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London and European stocks closed firmly in the red on Wednesday, with Brent oil rising to the $80 mark after renewed strikes from both the US and Iran, with US President Donald Trump declaring their ceasefire ‘over’. The FTSE 100 closed down 176.84 points, 1.7%, at 10,489.04. The FTSE 250 ended down 361.18 points, 1.5%, at 23,017.64, while the AIM All-Share fell 11.11 points, 1.4%, to 758.07. The Cboe UK 100 ended down 2.1% at 1,038.47, the Cboe UK 250 was down 2.1% at 19,732.38, while the Cboe Small Companies ended down 0.4% at 18,353.07. Oil prices jumped and stocks slumped after US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was ‘over’, after fighting flared sparked by Iranian attacks on ships in the vital Strait of Hormuz. Tehran insists on controlling the key shipping route, saying it will charge fees for passage and threatening to hit vessels that deviate from its authorised route. Iran’s military has struck at least three ships in recent days, prompting extensive US strikes against Iranian targets followed by retaliatory attacks from Iran on Gulf countries. ‘As far as I’m concerned, it’s over,’ Trump said at a Nato summit in Turkey on Wednesday when asked if the truce was intact. ‘It’s just a waste of time dealing with them,’ he added. In response, Brent crude for September delivery traded higher at $80.00 a barrel on Wednesday, up from $73.88 on Tuesday. Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management said: ‘The risk now is escalation by inches. Not a single thunderclap that announces a new war, but a series of ’necessary’ responses, each one defensible on its own, each one pushing the region closer to the edge. ‘That is how war premiums are rebuilt. Not always with a trumpet blast.’ The spike in crude prices boosted energy stocks. BP led a handful of FTSE 100 risers, rising 3.5%, while Shell added 2.3%. In contrast, airline stocks, came under selling pressure as investors fretted about higher fuel costs and the potential for further disruption to Middle East air travel. British Airways owner IAG fell 4.8%, while on the FTSE 250 Wizz Air lost 5.0%. In European equity markets on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 2.2%, as did the DAX 40 in Frankfurt. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.6%, the S&P 500 was 1.1% lower as was the Nasdaq Composite. In the UK, there was some moderately encouraging news on the jobs market and inflation outlook. Figures showed the decline in permanent hiring eased notably in June, while growth in temporary placements reached its strongest level in more than three years. The latest KPMG and Recruitment & Employment Confederation jobs report compiled by S&P Global showed the permanent placements index climbed to 49.1 points from 44.1 in May, moving closer to the neutral 50-point threshold. Elsewhere, the International Monetary Fund said UK inflation is set to ease back to target levels quicker than previously expected. The IMF’s latest update to its World Economic Outlook indicated that inflation will ease back in the UK over the next year. It said that inflation is set to drop back to the target rate of 2% set by the government and Bank of England by mid-2027. The euro traded lower against the greenback, at $1.1398 on Wednesday against $1.1427 on Tuesday. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥162.68, up from JP¥161.91 on Tuesday. The pound traded at $1.3358 on Wednesday afternoon, down from $1.3376 on Tuesday. Against the euro, sterling firmed to €1.1722 from €1.1704 on Tuesday. The US 10-year Treasury yield traded at 4.60% on Wednesday, stretched from 4.52% on Tuesday, and the US 30-year Treasury yield widened to 5.09% from 5.03% on Tuesday. Gold traded at $4,022.15 an ounce on Wednesday, down from $4,144.14 on Tuesday. On the FTSE 100, miners fell back as metal prices fell. Antofagasta dipped 6.4%, Rio Tinto fell 4.9%, Endeavour Mining slid 7.1%, and Anglo American eased 6.3%. Segro fell 1.8% after outlining financial targets and a pathway to ‘superior value creation’ for shareholders, as it seeks to ward off the interest of suitor Prologis. Ahead of a presentation to investors, the London-based warehouse landlord flagged substantial embedded value in its industrial and logistics development pipeline with the potential to deliver an additional £429 million of potential future headline rent. The FTSE 100-listing said it is also well placed to capitalise on Europe’s fast-growing data centre opportunity with a pipeline of near to mid-term opportunities offering £460 million of income potential. While on the FTSE 250, Vistry fell 7.1% after it said Chief Financial Officer Tim Lawlor is stepping down, and forecast a first-half pretax loss as a review by its new boss continues. The Kent, England-based housebuilder expects to report a pretax loss of around £30 million in the first half of 2026, before any further impact from the strategic review led by Chief Executive Adam Daniels. Daniels, who was promoted to CEO at Vistry in April, is leading an operational review of the group, the findings of which will be shared no later than interim results in September. RBC Capital Markets analyst Anthony Codling said it was a case of ‘one step forward, three steps back’ at Vistry and warned that ‘things could get worse before they get better.’ ‘Progress is being made, but uncertainty remains,’ he said, while ‘the group is not yet in a position to quantify the costs of the actions that need to be taken.’ The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were BP, up 16.75p at 491.30p, Shell, up 68.50p at 3,079.50p, Centrica, up 2.00p at 171.50p, Admiral, up 36.00p at 3,650.00p, and Pershing Square Holdings, up 26.00p at 3,796.00p. The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Endeavour Mining, down 271.00p at 3,562.00p, Antofagasta, down 241.00p at 3,527.00p, Anglo American, down 229.00p at 3,381.00p, Fresnillo, down 153.00p at 2,570.00p and Rio Tinto, down 335.00p at 6,490.00p. Thursday’s global economic calendar has inflation figures in China overnight, and existing home sales and initial jobless claims data in the US. Thursday’s local corporate calendar has first quarter results from water utility Severn Trent. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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