London open: FTSE ticks up as investors eye ECB announcement; Halma slides

(Sharecast News) - London stocks edged higher in early trade on Thursday despite fading Middle East peace hopes, as investors awaited the latest policy announcement from the European Central Bank.

At 0835 BST, the FTSE 100 was 0.3% firmer at 10,280.58, while Brent crude was up 0.2% at $93.26 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was 0.3% higher at $90.33.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "The increasingly loose definition of a ceasefire in the Middle East is becoming meaningless, as the US and Iran carried out targeted attacks on each other. President Trump ramped up the rhetoric once more by promising further 'very hard' attacks as negotiations had taken too long, while Iran threatened to target vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz."

Away from the Iran war, market participants will turn their attention to the ECB policy announcement at 1315 BST, amid expectations of a 25 basis point increase.

TD Securities said it expects the Bank to hike amid persistently high energy prices and likely upward revisions to inflation projections.

"If a hike materialises, the risk will be in messaging of whether it's appropriate to maintain flexibility and stick to a data-dependent approach or acknowledge the forward-looking risks to inflation and a need for additional hikes, as a result," it said.

In equity markets, Intertek gained as it said the 'put up or shut up' deadline for EQT to make a takeover offer has been extended as the Swedish private equity firm needs more time for due diligence.

Low cost airline Wizz Air was also in the black as it suspended guidance for 2027, citing a lack of visibility due to the Iran war, but posted better-than-expected annual earnings driven by higher capacity and cost control.

Safety equipment and life-saving tech specialist Halma tumbled as it posted a jump in full-year earnings despite an uncertain economic backdrop. Investors were likely reacting to the company's conservative full-year outlook, as it predicted low double-digit percentage organic growth - less than 2026's 16.6% uplift - and unchanged adjusted EBIT.

ICG, B&M, C&C and RS Group all fell as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,280.58 0.25%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,850.39 -0.44%

techMARK (TASX) 5,926.08 -0.47%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Prudential (PRU) 959.80p 3.80%

Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,625.00p 2.83%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,845.50p 2.60%

HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 1,324.40p 2.06%

Airtel Africa (AAF) 352.00p 1.90%

Fresnillo (FRES) 2,871.00p 1.84%

Vodafone Group (VOD) 114.20p 1.77%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 7,586.00p 1.38%

Anglo American (AAL) 3,758.00p 1.35%

3i Group (III) 2,201.00p 1.23%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Halma (HLMA) 4,154.00p -10.43%

ICG (ICG) 1,735.00p -3.97%

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 8,438.00p -3.00%

Autotrader Group (AUTO) 456.60p -2.69%

The Sage Group (SGE) 825.60p -2.54%

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,838.00p -2.10%

Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,352.00p -1.88%

Rightmove (RMV) 425.60p -1.68%

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 245.10p -1.60%

Spirax Group (SPX) 6,710.00p -1.55%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 253.50p 2.76%

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,009.00p 2.22%

Renishaw (RSW) 5,020.00p 2.18%

Harbour Energy (HBR) 271.60p 1.72%

Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,010.00p 1.36%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 503.50p 1.10%

QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 482.00p 1.09%

Chemring Group (CHG) 528.00p 1.04%

Herald Investment Trust (HRI) 3,060.00p 0.99%

Partners Group Private Equity Limited. (EUR) (PEY) 8.48p 0.95%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

B&M European Value Retail (BME) 191.30p -4.06%

NCC Group (NCC) 134.80p -3.68%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 539.00p -3.67%

C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 92.70p -3.52%

RS Group (RS1) 612.50p -2.94%

Trainline (TRN) 214.40p -2.74%

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 183.90p -2.57%

JPMorgan India Growth & Income (JIGI) 808.00p -2.53%

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 40.00p -2.44%

Playtech (PTEC) 339.80p -2.41%