An oil price above $100 a barrel has failed to prevent the FTSE 100 from posting fresh gains.
London’s top flight traded higher, having registered a rise of 0.8% in yesterday’s session.
The response of central banks to the Middle East conflict will be in the spotlight over the next two days, beginning with tonight’s Federal Reserve policy decision.
FTSE 100 Live Wednesday
- Central banks in focus
- Unilever mulls food spin-off - report
- Prudential ups dividend 15%
Market update: FTSE 100 posts another rise, airline stocks rally
10:17 , Graeme EvansA steady oil price near $100 a barrel today calmed interest rate nerves as the FTSE 100 index rose for a third successive session.
London’s top flight followed an advance of 0.8% with a rise of 0.3% or 33.3 points to 10,436.90, while the FTSE 250 index surged 0.7% or 166.78 points to 22,353.40.
Talk of a deal between Iraq and Turkey to restart oil supplies helped the mood, although Brent Crude is still at $103 a barrel due to little change in the Strait of Hormuz situation.
The Middle East conflict has left traders fearing higher interest rates, although central banks are likely to avoid sending any strong signals about potential changes at their meetings this week.
The Federal Reserve is in the spotlight this evening before tomorrow’s policy announcements by the Bank of England, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan.
AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said: “It’s a wait and see situation as policymakers get to grips with whether an inflation shock will be short lived or a long-lasting pain to fight.”
Airlines were among the best performing stocks in the FTSE 100 as British Airways owner IAG recovered 2% or 8.5p to 363.5p and easyJet lifted 10.4p to 372.3p.
Rolls-Royce added 3% or 38p to 1285p and GKN Aerospace owner Melrose Industries put on 10.8p to 522.4p.
The best performance was by Diploma after the quality compounder, which owns a portfolio of businesses in seals, controls and life sciences, disclosed a significant upgrade to its 2026 profit guidance.
Diploma said: “We expect another year of sustainable quality compounding, with earnings growth over 20% at strong returns on capital.”
The shares jumped 18% or 90p to a record 5935p, extending their rise over the past year to 50%.
AJ Bell’s Mould added: “Business is booming in areas like aerospace and margins are expanding, precisely the characteristics investors are desperately seeking in a market clouded by geopolitical tensions.”
At the bottom of the FTSE 100, British American Tobacco and Imperial Brands dropped 2% and catering group Compass fell 1.5% or 39p to 2228p.
A big stake sale by an institutional investor meant Relx fell 38p to 2594p, while Unilever lost 70.5p to 4809.5p amid speculation that it is considering a move to spin off its Knorr to Hellmann’s food assets.
Prudential shares fell 13.5p to 1081.5p after the Asia-focused insurer reported a 12% rise in new business profit for 2025 and lifted the total dividend by 15%.
Unilever reportedly considers foods spin-off, shares fall
09:33 , Graeme EvansUnilever shares are 1% lower after Bloomberg reported last night that the consumer goods group is in the early stages of considering a separation of its food assets.
An entire spin off of brands including Knorr, Hellmann’s and Marmite would leave Unilever with its Home & Personal Care operation, which includes Dove and Persil.
Unilever generated total revenues of 50.5 billion euros in 2025, with 12.9 billion euros from foods. Underlying sales growth came in at 3.5% last year, with foods growth of 2.5% driven by the performance in emerging markets.
Developed market underlying sales growth was flat in the face of subdued trading conditions, aided by the strong performance of Hellmann’s.
The company, which has not commented on last night’s report, fell 61.5p to leave shares broadly unchanged over the past year at 4818.5p.
Moonpig guidance cheers investors, Softcat hails AI boost
09:07 , Graeme EvansThe shares of Moonpig and the IT services business Softcat have risen 7% after the FTSE 250-listed stocks issued positive updates today.
The online greetings card business said earnings per share for the year to 30 April is set to be at the top-end of its 8% to 12% growth guidance.
This follows a high-single digit percentage improvement in revenues by its core Moonpig operation. The stock rose 15p to 226p as the company also announced plans for a further £65 million buyback of shares in the next financial year.
Softcat rose 77p to 1227p after it upgraded annual profit guidance on the back of a 27% rise in operating profit to £93.8 million for the six months to 31 January.
Chief executive Graham Charlton said: “AI is reshaping customer priorities at pace, and organisations of all sizes are now prioritising the building of the data, infrastructure and security foundations needed to deploy it effectively and at scale.”
