London pre-open: Stocks to drop, oil falls on Israel-Lebanon ceasefire

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to fall at the open on Thursday following a downbeat session on Wall Street, as investors continued to mull developments in the Middle East conflict, with oil prices lower following reports that Israel and Lebanon have agreed a ceasefire.

The FTSE 100 was called to open around 53 points lower. At 0725 BST, Brent crude was down 0.9% at $96.97 a barrel following reports of a US-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Isreal, which is dependent on a complete cessation of fire from Hezbollah and its withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "There has been a shift in sentiment for stock markets, the selloff in US stocks on Wednesday, has impacted Asia, where stock indices including the Nikkei fell sharply.

"Brent has dropped 0.6% this morning, after reports that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a ceasefire, which gives hope that a resolution to the Iran conflict can be found.

"This has also been boosted by developments overnight in the US, the House of Representatives is seeking to block Trump from continuing the war in Iran. This still needs Senate approval, but the President also said that a resolution could be found this weekend. We have heard this before, the question now is whether the market will take Trump's words at face value?

"For now, stock indices in Europe are pointing to a weaker open, and US futures are also mildly lower. In the current environment, we expect stocks to take their cue from the US, so it could be a quiet morning in Europe."

In corporate news, Mitie Group said it had started the current year on the front foot, after posting a jump in annual earnings.

Revenues at the facilities manager rose 10.5% in the year to 31 March, to �5.6bn, including 5.3% organic growth driven primarily by new contract wins and scope increases. That helped lift adjusted operating profits 13% to �264m.

Chief executive Phil Bentley said it had been "another year of progress" and confirmed momentum had continued into the current year, including a record order book and bidding pipeline.

Financial services company CMC Markets said it expected fiscal 2027 net operating income to increase by at least 17% to �460m - �480m after posting a rise in profits for the 12 months to 31 March.

Pre-tax earnings grew 20% to �101.3m and net operating income 15% to �392.6m driven by volatile markets.

Property developer Great Portland Estates said it has secured three further lettings at City Tower, EC2, taking leasing of the recently refurbished space to 69%. Great Portland Estates said the deals, which total 13,600 square feet, were signed at an average premium of 3.1% to enterprise rental value, underlining "continued demand" for its Fully Managed offer.

The FTSE 250 firm highlighted that City Tower now provides 43,000 square feet of Fully Managed space, which was expected to deliver �8.5m of annual rent at an average of �198 per square foot once fully let.