Late market roundup: FTSE slides as oil, Asia-focused banks drag

London’s blue chips fell sharply on Tuesday as a drop in oil prices hit energy majors and renewed concerns over China regulation weighed on Asia-focused financials, while fresh weakness in US tech stocks added to the downbeat mood.

The FTSE 100 closed down 145.87 points, 1.4%, at 10,227.33. The FTSE 250 ended down 175.47 points, 0.8%, at 22,837.96, while the AIM All-Share fell 12.78 points, 1.6%, to 780.81.

The Cboe UK 100 ended down 1.3% at 1,017.19, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.6% at 19,727.78, and the Cboe Small Companies Index ended down 1.0% at 18,567.17.

Oil prices fell after US President Donald Trump said negotiations over a peace deal to end the Middle East war were in their final stages and a deal could come in ‘two or three days’.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell noted: ‘The wind keeps changing direction on the Iran war, meaning investor sentiment is running hot and cold depending on the rhetoric.’

‘The Brent crude oil price has become a proxy for whether markets think the Middle East conflict will soon be resolved or not, and today’s.. drop... would suggest renewed optimism.’

Brent crude for August delivery traded lower at $90.90 a barrel on Tuesday, down from $94.75 at the time of the equities close in London on Monday.

Reflecting the lower oil price, shares in BP and Shell were 3.0% and 1.9% lower.

In addition, BP announced plans to focus on two distinct business segments, Upstream and Downstream, replacing the current three-tier structure.

BP Chief Executive Officer Meg O’Neill, who joined the firm in April, said: ‘Focusing BP around two distinct segments is an important step in accelerating delivery. It will reduce complexity and strengthen execution.’

Also weighing on London’s blue-chip index, falls in Asia-focused financials with Standard Chartered, HSBC and Prudential down 6.3%, 4.4% and 4.2% respectively.

The renewed weakness came amid fresh worries about the impact of China’s new regulations on outbound direct investment. JPMorgan said the changes could lead to a disruption of existing wealth and personal banking business.

The mood was a touch brighter in European equity markets on Tuesday. The CAC 40 in Paris ended up 0.1%, although the DAX 40 in Frankfurt closed 0.7% lower.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6%, the S&P 500 was 1.1% lower and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.9%.

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI on Monday took the first step toward going public, one week after arch-rival Anthropic announced its own filing, as both companies look to raise the massive sums needed to expand.

In a social media post, the Sam Altman-led company said it had confidentially submitted an S-1 registration statement to US securities regulators but had ‘not decided on timing yet’ for any potential debut.

OpenAI’s move follows a confidential filing by Anthropic, the maker of the Claude chatbot, which announced last Monday that it had taken the same step.

Both companies appear set to follow Elon Musk’s SpaceX to Wall Street.

SpaceX, which absorbed Musk’s xAI lab, could see shares begin trading as early as Friday, targeting a valuation of roughly $1.75 trillion in what would be the largest IPO in history.

On Wednesday, investors will cast a watchful eye on data which is expected to show the headline US inflation rate topping 4% year-on-year in May in a further sign of the impact of the Middle East war.

Bloomberg consensus looks for the headline consumer price index to rise 0.5% on-month in May from April, with annual growth accelerating to 4.2% from 3.8% in April and from ’just’ 2.4% back in February.

Core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, is seen rising 0.3% on-month in May for annual growth of 3.0%, speeding up from 2.8% in April and 2.5% in February.

The pound traded at $1.3381 on Tuesday afternoon, up from $1.3339 on Monday. Against the euro, sterling firmed to €1.1581 from €1.1561 on Monday.

The euro traded higher against the greenback, at $1.1551 on Tuesday against $1.1539 on Monday. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥160.29, higher than JP¥160.12.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was flat at 4.56% on Tuesday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury widened to 5.03% from 5.02%.

Gold traded at $4,270.69 an ounce on Tuesday, down from $4,330.27 on Monday.

Back in London, BT led the fallers, down 3.5%, as Deutsche Bank reiterated a ’sell’ rating and 150p share price target.

The weaker gold price pegged back Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining, down 5.1% and 3.8%.

GSK ended down 0.5% after the $10.6 billion swoop for US-based cancer drug developer Nuvalent.

The acquisition marks GSK’s largest acquisition since 2014, when it bought Swiss peer Novartis AG’s vaccines business for $20 billion.

On the FTSE 250, advertising agency WPP rose 5.5% as Berenberg started coverage with a ’buy’ rating.

Berenberg said despite its challenges, WPP has the ‘global scale, heritage, blue-chip clients and the ability to deliver integrated brand, media, content and commerce support for multinationals’.

Bellway climbed 2.1% as it backed full-year profit guidance although it noted the outlook beyond the current financial year remains uncertain and said customer demand has moderated in recent weeks.

The Newcastle upon Tyne-based housebuilder continues to forecast volume output of between 9,300 and 9,500 homes in the financial year to July, and underlying operating profit of £320 million to £330 million. This compares to 8,749 homes and £303.5 million in the prior financial year.

Bellway said trading in the early part of the spring selling season showed a marked improvement compared to autumn 2025. However, it saw a moderation in customer demand in April and May in response to the recent rise in mortgage rates.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Croda International, up 113.00p at 2,976.00p, Bunzl, up 60.00p at 2,554.00p, Entain, up 13.60p at 583.40p, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, up 160.00p at 7,265.00p and Unilever, up 93.50p at 4,284.50p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Standard Chartered, down 122.00p at 1,811.00p, Fresnillo, down 154.00p at 2,868.00p, HSBC, down 59.80p at 1,311.40p, Glencore, down 25.90p at 569.20, and Prudential, down 40.40p at 916.00p.

Wednesday’s global economic calendar has an interest rate decision in Canada, plus inflation data in China and the US.

Wednesday’s local corporate calendar has half-year results from water supplier Pennon and a trading statement from travel retailer WH Smith.

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