.12%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,296.00p -2.42%

Experian (EXPN) 2,498.00p -2.12%

Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 40.68p -2.11%

Relx plc (REL) 2,331.00p -1.93%

Pearson (PSON) 1,125.00p -1.92%

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,102.00p -1.84%

The Sage Group (SGE) 793.60p -1.83%

BAE Systems (BA.) 1,805.00p -1.62%

Fresnillo (FRES) 2,742.00p -1.41%

Babcock International Group (BAB) 973.40p -1.36%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Moonpig Group (MOON) 243.60p 9.91%

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 773.50p 7.38%

easyJet (EZJ) 567.60p 5.45%

W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 106.80p 4.30%

ITV (ITV) 81.40p 2.94%

Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 746.00p 2.90%

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 221.20p 2.88%

Pacific Horizon Inv Trust (PHI) 1,210.00p 2.54%

Vistry Group (VTY) 262.40p 2.34%

Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 718.50p 2.28%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 184.00p -3.36%

AO World (AO.) 87.00p -2.90%

TR Property Inv Trust (TRY) 307.50p -2.84%

WPP (WPP) 247.90p -2.55%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 459.20p -2.34%

Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,696.00p -2.00%

Trustpilot Group (TRST) 231.80p -1.78%

RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,815.00p -1.75%

NCC Group (NCC) 120.80p -1.63%

Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) 612.00p -1.61%