The FTSE 100 opened 27 points lower at 10,503 amid an Iranian strike on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz and a tech selloff in Asia combined weighed on European markets. Meanwhile, Brent crude futures fell 2.25% to $73.51 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined 2.38% to $70.2% a barrel.
On the upside, Imperial Brands rose 2.35% to £2,830, while British American Tobacco advanced 1.94% to £4,789. Burberry Group gained 1.52% to £1,099.50, and Tesco moved higher by 1.34% to £461.10. Sainsbury’s added 1.22% to £314.70, while British Land climbed 1.15% to £422.40.
On the downside, London Stock Exchange Group declined 1.67% to £7,894, while Lion Finance Group slipped 1.09% to £10,880. Computacenter fell 2.40% to £4,146, and Diploma dropped 1.12% to £7,070. Croda International moved lower by 2.30% to £3,102, while Antofagasta eased 1.71% to £3,728.
Heathrow forecasts a £147 million decline in 2026 adjusted core profit from 2025, citing weaker traffic expectations linked to Middle East-related travel uncertainty and higher employment costs.
In a bi-annual report aimed at its bondholders, Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) said that despite the regional conflict, passenger volumes for the first five months of 2026 had risen by 0.7%.
Heathrow now expects a traffic range of between 84.5 million and 80.1 million, with a base case of 83.6 million, it said, representing a 1.1% fall year on year.
Tech giant Apple said memory chip shortages due to the AI boom have pushed the company to hike the MacBook and iPad prices by 20% globally.
Apple said: “The rapid expansion of AI data centres has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage.”
Apple shares slid 6.1% on Thursday's close, trading at $287.4, with the volatility spreading across to Asian markets.
Money transfer firm Wise recorded a profit decline in its latest financial year. The UK fintech’s profit before tax fell 8% to $660 million (£500 million), down from $717.5 million in its first results since downgrading its listing on the London Stock Exchange.
This came despite revenue surging to $2.5 billion as customer numbers increased by 21% to 19 million. But its performance was squeezed by rising costs, which rose nearly 40% to $1.9 billion and outpaced revenue growth twice as fast.
In the US, stocks remained mixed on Thursday, with a decline in Apple shares dragging on the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which closed down 0.5%. The S&P 500 was nearly flat, while the Dow added 0.1%.
In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi fell 5.81% to 8,411.21. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 4.15% to 69,360.88 points. Taiwan’s TAIEX dipped 3.64%. India’s Nifty 50 and Sensex are both closed today on account of Muharram.
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