Ftse 100 Falls As Crude Rises, Hopes Of Renewed U.s.: Iran talks fade

Carnival

23/04/2026 12:21

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April 23 (Reuters) -
Britain's FTSE 100 fell on Thursday, as higher oil prices and fading prospects of renewed U.S.-Iran peace negotiations weighed on the broader market, while investors parsed through a raft of corporate earnings.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE dropped 0.8% to 10,388.84 points by 10:40 a.m. GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 .FTMC fell 1.1%.

Brent crude futures LCOC1 surged past $100 a barrel, as Iran tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz and said it will not reopen the waterway until the U.S. lifts its naval blockade.

The rise in oil prices pressured travel & leisure stocks .FTNMX405010, with Wizz Air WIZZ.L and Carnival CCL.L down 3% and 2.4%, respectively.

Travel retailer WH Smith SMWH.L plunged 10.6% after it
cut its annual profit forecast
 and suspended dividend.

Meanwhile, heavyweight banks Barclays BARC.L and HSBC HSBA.L fell 2.1% and 0.9%, respectively.

Among miners, Fresnillo FRES.L declined 6.9%, and Rio Tinto RIO.L fell 2.1%, tracking precious and base metals.

The share of British firms reporting higher costs jumped to a record this month, signalling high input costs and rising inflation as fallout from the Iran war weighs on the economy, a survey showed.

Traders are now pricing in 70% probability of the Bank of England hiking rates in June, up from 40% last week, according to LSEG data.

The FTSE 100 is down 2.7% for the week so far and is on track to erase nearly all gains sparked by hopes of the U.S.–Iran ceasefire, which was announced earlier this month.

Among other stocks, supermarket group Sainsbury SBRY.L fell 5.2% after it warned that the Iran war could cloud its outlook, mirroring concerns raised by peer Tesco TSCO.L earlier in the week. Tesco shares fell 3% on Thursday.

The London Stock Exchange Group LSEG.L gained 1.9% after forecasting annual revenue growth at the upper end of its range.

Software firm Relx REL.L was down 1.3% after the company reaffirmed its full-year outlook.

 (Reporting by Utkarsh Tushar Hathi; Editing by Diti Pujara)

 ((utkarshtushar.hathi@thomsonreuters.com))