Stock prices in London were mixed on Thursday morning ahead of UK construction activity data, as Middle East talks were the main focus impacting investor sentiment.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 12.43 points, 0.1%, at 10,344.73. The FTSE 250 was up 57.55 points, 0.3%, at 23,244.38, and the AIM all-share was down 1.68 points, 0.2%, at 805.56.
The Cboe UK 100 was marginally lower at 1,027.73, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 19,945.27, and the Cboe small companies was down 0.3% at 18,699.93.
In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.7%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.6%.
On the geopolitical front, Israel and Lebanon agreed to implement a ceasefire, although both sides stressed it would require a ‘complete cessation’ of fire by Iran-backed Hezbollah, according to a joint statement issued after US-led talks in Washington.
The two countries, which do not maintain formal diplomatic relations, also agreed to establish ‘pilot zones’ in which the Lebanese armed forces would take exclusive control of territory ‘to the exclusion of all non-state actors’.
The statement said the parties would reconvene for further talks on political and security matters during the week of June 22, with the aim of reaching a comprehensive agreement.
At the same time, Iran’s foreign minister said there had been ‘no tangible progress’ in negotiations to end the broader Middle East conflict, as fresh US and Iranian strikes continued to test a fragile ceasefire.
US President Donald Trump struck a more optimistic tone, telling reporters at the White House that talks with Tehran could produce a result ‘over the weekend’.
Trump also said he wants to separate negotiations relating to Lebanon and Hezbollah from those concerning the wider conflict between the US and Iran, although Tehran maintains the two issues are linked.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium remained central to discussions and expressed hope that the latest round of Israel-Lebanon talks would help set out a security roadmap.
Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives backed a resolution seeking to halt American military action in Iran a largely symbolic move that nevertheless deals a political blow to Trump as efforts to secure a deal with Tehran stall.
In the wake of recent flare-ups, four Republican lawmakers joined Democrats on Wednesday to vote 215-208 in favour of the public rebuke. The resolution remains largely symbolic, as the president can veto the measure if it passes the Senate.
Brent oil was trading at $97.14 a barrel early Thursday, slightly lower than $97.37 late Wednesday.
In currency markets, the pound was quoted at $1.3418 early Thursday, down from $1.3435 at the London equities close on Wednesday. Against the euro, sterling fell to €1.1560 from €1.1574 a day prior.
The euro traded at $1.1603 early Thursday, marginally lower than $1.1606 late Wednesday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JP¥159.88 versus JP¥159.96.
Back in London, Sainsbury and Vodafone were at the bottom of the FTSE 100, with their shares trading ex-dividend, down 3.0% and 2.4% respectively.
At the top of the index, Autotrader Group rose 2.6% after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a ’buy’ rating and a price target of 557 pence.
On the FTSE 250, several stocks were trading ex-dividend, weighing on performance. Foresight Environmental Infrastructure was down 3.3%, Utilico Emerging Markets fell 2.8%, Energean dropped 2.2% and Marshalls declined 2.0%.
At the top of the mid-cap index, CMC Markets jumped 17% after reporting that pretax profit for the year ended March 31 rose 20% to £101.3 million from £84.5 million.
The online trading platform raised its annual dividend by 21% to 13.8p from 11.4p, including a final dividend of 8.3p. CMC said its Australian stockbroking partnerships with Westpac Banking Corp and ASB Bank are on track to launch within the next 12 months, and that the new financial year has started positively, supported by continued momentum in institutional and B2B partnerships.
The company expects net operating income in the year ending March 31, 2027 to rise at least 17% to between £460 million and £480 million, with operating costs of around £280 million.
B&M European Value Retail followed, up 6.3%, extending gains from Wednesday after a trading update.
HgCapital Trust advanced 5.8% after saying its manager, Hg, intends to increase its strategic investment in the trust, lifting combined ownership of Hg partners, employees and its balance sheet to more than 15% from around 6% over the medium term through on-market share purchases.
Hg said the move reflects its belief that HgCapital Trust’s share price materially undervalues its portfolio and future prospects following weakness in listed software stocks.
The manager also noted that partners and staff already have more than £600 million invested alongside HgT through Hg funds and plan a further £800 million commitment to newly raised funds.
Among smaller caps, Portmeirion plunged 37% after launching a retail share offer to raise up to £2.0 million through the issue of 4.0 million new shares at 50p.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo closed 1.4% lower. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended down 0.6%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 1.5%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 1.1%.
In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.2%, the S&P 500 down 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.9%.
Gold was quoted at $4,461.40 an ounce early Thursday, higher than $4,443.05 on Wednesday.
Still to come on Thursday’s economic calendar are UK construction purchasing managers’ index data to be out shortly, followed by eurozone retail sales, Ireland GDP and unemployment data, US weekly jobless claims and US EIA natural gas stocks.
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