London open: FTSE slides, oil gains after US and Iran exchange strikes

(Sharecast News) - London stocks slid in early trade on Wednesday as oil prices shot higher after the US and Iran traded strikes overnight.

At 0826 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.7% at 10,586.66, while Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate were up 2.9% at $76.33 a barrel and $72.48, respectively.

Oil prices rose as the US said on Tuesday that it had launched "a series of powerful" strikes against Iran after three oil tankers were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on X, the US Central Command said: "Strikes are in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's demonstrated aggression was unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire."

Centcom later confirmed that more than 80 targets had been hit during the strikes. "US forces struck Iranian air defence systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities, and more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats in and near the strait (of Hormuz) to degrade Iran's ability to continue attacking international commerce flowing through the international trade corridor," it said in a statement.

Also in response to the attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, the Trump administration said the US had revoked a waiver that allowed Iran to sell oil. The waiver was issued as part of the interim peace deal between the two.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "Repeated Iranian attacks on shipping finally provoked Trump's ire overnight, leading to a major wave of strikes on Iran and then an Iranian response. Recently these have been isolated affairs, leading to a recovery in risk appetite and a drop in oil prices, but the larger scale of last night's operations raises the risk of restarting the war, putting further pressure on shaky equity markets.

"Oil positioning had become firmly skewed to the bearish view, which provides plenty of fuel for a bounce in crude prices if the two sides opt to continue their tit-for-tat moves."

Unsurprisingly, BP and Shell were the top gainers on the FTSE 100 amid the oil price surge.

On the downside, Vistry tumbled as the housebuilder warned it will post a first-half loss and announced the resignation of its chief financial officer.

Hammerson was also in the red after saying it has sold �69m of noncore assets, including several central Dublin holdings and another noncore investment, taking its total disposals for 2026 to �75m after a final Leeds sale in January.

Severn Trent lost ground after water regulator Ofwat said it had found "serious failings" in the company's duties to deal effectively with wastewater and sewage, but decided not to fine the group as it had taken steps to address its failings.

Wizz Air and BA and Iberia owner IAG flew lower as higher oil prices raised concerns about fuel costs.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,586.66 -0.74%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,248.24 -0.56%

techMARK (TASX) 5,956.16 -0.60%

FTSE 100 - Risers

BP (BP.) 485.05p 2.19%

Shell (SHEL) 3,045.50p 1.69%

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 8,188.00p 1.69%

Entain (ENT) 533.80p 1.21%

AstraZeneca (AZN) 14,182.00p 0.99%

Centrica (CNA) 170.15p 0.65%

DCC (CDI) (DCC) 6,225.00p 0.56%

Tesco (TSCO) 471.90p 0.55%

3i Group (III) 2,625.00p 0.27%

Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,467.50p 0.20%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Melrose Industries (MRO) 474.90p -2.78%

Fresnillo (FRES) 2,669.00p -2.64%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,679.00p -1.98%

Compass Group 11 (CPG) 31.78p -1.88%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 469.50p -1.80%

Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 40.12p -1.70%

St James's Place (STJ) 1,283.00p -1.65%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,429.80p -1.59%

Computacenter (CCC) 4,182.00p -1.56%

GSK (GSK) 1,976.00p -1.52%

FTSE 250 - Risers

RIT Capital Partners (RCP) 2,435.00p 6.81%

Trainline (TRN) 219.80p 4.45%

Harbour Energy (HBR) 222.20p 3.53%

Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 1,058.00p 3.52%

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 230.20p 3.18%

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,726.00p 3.13%

W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 107.80p 2.47%

Keller Group (KLR) 3,312.00p 2.33%

FirstGroup (FGP) 181.30p 2.22%

Energean (ENOG) 715.00p 2.21%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Vistry Group (VTY) 227.20p -8.08%

Harworth Group (HWG) 120.00p -4.00%

Volution Group (FAN) 581.00p -3.33%

Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 702.00p -3.31%

TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 4,512.00p -3.09%

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,169.00p -2.27%

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 117.40p -2.25%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 466.40p -2.17%

Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 206.00p -2.14%

Man Group (EMG) 297.60p -2.11%