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Stocks in London were mixed at Friday midday ahead of US nonfarm payrolls data for April, as investors continued to digest uncertainty regarding the conflict in the Middle East. The FTSE 100 index was down 9.06 points, 0.1%, at 10,267.89. The FTSE 250 was up 50.45 points, 0.2%, at 22,933.17, and the AIM all-share was down 0.94 points, 0.1%, at 817.38. The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 1,021.41, but the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.2% at 19,944.89, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.3% at 18,352.71. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he took responsibility for the ‘very tough’ local election results, with far-right Reform UK making gains across the country as hundreds of Labour councillors were voted out. Other notable trends included that the Liberal Democrats appeared on course to record an eighth consecutive year of council gains, while the left-wing Green Party made modest gains, which it expected to improve as its main target councils in London declare their results. Starmer has already faced speculation about his position, with The Times reporting that Energy Secretary and former leader Ed Miliband has urged the prime minister to set out a timetable for his departure. But Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy urged his party not to play ‘pass the parcel’ with leadership, while Defence Secretary John Healey said Starmer ‘can still turn it round’. Brent oil was quoted higher at $100.06 a barrel at midday in London on Friday from $97.76 late Thursday. ‘While a diplomatic breakthrough and a reopening of the Strait [of Hormuz] could alleviate the tightness of the market, normalisation could take time as logistics and production levels gradually return to regular conditions and confidence rebuilds,’ commented FXEM’s Abdelaziz Albogdady. ‘Looking forward, markets could react to any new developments on the ground as traders continue to monitor any new actions from both sides. ‘In the meantime, despite the rapid decline during the last few days, prices are still at elevated levels and are prone to volatility as traders remain on edge.’ On the FTSE 100, International Consolidated Airlines lost 1.7%, after it warned that soaring fuel costs would mean lower than expected full-year profit. The owner of British Airways with its corporate headquarters near Heathrow Airport said operating profit jumped 77% on-year to €351 million in the three months to March, beating Bloomberg-cited consensus of €246 million. But its CEO warned the impact of higher fuel prices caused by the Middle East crisis will ‘inevitably lead to lower profit this year than we originally anticipated.’ Fellow airline stock easyJet was down 1.1%, but Wizz Air rose 1.5%. Zigup led the FTSE 250, up 4.7% after a ’buy’ rating and 550p price target from Berenberg. Workspace Group was down 2.2%. The London-based flexible workspace provider has received a requisition notice from activist investor Saba Capital, which wants to oust five of the current non-executive directors at the next annual general meeting. Workspace previously turned down Saba’s proposal for a managed wind-down, but said it ‘remains open to continuing a constructive dialogue’. Also, Barclays cut Workspace to ’underweight’ from ’overweight’, lowering its price target to 310p from 450p. In smaller caps, Altona Rare Earths was up 6.3%. This followed the miner stating that it is ‘not aware of any reason’ for recent falls in its share price, which had previously shrunk for a third month to date and declined for four days in a row. ‘The board remains highly confident in the opportunities within the Monte Muambe project, as supported by the mineral resource estimates,’ Altona said. In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt were down 0.8%. The pound was quoted slightly lower at $1.3611 midday Friday, compared to $1.3616 on Thursday. Against the euro, sterling fell to €1.1562 from €1.1567 a day prior. The euro stood almost flat at $1.1767, against $1.1768. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JP¥156.73 compared to JP¥156.41. Stocks in New York were called higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called up 0.3%, the S&P 500 index up 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.7%. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.37%, widening from 4.36%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted unchanged at 4.95%. Gold was quoted lower at $4,726.26 an ounce against $4,742.97. Still to come on Friday’s economic calendar, the US has nonfarm payrolls and Canada has unemployment data. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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