FTSE 100 Ends Higher as Middle East Tensions Ease and Oil Prices Retreat
TheFTSE 100closed higher on Monday as investors welcomed a temporary pause in hostilities between the US and Iran, easing concerns over energy supplies and sending oil prices sharply lower. London’s benchmark. . .
TheFTSE 100closed higher on Monday as investors welcomed a temporary pause in hostilities between the US and Iran, easing concerns over energy supplies and sending oil prices sharply lower. London’s benchmark index gained45. 52 points, or 0. 4%, to 10,781. 75. TheFTSE 250also rose0. 4% to 23,898. 10, while theAIM All-Shareslipped0. 2% to 771. 69. Brent crude for September delivery fell belowUS$90 a barrel, trading atUS$89. 71, down fromUS$95. 49at Friday’s close after the US paused airstrikes and Iran halted retaliatory attacks on regional neighbours. Analysts cautioned that while geopolitical tensions had eased, the underlying conflict remained unresolved, meaning further declines in oil prices could prove difficult. The weaker oil price weighed on energy producers, withBPfalling2. 6%andShelllosing0. 9%. In the FTSE 250,Harbour Energydropped5. 7%, whileIthaca Energydeclined7. 8%. Vodafonewas the day’s best FTSE 100 performer, rising4. 8%after upgrading its full-year earnings guidance. The telecoms group lifted its adjusted EBITDAaL forecast to€13. 0 billion-€13. 3 billionfollowing strong first-quarter trading, with organic service revenue increasing5. 2%across all business segments. AstraZenecaadded1. 7%after reporting second-quarter earnings ahead of market expectations. Improved margins and a lower-than-expected tax charge helped offset higher operating costs. Attention now turns to a busy week for corporate earnings, withLloyds,BarclaysandNatWestdue to report in the UK, whileMeta Platforms,Microsoft,AppleandAmazonheadline the US reporting season. Investors will also be watching interest rate decisions from theBank of England,US Federal ReserveandBank of Japan, with all three central banks widely expected to leave borrowing costs unchanged. Sterling weakened toUS$1. 3305, while gold traded little changed atUS$4,077. 10 an ounce. If anyone reads this article found it useful, helpful? Then please subscribewww. share-talk. comor followSHARE TALKon our Twitter page for future updates. Terms of Website UseAll information is provided on an as-is basis. Where we allow Bloggers to publish articles on our platform please note these are not our opinions or views and we have no affiliation with the companies mentioned