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Stocks opened lower on Thursday morning amid intensifying rhetoric between US President Donald Trump and Iran, as the one-month-long war continues to impact energy prices and supply chains. ‘Added to which, today is what some would refer to as a ’synthetic Friday’, with most markets closed tomorrow for Easter,’ Pepperstone Senior Research Strategist Michael Brown commented. ‘Couple together what has now become a relatively predictable pattern of de-risking into the weekend, and a more cautious view emerging as to the timing for an end to the war in Iran, and you have a narrative to explain the risk aversion which dominates as the trading day gets underway.’ Iran on Thursday threatened ‘crushing’ attacks on the US and Israel, firing missiles at Tel Aviv after US President Donald Trump vowed to bomb the Islamic republic ‘back to the Stone Ages’. The war, which erupted more than a month ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, has spread throughout the Middle East and roiled the global economy, impacting hundreds of millions worldwide. The FTSE 100 index opened down 62.61 points, 0.6%, at 10,302.18. The FTSE 250 was down 284.76 points, 1.3%, at 21,403.43, and the AIM all-share was down 10.12 points, 1.4%, at 729.13. The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.5% at 1,025.81, the Cboe UK 250 was down 1.3% at 18,543.74, and the Cboe small companies was down 0.4% at 17,070.67. BP and Shell led the FTSE 100, up 3.2% and 2.4% respectively. On the FTSE 250, retailer B&M European led, up 5.2%, but Ithaca Energy followed with a 3.7% rise. Harbour Energy came third, up 2.6%, despite Peel Hunt cutting it to a ’hold’ rating. Brent oil was quoted at $107.87 a barrel early in London on Thursday, up from $101.83 late Wednesday. XS Senior Market Analyst Rania Gule commented that ‘the recent rise in crude oil prices and their approach toward the $110 level should not be seen as a mere temporary correction, but rather as a direct repricing of geopolitical risk - especially amid escalating US political rhetoric toward Iran. ‘In my view, markets have begun to seriously factor in potential supply disruptions, which explains the swift rebound from the week’s lows.’ Gold miners led the FTSE 100 laggers, with Fresnillo down 5.8%, Endeavour Mining down 5.4%, Antofagasta down 3.7%, and Anglo American down 3.6%. On the FTSE 250, Hochschild Mining led the laggers, down 7.4%, followed by Pan African Resources, which lost 6.1%. Gold was quoted lower at $4,621.33 an ounce against $4,781.92. As for travel-linked stocks, International Consolidated Airlines lost 2.0% while InterContinental Hotels lost 1.6%. On the FTSE 250, Wizz Air fell 3.7%, and easyJet lost 2.4%. In Dublin, Ryanair shares were down 1.7%. Also on Thursday, Wizz Air reported 8.4% on-year passenger growth in March, to 5.5 million people. Capacity rose 9.1% to 6.1 million seats, but the load factor decreased by 0.5 percentage points to 90.0%. Ryanair said it carried 15.8 million passengers in March, up 5.3% from 15.0 million a year before. This was on an unchanged load factor of 93%. Ryanair said it operated more than 88,000 flights last month. On a rolling 12-month basis, Ryanair carried 208.4 million passengers, up 4.1% from 200.2 million a year before. Load factor was unchanged at 94%. Lloyds Banking was down 1.6%, after announcing that it will not increase its provision for motor finance redress. The lender, whose existing provision stands at £1.95 billion, said it has ‘undertaken an assessment of the implications and impact’ of the Financial Conduct Authority’s final scheme, and that it ‘does not currently believe any change to the provision for this issue is required’. However, it noted that some uncertainties remain, stemming from response rates, potential litigation or any operational costs. In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 1.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 1.6%. The pound was quoted lower at $1.3222 early Thursday, compared to $1.3324 on Wednesday. Against the euro, sterling fell to €1.1461 from €1.1476 a day prior. The euro stood lower at $1.1531, against $1.1608. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥159.67, higher compared to JP¥158.66. In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 2.4%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.8%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.0%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 1.1%. In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.5%, the S&P 500 up 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.2%. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.38%, widening from 4.31%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.96%, widening from 4.89%. Still to come on Thursday’s economic calendar, there is US and Canadian trade balance data as well as the US jobless figures. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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