The FTSE 100 opened 65.2 points lower at 10,600.86 amid fresh US strikes on Iran after drone strikes on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz that sent oil prices surging. Meanwhile, Brent crude futures rose 2.22% to $75.81 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) advanced 2.10% to $71.92 a barrel.

Sterling was quoted at $1.3355 early Wednesday, lower than $1.3376 at the London equities close on Tuesday. Against the euro, sterling fell to €1.1693 from €1.1704 a day prior.

Gainers & Losers 

On the upside, BP rose 1.80% to £483.10, while Lion Finance Group advanced 1.65% to £11,730. Shell gained 0.71% to £3,032.50, and Centrica moved higher by 0.68% to £170.65. Burberry Group added 0.63% to £1,112, while Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust climbed 0.27% to £1,469.50.

On the downside, Games Workshop Group declined 2.40% to £20,300, while AstraZeneca slipped 1.04% to £14,214. Spirax Group fell 1.84% to £6,390, and Rio Tinto moved lower by 1.54% to £6,720. London Stock Exchange Group dropped 1.02% to £8,942, while Coca-Cola Europacific Partners eased 1.12% to £7,980.

Jet2 Witnessed £400 million Boost

Jet2 saw a £400 million upside from rising jet fuel prices. The package holiday provider revealed that it defied the travel chaos caused by the Middle East conflict to instead take a £388 million balance sheet boost from rising jet fuel prices. 

The AIM-listed firm said an extra £388 million in income was “primarily due to favourable fair value movements in jet fuel derivatives at the balance sheet date as market pricing increased following the escalation of conflict in the Middle East”. 

Jet2 has already sold 19.9 million seats for this summer, marking a 7% increase from last year.

ABF Completes £75 MILLION Hovis Takeover

Associated British Foods completes a £75 million takeover of bakery firm Hovis. The company has merged Hovis with its own bakery arm, Allied Bakeries. 

The new entity will operate as Hovis Bakeries from today, ABF said, and will deliver “substantial” production and distribution savings, despite posing an initial hit to its earnings this year.  

George Weston, ABF’s chief executive, said: “The transaction will support the wider UK economy, including by securing high-quality jobs. I am confident that our uniquely capable team has the right plans to build this business.” 

ABF shares opened flat at £1,966 on Wednesday’s market open. 

Vistry Warns on Profits

Vistry Group has warned that it expects to report a first-half loss after its new chief executive accelerated measures to cut debt, reduce stock and reshape the operations. 

The housebuilder said it expects a loss before tax of about £30 million for the six months to 30 June after taking a £50 million hit from actions including heavier discounts on slower-selling homes, asset sales and reductions to its landbank. 

Excluding those measures, it would have made about £20 million profit before tax, which would still have been a huge drop from the £260 million-plus in the past two years. 

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Global Market View

In US, the Wall Street session saw a sell-off in semiconductor stocks. The Nasdaq led the declines, falling 1.2%, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.5% and the Dow 0.3%.

In Asia on Wednesday, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 2.11% to 66,819.05, while China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.49%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 2.96%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.21%. In India, the Nifty 50 and the Sensex both declined by 0.74% and 0.76%, respectively.