London midday: FTSE boosted by oil shares amid Middle East woes

London stocks were still in the black by midday on Wednesday, underpinned by energy issues as oil prices rose due to tensions in the Middle East, but investors were jittery as they awaited Israel’s response to Iran’s latest missile attack.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 8,291.88, paring earlier gains somewhat.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "Geopolitics continues to dominate the market this morning, and oil is higher by a further 1.6% as retaliation risks grow, after Iranian missiles struck the interior of Israel. Iran has extended a flight suspension until tomorrow morning, which suggests that it expects Israel to strike at some point today. US and UK forces helped Israel to deter the latest missile attack, however, this is still a very fluid situation.

"While this situation remains ongoing, we expect it to have the most impact on commodities, especially oil. Right now, US equities look the most exposed, because the US could get dragged further into the conflict as it has said that it will defend Israel. There are many other factors that could impact markets this week, but the escalation in geopolitical risks in the Middle East is a key downside risk."

Looking ahead to the rest of the day and geopolitics aside, investors will turn their attention to the latest ADP report, due at 1315 BST.

In equity markets, Asia-focused Prudential was the standout performer on the FTSE 100, likely still boosted by the round of stimulus measures announced by China last week.

Oil giants BP and Shell were among the top gainers on the FTSE 100, while heavily-weighted miners also advanced, with Rio, Anglo American, Glencore and Antofagasta all up.

Defence firms BAE Systems and Babcock were also in the black amid escalations in the Middle East.

Saga surged after it confirmed it is in talks with Belgian insurer Ageas about a potential partnership arrangement for its insurance business.

On the downside, JD Sports Fashion slumped as it held annual guidance after delivering a 2% rise in half-year profit despite what it called a "volatile market". The company reported profit before tax and adjusting items of £405.6m for the six months to 3August, compared with £398m a year earlier. Revenue jumped 5.2% to £5bn.

The JD share price decline was likely due to negative read-across from Nike, whose shares fell sharply after the sportswear retailer withdrew its annual revenue forecast and posted a 10% drop in first-quarter revenue.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,291.88 0.18%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,816.15 -0.47%
techMARK (TASX) 4,841.51 -0.14%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Prudential (PRU) 715.80p 3.50%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,305.00p 2.47%
BP (BP.) 410.85p 2.46%
Shell (SHEL) 2,538.50p 2.44%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 674.90p 1.53%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 790.60p 1.46%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,370.00p 1.36%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,474.50p 1.29%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,670.00p 1.21%
Rightmove (RMV) 636.80p 1.11%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 143.70p -3.88%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,599.00p -3.38%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,032.00p -3.01%
easyJet (EZJ) 488.60p -2.59%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 367.90p -2.44%
Entain (ENT) 751.80p -2.41%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 288.40p -2.04%
Vistry Group (VTY) 1,298.00p -2.04%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 73.66p -1.94%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 333.90p -1.91%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 239.00p 6.94%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 112.50p 4.55%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 280.90p 3.54%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 83.00p 3.23%
Schroder Asia Pacific Fund (SDP) 562.00p 2.74%
Indivior (INDV) 745.50p 2.54%
Schroder Oriental Income Fund Ltd. (SOI) 280.00p 2.19%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 480.20p 2.13%
JPMorgan Emerging Markets Inv Trust (JMG) 112.80p 1.99%
Pacific Horizon Inv Trust (PHI) 607.00p 1.51%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 108.60p -7.34%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,289.00p -5.71%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 377.70p -4.19%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 389.60p -3.23%
Carnival (CCL) 1,191.50p -2.81%
Derwent London (DLN) 2,362.00p -2.80%
Pennon Group (PNN) 582.00p -2.68%
IP Group (IPO) 48.55p -2.61%
Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 884.00p -2.59%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 94.60p -2.52%