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The FTSE 100 opened 183.54 points lower at 10,422.46 as a global bond sell-off pushed UK 30-year gilt yields to 6%, their highest since early 1998. Brent crude futures rose 1.53% to USD 99.19 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) advanced 1.50% to USD 91.78 per barrel.
Sterling declined to USD 1.3249 early Thursday, from USD 1.3276 late Wednesday afternoon. Against the euro, it bought EUR 1.1698, up from EUR 1.1688.
On the upside, Rolls-Royce Holdings gained 0.82% to 1,473.60p, while DCC advanced 0.16% to 6,440p. Polar Capital Technology Trust rose 0.14% to 700p, and easyJet edged 0.03% higher to 677.80p. Intertek Group was unchanged at 5,870p.
On the downside, Games Workshop Group fell 6.45% to 16,830p, while British American Tobacco dropped 3.83% to 3,971p. Lion Finance Group declined 3.20% to 13,910p, and Rio Tinto lost 2.14% to 6,947p. AstraZeneca slipped 1.86% to 12,052p, while Next fell 1.42% to 14,585p. Fresnillo and Smiths Group also traded lower, declining 0.40% to 2,717p and 0.39% to 2,814p, respectively.
Filtronic has secured its biggest order yet from SpaceX, landing a USD 68.1 million (GBP 51.3 million) deal to supply equipment for the satellite company.
The tech company will provide SpaceX with equipment used to power high-frequency satellite communications. The deal exceeds a previous USD 62.5 million SpaceX order placed in August 2025 and is expected to be largely completed during Filtronic’s 2028 financial year.
Chief executive Nat Edington said the order was a ‘significant milestone’ that gave the company greater certainty over its revenues for the next couple of years.
British 30-year government bond yields surged to their highest since early 1998 on Thursday, following another sharp rise in US Treasury yields as oil prices rose amid renewed hopes of an end to the Iran war.
Thirty-year gilt yields rose as high as 6.029%, their highest since early 1998, and up 6 basis points on the day, according to LSEG data. Ten-year gilt yields hit the highest since July 2007, up 8 basis points at 5.509%, while five-year yields were at their highest since July 2008.
UK house price growth halved in September as higher mortgage costs and economic uncertainty kept buyers cautious. Prices rose just 0.8% compared with a year ago, down from 1.6% in August and the weakest annual growth since December 2025, according to Nationwide. Prices also fell 0.2% during the month, taking the average UK home down to £274,251.
Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner said the market had remained 'subdued', with higher energy prices fueling inflation concerns and keeping pressure on the interest rates used to price mortgages.
Also Read: Stock Market Update: Nifty 50 Opened 76.75 Points Lower, Sensex Fell 287.5 Points
In the US, Wall Street ended mixed overnight, with the S&P 500 falling 0.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 0.9%, while technology strength helped the Nasdaq Composite gain 0.2%.
In Asia on Thursday, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 3.3% to 68,958.72, while China’s Shanghai Composite advanced 0.31%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.37%, and South Korea’s Kospi edged up by 1.95%. In India, both the Nifty 50 and the Sensex fell by 1.27% and 1.16%, respectively.
