London stocks are trading lower on Wednesday, tracking weakness across Europe, as investors weighed another rise in oil prices against renewed geopolitical risk in the Middle East.
The FTSE 100 fell 0.3% and the FTSE 250 shed 0.1%, while the DAX (-0.6%), CAC 40 (-0.9%) and Stoxx 50 (-0.9%) all posted steeper losses on the continent.
Crude is a standout mover after Iran said it had captured a US submarine drone in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating fears over the key shipping chokepoint following recent Trump-ordered strikes and continued Houthi activity.
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Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.
Brent crude has jumped 2% to $99.92 a barrel and WTI has risen 1.6% to $94.48, with the rally stoking fresh inflation worries. Spot gold is up 1.2% to $4,409 an ounce, while silver has climbed 1.7% to $66.85.
On the corporate front, Aberdeen Group rose 2.3% after naming Torbjörn Magnusson, the former Nordea and Hastings Group chairman, as Non-Executive Director and Chair-designate.
Computacenter added 2.8%, steadying after Tuesday’s volatility, while SSE gained 1.75%. Fallers included AutoTrader (-2.9%), Burberry (-2.3%) and M&G (-1.5%).
In the FTSE 250, Victrex is the session’s biggest riser, up 14.6%, after lifting full-year underlying pre-tax profit guidance to £45m-£47m from £42m-£44m, citing strong momentum in aerospace, electronics and Asia Pacific demand.
Energean climbed 6.3% after half-year results showed profit after tax up 45% to $160m and free cash flow up 35% to $250m. Baltic Classifieds Group added 5.2%.
Fallers were led by Funding Circle (-4.3%), extending Tuesday’s swings, alongside 4imprint (-4.1%) and Rightmove (-3.5%).
Elsewhere, engineer Goodwin has confirmed advanced talks to sell most of its Mechanical Engineering division to Cerberus Capital for up to £1.1bn, while Harworth Group published half-year results alongside its formal response rejecting Peel Pepper’s unrecommended takeover offer.
