London close: Big Oil, miners drag on the FTSE 350

Falling commodity prices weighed on London stocks on Tuesday, with oil giants BP and Shell under pressure as oil prices retreated towards their 2024 lows.

The FTSE 100 ended down 0.37% at 8,232.04, although softness in Sterling helped limit the selling on the top-flight index.

In parallel, Brent futures added another 0.91% to the prior day's losses, finishing at $77.45 a barrel on the ICE, alongside much larger drops for copper and silver futures.

At the weekend, OPEC+ had signalled that some output curbs would be eased starting from October.

Hitting copper meanwhile was a mix of growth concerns and still bullish positioning, analysts at SP Angel judged.

As for economic activity, during the previous session JP Morgan's Mislav Matejka had told clients: "Last couple of months are showing softening US growth momentum, but at the same time an increasing potential for higher for longer Fed.

"We see the market upside capped during summer due to the inconsistency between consensus call for disinflation on one hand, and the belief in no landing and in earnings acceleration on the other."

On a brighter note, the British Retail Consortium and KPMG reported that total sales were up 0.7% year-on-year in May, following a 4.0% annual decline in April, as a 3.6% increase in food sales managed to outweigh a 2.4% decline in non-food.

While non-food sales were down, the BRC noted that the two bank holidays in May helped drive growth in purchases of DIY and gardening equipment, as well as clothing, while computing sales reached their highest levels since the pandemic.

The overall growth rate was higher than the three-month average of 0.3%, but still came in below the 12-month average gain of 2.0%.

"Despite a strong bank holiday weekend for retailers, minimal improvement to weather across most of May meant only a modest rebound in retail sales last month," said the BRC's chief executive Helen Dickinson.

"Retailers remain optimistic that major events such as the Euros and the Olympics will bolster consumer confidence this summer," she added.

In equity markets, British American Tobacco lost ground as it reported a drop in first-half underlying revenues and adjusted profits.

Standard Chartered was under the cosh as the bank was accused of carrying out billions of dollars of transactions for funders of terrorist groups such as Hamas.

Chemring erased early losses as it hailed a record interim order book but posted a drop in underlying profit as its Tennessee countermeasures business was hit by adverse weather conditions.

On the upside, Tritax Eurobox rallied after Brookfield Asset Management said it was in the early stages of assessing a possible cash offer for the company. Tritax confirmed in a statement late on Monday that it had not received a proposal from Brookfield.

Carnival shares jumped after an upgrade to 'buy' at Peel Hunt.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,232.04 -0.37%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,707.64 -0.92%
techMARK (TASX) 4,818.71 -0.37%

FTSE 100 - Risers

National Grid (NG.) 911.80p 2.91%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 630.40p 2.64%
easyJet (EZJ) 486.10p 2.25%
Halma (HLMA) 2,290.00p 2.23%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,406.00p 2.08%
Relx plc (REL) 3,487.00p 1.90%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,876.00p 1.88%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 311.60p 1.80%
Experian (EXPN) 3,691.00p 1.68%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,022.00p 1.59%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Fresnillo (FRES) 568.50p -7.79%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 353.70p -7.58%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 735.20p -5.31%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,399.00p -4.16%
St James's Place (STJ) 502.00p -4.02%
BP (BP.) 462.90p -3.80%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,135.00p -3.61%
Croda International (CRDA) 4,415.00p -3.48%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 6,036.00p -3.33%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 448.00p -2.80%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Carnival (CCL) 1,173.50p 7.27%
SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 70.10p 3.24%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 589.00p 2.35%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 147.00p 2.08%
Tritax Big Box Reit (BBOX) 165.20p 1.85%
Clarkson (CKN) 4,190.00p 1.82%
Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust (ORIT) 73.40p 1.52%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 312.50p 1.46%
Future (FUTR) 1,115.00p 1.46%
Petershill Partners (PHLL) 211.00p 1.44%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,107.00p -4.57%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 128.70p -4.10%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 84.00p -3.84%
Pacific Horizon Inv Trust (PHI) 603.00p -3.83%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 308.00p -3.75%
JPMorgan Indian Investment Trust (JII) 935.00p -3.71%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,664.00p -3.70%
Just Group (JUST) 100.60p -3.64%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 478.60p -3.55%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 3,280.00p -3.53%