Early market roundup: Stocks mixed as oil prices slightly soften

Stock prices in London were mixed on Thursday morning as oil prices came down slightly following comments from US President Donald Trump that the latest bombing campaign against Iran would likely be short-lived.

The FTSE 100 index opened down 4.76 points, marginally lower, at 10,751.69. The FTSE 250 was down 21.44 points, 0.1%, at 24,299.44, and the AIM all-share was up 4.12 points, 0.5%, at 794.10.

The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 1,068.71, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.3% at 21,110.65, and the Cboe small companies was down 0.2% at 18,941.94.

In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was marginally higher.

In the FTSE 100, telecoms Airtel Africa and Vodafone were among the best performers, up 3.1% and 2.0%, respectively.

Prudential rose 1.2% after Berenberg initiated coverage of the insurer with a 'buy' rating and a 1,445 pence price target.

Associated British Foods added 1.1% following price target increases from Barclays and Citigroup.

Barclays raised its price target for the Primark owner to 1,970 pence from 1,940 pence, retaining an 'equal weight' rating. Citigroup lifted its target to 1,550p from 1,330p, while maintaining a 'sell' recommendation.

At the bottom of the index, Admiral Group fell 2.4% as its shares traded ex-dividend.

Insurer and asset manager M&G fell 1.9% after swinging to a first-half pretax loss attributable to equity holders as short-term investment fluctuations weighed on its statutory results, despite an improvement in adjusted operating profit.

Adjusted operating profit before tax rose 15% to £435 million from £378 million a year earlier, while net inflows from open business increased to £2.4 billion from £2.1 billion. Its Solvency II coverage ratio improved to 247% from 230% a year before.

However, M&G swung to a pretax loss attributable to equity holders of £213 million from a £333 million profit and to a post-tax loss of £165 million from a £248 million profit.

The company attributed the swing primarily to £551 million of adverse short-term investment return fluctuations, including a £325 million pretax hit related to proposed UK ground rent reforms.

M&G raised its interim dividend to 6.8p from 6.7p. It said it remains on track to meet its 2025-to-2027 operating capital generation target and expects low double-digit adjusted operating profit growth for the full year.

In the FTSE 250, Ithaca Energy fell 5.1% to the bottom of the index as its shares traded ex-dividend.

Ithaca will join the FTSE 100 on September 21 alongside easyJet, replacing Entain and Persimmon, FTSE Russell confirmed on Wednesday. FTSE Russell is the London Stock Exchange Group subsidiary that produces, maintains, licenses and markets stock market indices.

Hilton Food Group jumped 10% following the release of its first-half interim results.

The company upgraded its full-year adjusted pretax profit forecast to between £66 million and £71 million, from its previous guidance range of £60 million to £65 million.

Among smaller caps, Frontier Developments rose 8.9% after announcing an agreement with Disney for a new game.

Frontier said it will fully fund development of the game, which will draw on Disney's portfolio of intellectual property.

The pound was quoted at USD1.3503 early Thursday, lower than USD1.3505 at the London equities close on Wednesday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR1.1636 from EUR1.1648 a day prior.

The euro traded at USD1.1604 early Thursday, higher than USD1.1594 late Wednesday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY157.11 versus JPY158.67.

In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo ended down 0.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed marginally higher, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was ended down 0.6%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.5%.

In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.6%, the S&P 500 up 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.5%.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.78%, narrowing from 4.79%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 5.25%, narrowing from 5.27%.

Oil prices came down a bit following the latest exchange of fire between the US and Iran, as the two countries continued to battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent oil was trading at USD94.93 a barrel early Thursday, lower than USD95.40 late Wednesday.

The US and Iran exchanged strikes on Tuesday, with US President Donald Trump saying Washington's attacks were in retaliation for Tehran's attempts to lay sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz and for firing at US service members in the Middle East over the weekend.

Donald Trump suggested the latest US attacks against Iran would likely be short-lived. Asked how long the bombing campaign could last, he told reporters on Wednesday: "I don't think too long."

Meanwhile, CNN cited US officials as saying the military escorted 40 commercial ships loaded with 18 million barrels of crude through the strait, a wartime high.

Gold was quoted at USD4,425.19 an ounce early Thursday, higher than USD4,371.82 on Wednesday.

Still to come on Thursday's economic calendar are services and composite purchasing managers' index readings for the UK and US.

The eurozone also releases producer price data, while the US publishes weekly jobless claims and trade balance figures.

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