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The FTSE 100 opened 53 points lower at 10,423 amid elevated oil prices and growing tensions in the Middle East. Brent crude prices advanced 1.81% to $103.8 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures edged up 2.03% to $94.85.
Reckitt Benckiser gained 1.62% to £4,768, while the London Stock Exchange rose 1.07% to £9,852 and SSE advanced 0.95% to £2,648.
Among others, Metlen Energy & Energy edged up 0.95% to £34.14 and Unilever added 0.89% to reach £4,235, while Imperial Brands rose 0.84% to £2,776.
On the downside, Fresnillo fell 5.30% to £3,466 and Endevour Mining also declined 2.32% to £4,632 amid a fall in bullion prices.
Experian backed 3.99% to £2,766.50 while Astrazeneca dipped 0.56% to £14,454 and Next fell 0.90% to £13,245.
Sainsbury's profit fell from last year. It is blamed on competition to keep prices down in a competitive grocery market.
The retail underlying operating profit fell 1.1% to £1.025 billion for the 12 months ending February 2026, despite sales growth of 5.2% across its core grocery business. The decline shows a conscious decision not to pass on the full extent of cost inflation to shoppers.
AJ Bell witnessed a jump in net inflows after the investment platform attracted a wave of new customers. Q2 net inflows reached £2.7 billion, a 42% growth from the £1.9 billion recorded last year.
This came after gross inflows jumped 40% to £5.6 billion, fueled by record growth in customer numbers. Customers increased by 50,000 over the course of the quarter, closing at 723,000.
Total advised customers hit 189,000, a 7% increase, while direct-to-consumer customers increased by 28% to 534,000. Assets under administration (AUA) reached £108.7bn, up 20% from the prior year.
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US futures have also swung into the red after last night's positive session, led by the Nasdaq, which gained 1.6% to reach a new record high. The S&P 500 rose 1.05% and the Dow Jones climbed 0.7%.
In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.1%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 crashed from its record high falling 0.8% to 59,098.2 points. China’s CSI 300 lost 0.09%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.8%. Indian markets extended their losses, with the Nifty 50 and Sensex down 0.8% and 0.9%, respectively.
