London's FTSE 100 closes lower as investors monitor Iran conflict, earnings (updated)

Carnival

23/04/2026 17:20

Updates after markets close

April 23 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 closed a little lower on Thursday, with declines in heavyweight financials offset by some stocks after their corporate updates, while markets assessed fading prospects of renewed U.S.-Iran peace negotiations and higher oil prices.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE closed 0.2% lower in its fourth session of declines, while the midcap FTSE 250 .FTMC fell 0.9%.

Brent crude futures LCOC1 rose beyond $100 a barrel, as Iran tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz and said it would not reopen the waterway until the U.S. lifted its naval blockade.

The travel and leisure sector .FTNMX405010 was buoyed by a 10% gain in Domino's Pizza DOM.L after it recorded a first-quarter like-for-like sales growth of 4.5%. Pressured airlines limited gains.

Heavyweight banks Barclays BARC.L and HSBC HSBA.L fell 1.5% and 0.4%, respectively, the biggest drags on the index.

Among miners, Fresnillo FRES.L declined 6.4%, tracking precious and base metals.

Industrial miners sector .FTNMX551020 closed 0.9% higher on the back of a 4.1% gain in Anglo American AAL.L, after a report showed its Australian coal business had at least three suitors.

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% 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 3.4% after it warned that the Iran war could cloud its outlook, mirroring concerns raised by peer Tesco TSCO.L.

WH Smith SMWH.L plunged 9.2% to the bottom of the FTSE 250 after the travel retailer cut its annual profit forecast and suspended its dividend.

 (Reporting by Utkarsh Tushar Hathi and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara and Alex Richardson)

 ((utkarshtushar.hathi@thomsonreuters.com))