The FTSE 100 opened 64.87 points lower at 10,393.63 as oil prices surged on Strait of Hormuz supply concerns and elevated bond yields weighed on miners. Brent crude futures rose 3.77% to USD 104 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) advanced 3.65% to USD 91.50 per barrel.
Sterling fell to USD 1.3206 early Thursday from USD 1.3210 late Wednesday afternoon. Sterling fell to EUR 1.1783 from EUR 1.1807.
On the upside, Imperial Brands led the gainers, surging 3.30% to 2,570.00p, while Tesco advanced 3.17% to 490.90p. Sainsbury (J) climbed 2.23% to 334.90p, and IG Group Holdings gained 2.21% to 971.00p. Aberdeen Group rose 1.37% to 237.60p, while BP added 1.34% to 569.50p.
On the downside, Endeavour Mining declined 2.34% to 4,008.00p, while Lion Finance Group fell 2.03% to 12,570.00p. Diploma dropped 1.49% to 7,585.00p, and Rio Tinto slipped 1.44% to 6,921.00p. Spirax Group lost 1.33% to 7,045.00p, while AstraZeneca declined 0.81% to 12,082.00p.
Imperial Brands shares hit a near 2-month high after the company reaffirmed its full-year FY26 targets and announced a further GBP 1.5 billion share buyback for FY27.
The tobacco maker expects low-single-digit tobacco net revenue growth, double-digit NGP net revenue growth and group adjusted operating profit growth within its 3%-5% guidance range. It also expects high-single-digit adjusted EPS growth and more than £2.2 billion of free cash flow for the year.
Vodafone has raised its annual cost savings target for VodafoneThree to GBP 1 billion as it sets out plans to boost growth following the merger of its UK business with Three. The telecom giant now expects to save GBP 1 billion a year by 2032, up from its previous target of GBP 700 million by 2030.
VodafoneThree also expects its operating cash flow to more than triple by 2032 as it presses ahead with a GBP 11 billion investment programme to improve mobile coverage across the UK. The announcement follows Vodafone’s GBP 4.3 billion buyout of CK Hutchison’s remaining 49% stake in VodafoneThree in July, giving it full ownership of Britain’s largest mobile operator.
Tesco’s shares rebounded over 3% in early trade, after the company lifted its profit forecast. Chief executive Ken Murphy told reporters that he plans to build on Tesco’s commanding 27.8% market share.
“I was told six years ago that we had topped out, and life was over for Tesco. In the last four years, we’ve grown share by 113 basis points, which I think most people have been surprised by,” said Ken.
“So we like to surprise people. We have a great team in it that runs a great brand, and we’re very proud of it. So we have an ambition to keep on growing,” he further explained.
Also Read: Nifty 50 Opens Flat at 22,599, Sensex Rises 29 Points After RBI’s 25bps Rate Hike
In the US, the S&P 500 climbed 0.58% for a record close of 7,818.93, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 253.38 points, or 0.49%, to end at 51,521.28. The NASDAQ Composite added 0.45% and closed at a record 27,599.7944h 7.
In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 1.42% to 69.042.11, while China’s Shanghai Composite dipped 0.72%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.39%, and South Korea’s Kospi edged down by 2.62%. In India, both the Nifty 50 and the Sensex declined by 1.42% and 1.24%, respectively.
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