Mining giant BHP names new CEO
08:34 , Graeme EvansBHP has named Brandon Craig as its new chief executive to replace Mike Henry at the helm of the world’s largest mining company.
Mr Craig, who is currently BHP’s Americas boss, will start on July 1, when Mr Henry steps down after six-and-a-half years in the role.
The Australian mining giant – which switched its main listing from London to Sydney in 2022, but retained a standard listing in the UK – said Mr Henry had helped the firm establish itself as the world’s biggest copper producer.
But he also presided over two failed attempts to buy rival Anglo American in order to further bolster its copper portfolio.
FTSE 100 run continues, Diploma jumps 15% after big profit upgrade
08:14 , Graeme EvansThe FTSE 100 index has continued this week’s robust performance by adding another 0.2% or 18.06 points to stand at 10,421.66.
Diploma, which owns a portfolio of businesses in seals, controls and life sciences, jumped 15% or 740p to a record 5770p after it disclosed a significant upgrade to its 2026 profit guidance.
Forecasting a.13% upgrade to consensus operating profit, Diploma said: “We expect another year of sustainable quality compounding, with earnings growth over 20% at strong returns on capital.”
Prudential shares initially rose 2% before later reversing 25.5p to 1069.5p after the Asia and Africa-focused insurer last night lifted its dividend by 15% alongside annual results.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said shares have risen by 42% over the last year but are still down by 42% from the most recent peak of 1906p achieved in January 2018.
He added: “Prudential’s fresh purpose is now evident and entrenched, with its stretching strategic targets increasingly coming within comfortable reach.”
Markets await Federal Reserve view on rates outlook
07:57 , Graeme EvansThe response of central banks to the Middle East conflict will be in the spotlight over the next two days, beginning with tonight’s Federal Reserve policy decision.
The Bank of Japan, Bank of England and European Central Bank are scheduled to make announcements tomorrow.
Traders have drastically raised their expectations for policy rates in the wake of the Iran war, although for now policymakers are likely to avoid sending any strong signals about potential changes.
In the US, markets now look for two more Federal Reserve cuts over the next two years, down from three before the war.
In the Eurozone, markets expect the ECB to hike at least once in the next year, up from no change before. In the UK, money markets see risks for the next year skewed towards a hike, compared to pricing in two cuts in late February.
City bank Peel Hunt said: “Like markets, policymakers will probably assume (and hope) that the conflict will be short-lived.
“In that case, as soon as the war is over money markets will probably shift their expectations for central bank rates to close to where they were shortly before it started.”
Prudential lifts dividend 15%, upbeat on 2026
07:13 , Graeme EvansPrudential has announced a big increase in its dividend after annual results last night showed a 12% rise in new business profit to $2.78 billion.
The Asia and Africa-focused insurer intends to pay a second interim dividend of 18.89 cents a share, increasing the total for 2025 by 15% to 26.60 US cents.
Chief executive Anil Wadhwani said: “2025 was a strong year of consistent delivery for Prudential, with double-digit growth reflecting sustained momentum throughout the year.
“Structural demand for our products in Asia and Africa continued to rise, driven by the increasing protection, retirement and wealth needs of our customers.”
The company commenced an additional $1.2 billion buyback in 2026 and expects a $1.3 billion capital return in 2027.
Wadhwani added: “We carry the momentum of 2025 into 2026 and are confident in our double-digit growth trajectory across our key metrics, putting us firmly on track to achieve our 2027 financial objectives.”
FTSE 100 seen higher, Brent Crude at $101 a barrel
07:02 , Graeme EvansThe FTSE 100 index is poised to consolidate yesterday’s rise of 0.8% after the price of Brent Crude oil settled near $100 a barrel.
The oil benchmark rose 3% yesterday to close above $100 a barrel for a fourth consecutive session at $103.42. However, it was the first time since 5 March that it had traded within a range of 5%.
Brent has since fallen 1.7% to $101.69 in Asia trading hours.
IG futures point to a small rise at today’s opening bell after London’s top flight yesterday advanced by 85.91 points at 10,403.60.
The improvement came alongside a stronger Wall Street session as the S&P 500 index lifted 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5%.
The Federal Reserve is due to announce its latest policy decision tonight, followed by the Bank of England tomorrow.
