London pre-open: Stocks to fall amid Strait of Hormuz standoff

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to drop at the open on Thursday, while oil prices ticked higher amid the ongoing standoff between the US and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz.

The FTSE 100 was called to open down around 54 points. At 0740 BST, Brent crude was up 1.2% at $103.15 a barrel.

Investors were mulling a report the US military intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged tankers in Asian waters. According to Reuters, citing shipping and security sources on Wednesday, the US was redirecting them away from their positions near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump told Fox News there was "no time frame" for ending the war in Iran.

The US president said it was "not true" that he wanted to end the war before the US midterm elections in November. There is "no time pressure" on the ceasefire with Iran, he said. "People say I want to get it over because of the midterms, not true," Trump told Fox News.

He told the New York Post that fresh talks with Iran could take place as soon as Friday.

Rabobank said: "Despite the 'ceasefire', there is lots of firing and no cessation in blockading in Hormuz and further afield. Within the Strait, Iran fired on ships and outright seized two, while there are suspicions it used speedboats to mine the key waterway more extensively.

"Outside Hormuz, CENTCOM denied reports that its blockade is leaking and intercepted three Iranian oil tankers near India, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka, as US Senator Graham warned the Iran oil blockade 'could become global soon'. Against that backdrop, the US Navy Secretary is leaving his post and Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao, a notably MAGA figure, will for now replace him."

On home shores, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that public borrowing fell in the year to March, broadly in line with the fiscal watchdog's forecast.

Borrowing was �12.6bn last month, �1.4bn less than in March 2025 and the lowest March borrowing since 2022.

That meant that for the financial year ending March 2026, borrowing was estimated to have fallen by 13.1% at �132bn, narrowly below the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast for �132.7bn.

Elsewhere, a survey showed that consumer confidence remained under pressure in April as war in the Middle East continued to weigh heavily.

According to the latest BRC-Opinium consumer sentiment data, expectations for the state of the economy over the next three months remained at -53, unchanged on March and the lowest on record.

Expectations for households' personal financial situation weakened, meanwhile, falling four points to -21.

Overall spending ticked up two points to 15, while personal saving was unchanged at -8.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: "The Middle East conflict continues to stoke consumer anxiety around inflation and the cost of living. Amid a volatile geopolitical situation, households are expecting to see their pay packets squeezed by rising petrol, domestic energy and food prices.

"Expected retail spending rose, but this was driven entirely by grocery spend.

"The longer the volatility drags on, the more uncertainty it creates in the economy."

In corporate news, travel outlet retailer WH Smith suspended its dividend and said it was taking a cautious view of future trade due to the war on Iran which had hit airline fuel supplies and passenger numbers.

The group now expects to deliver FY26 headline group profit before tax and non-underlying items of �90m - �105m. Half-year profits on the same basis fell to �3m from �21m with its UK operations hit by refurbishment of airport stores.

Property investment and development firm Segro said it had delivered a "strong" operational performance during the first quarter, with �23m of new headline rent contracted, including �12m of development lettings.

Segro said momentum had continued across its business, despite the "uncertain geopolitical environment", as the group reported a 38% uplift on rent reviews, renewals and regears in the UK. Customer retention remained strong at 83% and occupancy was stable at 94.8% as the company reduced vacancy in its London portfolio and completed speculatively developed urban space in Germany.