Lunchtime market roundup: FTSE 100 up, Brent surges as war rages on

London's FTSE 100 marched higher on Wednesday, boosted by oil majors as the Brent price climbed back above the USD95 a barrel mark, while a tamer than expected UK inflation reading kept a lid on sterling.

The FTSE 100 index shot up 120.30 points, 1.1%, at 10,706.21. The FTSE 250 was up 75.32 points, 0.3%, at 23,827.72, and the AIM all-share was up 6.29 points, 0.8%, at 772.42.

The Cboe UK 100 was up 1.2% at 1,064.67, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.5% at 20,734.13, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.3% at 18,487.34.

In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.9%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt added 0.6%.

Stocks in New York were called lower, however. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called down 0.1%, the S&P 500 index down 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.7%.

"A pullback in chip stocks following a storming run earlier this year has left investors hungry for an update on AI-related demand and to see if all the big investments into tech infrastructure are paying off. Alphabet reports tonight, with Intel following tomorrow and Microsoft, Meta, Lam Research, Arm and others next week," AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould commented.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted unchanged at 4.63%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was also unchanged at 5.13%.

Brent oil was quoted at USD94.09 a barrel at midday in London on Wednesday, jumping from USD91.36 late Tuesday, as the US-Iran war continued. It had traded above USD95 earlier on Wednesday

The latest round of US attacks included targets such as "military logistics infrastructure", according to the military, while Iranian state media reported strikes around the country, including Bushehr, which hosts a nuclear power plant.

Trump also claimed he would "take care of" Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels if they carried out threats to blockade Saudi Arabia's ports.

On the FTSE 100, oil major BP was up 1.6%, while peer Shell rose 1.5%.

The pound was quoted slightly lower at USD1.3371 midday Wednesday, compared to USD1.3375 on Tuesday. Against the euro, sterling was flat at EUR1.1720. The euro stood at USD1.1403, slightly lower against USD1.1408. Against the yen, the dollar was trading slightly higher at JPY163.00 compared to JPY162.97.

The UK annual consumer price inflation rate cooled to 2.6% in June, from 2.8% in May, numbers from the Office for National Statistics showed. The reading was shy of the FXStreet cited consensus of 2.7%.

Eyes also remain on Westminster. UK prime minister suggested increasing the £12,570 tax-free personal allowance would be something that the government will look at in the budget this year.

Asked by broadcasters whether he was planning to change the income tax allowance, the prime minister said: "Well, it's funny these days you can't answer a question honestly without then people reading everything else into it."

In London, BAE Systems was up 1.1%.

The London-based defence contractor unveiled what it called the UK's first uncrewed autonomous collaborative combat aircraft, dubbed Brontanax.

Wes Streeting, who was appointed UK defence secretary on Monday, called the prototype "a testament to the extraordinary talent and innovation across our sovereign defence industry".

Segro was up 3.0%, after Prologis made its "best and final" takeover approach.

San Francisco, California-based Prologis is now offering 0.0920 new Prologis share for each Segro share held, valuing the London-based property investor at £14.0 billion or 1,031.7 pence per share. It also increased the value of a partial cash alternative to up to £3.5 billion.

On completion and assuming that the partial cash alternative is fully taken up, existing Segro shareholders would hold around 8.9% of Prologis' issued share capital.

On Tuesday, Norges Bank Investment Management, which holds an 8.3% stake in Segro and a 1.3% stake in Prologis, said: "We believe the proposal merits consideration, and we encourage the boards of both Segro and Prologis to enter into constructive discussions to explore whether a transaction can be agreed on mutually beneficial terms for both companies and their shareholders."

Greencore led the FTSE 250, up 11% after a very upbeat trading statement.

The Dublin-based convenience food maker said, in light of a strong third quarter, it expects full-year adjusted operating profit for continuing operations to be above current market expectations and in the range of £234 million to £242 million.

This would be nearly double £125.7 million reported in the year ended September 26, 2025, and above prior company compiled consensus of between £219 million to £231 million.

Among small caps, Henry Boot lost 4.2%.

The Sheffield, England-based construction and property development firm said that in the first half of 2026, Hallam Land sold 556 plots, down 55% from 1,222 a year prior. Stonebridge Homes completed 72 homes, down 15%, and the firm expects it to make an operating loss in 2026.

"Macroeconomic uncertainty remains elevated, with domestic political uncertainty and the conflict in the Middle East continuing to weigh on consumer and business confidence," Henry Boot noted.

Looking ahead, Henry Boot said market conditions remain challenging, expecting lower first-half results and a full-year pretax profit "significantly" below current market consensus, which it cites as £20.4 million.

Sealand Capital Galaxy jumped 15%, after agreeing to acquire privately held consultancy business Brilliant Glow.

"BGG's consulting capabilities, client relationships and cross-regional resources are expected to support Sealand's development across digital transformation, technology services, retail solutions and capital markets consulting," the Asia-focused digital investor said.

Gold was up at USD4,116.62 an ounce against USD4,077.93 late Tuesday. Gold miner Endeavour led the FTSE 100, up 3.8%.

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