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The FTSE 100 opened around 17 points higher at 10,350 as US President Donald Trump’s optimism over an imminent Iran deal offset continued military escalation. Meanwhile, oil prices eased slightly, with Brent crude futures falling 0.98% to $96.85 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined 0.93% to $95.13 a barrel.
Auto Trader Group led the gainers, rising 2.59% to £456.20, while JD Sports Fashion advanced 2.51% to £85.66 and Lion Finance Group gained 2.34% to £10,940. Also, RELX climbed 2.26% to £2,491, while Entain added 2.24% to £566 and NatWest Group moved higher by 2.14% to £602.60.
On the downside, Rio Tinto declined 1.81% to £7,926, while British American Tobacco slipped 1.75% to £4,325 and Antofagasta fell 1.52% to £4,224. Among other laggards, Shell dropped 1.04% to £3,234.50, while Anglo American eased 1.02% to £4,064 and Endeavour Mining edged lower by 0.97% to £4,187.
Premier Miton slashed its dividend after a surge in outflows. The AIM-listed group recorded net outflows of £1.3 billion, up from £254 million the prior year, as investors pulled out of “underperforming international equity strategies”.
Assets under management tumbled to £9 billion from £10.3 billion the prior year, with profit before tax falling from £5.4 million to £3 million.
The group also slashed its dividend to 1.5 pence per share, down from 3 pence per share.
CMC Markets booked a 20% jump in profit before tax to £101.3 million, up from £84.5 million in the previous year.
The group proposed a final dividend of 8.3 pence per share, bringing its full-year dividend to 13.8 pence per share.
The FTSE 250 group credited the rise to institutional and B2B income continuing to “scale”, coupled with a record-breaking performance in its Australian stockbroking business.
The arm generated operating income of A$140.3 million(£74.4 million), up 32% year on year, backed by growth in client activity and assets under administration.
S4 Capital is set to cut more jobs amid the tough market conditions. The firm said it had axed 150 roles since the end of 2025, taking its workforce to around 6,200.
The workforce is down 11% from about 7,000 a year ago. S4 Capital is expecting revenue to fall again over the full year, by low single digits, to between £632 million and £663 million.
“Market conditions in the first five months of 2026 have remained challenging, if more so, with clients generally cautious given continued geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty,” the firm said.
Also Read: Stock Market Today: Nifty50 at 23,404, Sensex Flat Amid US-Iran Tension
In the US, the Dow Jones fell 621 points or 1.2%, the Nasdaq declined 0.9% and the S&P 500 closed 0.7% lower, all retreating from the new highs hit this week.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.36% to 67,470.69. Taiwan’s TAIEX declined 1.68% to 45,677.46 points. In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.38%. In India, both Nifty 50 and Sensex declined by 0.13% and 0.16%, respectively.
