Lunchtime market roundup: Stocks mixed ahead of US trade balance data

London’s blue chip index continued to underperform its European peers at Tuesday midday amid a softer Brent oil price, as investors await US trade and existing home sales data.

The FTSE 100 index was down 21.00 points, 0.2%, at 10,352.20. The FTSE 250 was up 116.57 points, 0.5%, at 23,130.00, and the AIM all-share was down 1.21 points, 0.2%, at 792.38.

The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.2% at 1,027.99, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.4% at 19,918.01, and the Cboe small companies was down 0.3% at 18,701.67.

In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.9%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.7% higher.

Sterling was at $1.3396 at midday on Tuesday, up from $1.3339 at the London equities close on Monday. Against the euro, sterling rose to €1.1575 from €1.1561.

The euro was higher at $1.1566 from $1.1539. Against the yen, the dollar edged up to JP¥160.16 from JP¥160.12.

‘The wind keeps changing direction on the Iran war, meaning investor sentiment is running hot and cold depending on the rhetoric,’ said AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould.

Brent crude was trading lower at $92.23 a barrel at midday on Tuesday from $94.75 on Monday, suggesting some renewed optimism among investors that the Middle East conflict will be resolved soon.

US President Donald Trump said that negotiators were in the ‘final throes’ of talks for a peace deal.

Iran and Israel ‘were going back and forth and now they both agreed through me to stop and we’re in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal,’ the US leader told reporters on his return from an NBA Finals game.

Asked whether it would be matter of days or weeks, he said it would take ‘two or three days’.

Despite this, the FTSE 100 lagged European peers, dragged down by BP and Shell which fell due to the lower price of Brent. BP was down 0.8% while Shell was trading 0.6% lower.

Stocks in New York were called higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called up 0.2%, the S&P 500 index 0.4% higher, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.7%.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.55% at midday on Tuesday, narrowed slightly from 4.56% on Monday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury widened a little to 5.03% from 5.02%.

Back in London, GSK shares were down 2.0% as investors reacted tentatively to its largest acquisition in over a decade.

The London-based pharmaceutical firm said it has agreed to buy oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company Nuvalent for $10.6 billion. The acquisition includes three products in lung cancer, GSK noted.

GSK said the deal to buy the Boston, Massachusetts-based firm is ‘consistent’ with its strategy of ‘acquiring assets that have validated targets and meaningfully address efficacy and/or tolerability limitations of existing standard-of-care therapies’.

AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould said: ‘The initial share price response indicates some trepidation among investors which is understandable given the size of the takeover. GSK is paying a hefty premium to get the deal over the line and the two big lung cancer products flagged by [Chief Executive Luke Miels] in heralding the takeover still await regulatory approval. Any acquisition of this size will always face challenges around integration.’

On the FTSE 250 index, shares in WPP were up 5.7%. Berenberg started coverage of the stock with a ’buy’ rating. It put a price target of 405p per share on the London-based advertising firm.

Oxford Instruments shares fell 4.2% as it said it remains confident in its mid-term goals despite reporting lower revenue.

The Buckinghamshire, England-based high-technology instruments company said pretax profit climbed 53% to £58.5 million in the financial year that ended March 31 from £38.2 million the year prior, despite a 4.6% decline in revenue to £423.2 million from £443.4 million.

Oxford Instruments took a £26.0 million impairment of goodwill in financial 2025, versus no such charge in the recent year.

‘Whilst the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment remains uncertain, we are making clear progress against the strategy set out in 2024 and remain well positioned in structurally growing markets,’ Chief Executive Richard Tyson said.

On the AIM index, shares in Thor Energy climbed 16%.

The exploration company said results from its phase two soil air geochemistry survey at the HY-Range project in South Australia build on and validate the previous phase one survey.

The survey shows ‘highly elevated’ natural hydrogen readings, reaching a maximum of 3%, which is around 60,000 times background.

‘The preliminary results from our phase two geochemistry survey are highly encouraging,’ said Managing Director Andrew Hume.

MJ Gleeson shares were 3.8% lower after it said that three land sales, representing more than half of its expected plot sales in the current financial year are being delayed and won’t complete until the following year.

MJ Gleeson’s financial year ends at the end of this month. It said the land sales now are expected to complete in the first half of financial 2027, meaning July to December.

MJ Gleeson said the sale of a site that would account for about 50% of total forecast plot sales by Gleeson Land in financial 2026 is unlikely to complete before June 30 and instead is expected in the first half of next year.

Two smaller transactions expected to close this year also will close in financial 2027. However, the company does expect to close one further land sale in June, it said.

Gold was slightly higher at $4,338.95 an ounce at midday on Tuesday from $4,330.27 late Monday.

Still to come on Tuesday’s economic calendar are trade figures from the US and Canada, along with US existing home sales and wholesale inventories data.

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