London, June 27, 2026, 18:04 BST
- London cash equity markets are closed Saturday. The last trading day was Friday. Standard LSE hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.
- FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) finished Friday at 10,508.02, slipping 0.21%. FTSE 250 (INDEXFTSE:MCX) closed at 23,147.19, down 0.06%.
- Weekly moves showed more of a split. FTSE 100 climbed roughly 1.4%. FTSE 250 slipped around 0.2%.
- Brent slid 10.86% this week, easing inflation worries but weighing on London-listed energy stocks.
UK stocks closed out the week divided, with big overseas earners up while domestic shares lagged. Energy names—usually a support for the FTSE 100—fell as oil prices dropped on Friday.
FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) finished Friday at 10,508.02, slipping 21.87 points for the session. Still, that’s a 144.75-point rise from last week’s close at 10,363.27. The FTSE 250 (INDEXFTSE:MCX) ended at 23,147.19, losing some ground from 23,200.73 a week ago. That put blue chips ahead by a 1.6 percentage-point weekly margin.
FTSE All-Share rises 1.2% for the week on blue-chip strength
The FTSE All-Share gained around 1.2% this week, again led by blue-chips. That gave support to fund flows as the wider market was up, even though mid-caps fell and consumer data disappointed.
FTSE 100 dragged down by energy and banks; Shell, BP slip London’s main indexes closed down on Friday. Reuters reported that energy stocks and big banks were the main drag on the FTSE 100. Shell (LON:SHEL) and BP (LON:BP) dropped more than 0.9% each as oil prices moved lower. Bank stocks also underperformed, with the banks sub-index off 1.4%.
Oil set the tone this week. Brent closed at $71.99 a barrel Friday, dropping 4.34% for the day and 10.86% over the week as more ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz. “There is a growing sense that oil is going to keep moving through the Strait of Hormuz,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group. Reuters
Cheaper crude eased worries about inflation, but it dragged down the FTSE 100’s energy stocks. Still, the index managed a weekly gain. The market put more value on reduced rate risk and foreign earnings than it did on the losses from oil.
BofA Global Research scrapped its call for a Bank of England rate hike in 2026 late this week. The bank pointed to falling energy prices, weaker inflation and slower growth. “We no longer have enough conviction to forecast hikes in our base case,” BofA said Thursday. Reuters
Citi/YouGov numbers on Friday gave that trade a lift. Year-ahead UK inflation expectations dropped to 3.8% in June from 4.7%. Long-term expectations, five years out or more, edged down to 3.9% from 4.0%. “The risk of deanchoring is fading,” said Citi economist Callum McLaren-Stewart. Reuters
Mid-caps had little support from the local economy. The CBI’s retail sales balance dropped to -54 in June after -46 in May, and the three-month average posted its lowest since 1983. “Retailers reported a gloomy start to the summer,” said Martin Sartorius, lead economist at the CBI. Reuters
S&P Global’s flash PMI also pointed south. The UK composite output index fell to 49.4 in June from 49.7 in May, slipping under the 50 mark and showing contraction, mainly in services. Chris Williamson at S&P Global said the flash PMI lines up with a 0.1% quarterly drop.
Deal buzz moved shares in London again. Segro (LON:SGRO) jumped after it turned down a £12.6 billion offer from Prologis NYSE:PLD. Reuters said it’s the latest foreign suitor after another London-listed firm. Prologis now has until July 22 to either go firm on its bid or walk away.
Sterling held steady on political news. The pound added roughly 0.2% to $1.3219 Friday, heading for its strongest week versus the euro since mid-May, despite Keir Starmer stepping down as prime minister. “Markets are open to a change in UK prime minister,” said Nick Kennedy, currency strategist at Lloyds. Reuters
UK markets face some home-front tests next week. Investors get mortgage numbers, Q1 GDP’s second estimate, new PMI readings and the latest Nationwide house price report. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey heads to the ECB’s Sintra forum.
