London, July 7, 2026, 18:03 BST
- FTSE 100 closed 14.11 points higher, up 0.13% at 10,665.88. FTSE 250 dropped 0.5%. AIM slid 1.2%.
- Energy names were up 2.8% after Shell LON:SHEL raised its outlook for second-quarter gas, while precious-metals miners dropped 3.4%.
- FTSE 100 closed in the lower 16% of its day range, a weak gain for the index to stay positive.
- Gilt yields moved higher after the OBR flagged that UK debt could become unsustainable unless there’s early action.
FTSE 100 ekes out small gain, but closes near day’s low British blue chips closed a bit higher Tuesday, though the finish lagged the best levels of the session. The London Stock Exchange’s regular hours are 0800 to 1630 BST. FTSE 100 touched 10,747.01 and dropped to 10,651.17 before ending at 10,665.88, just 14.71 points up from its low.
Blue chips looked steadier than domestic names. The FTSE 100 added 0.13%. The FTSE 250 dropped 0.5% and AIM slid 1.2%. So, the FTSE 100 finished 0.63 percentage points ahead of the 250 and 1.33 ahead of AIM for the day.
| UK close | Last | Day move | Market read |
|---|---|---|---|
| FTSE 100 | 10,665.88 | +14.11 / +0.13% | Oil and consumer staples kept the FTSE 100 afloat |
| FTSE 250 | 23,378.82 | -125.40 / -0.5% | Domestic names underperformed |
| AIM All-Share | 769.18 | -9.56 / -1.2% | Traders cut back on small-caps |
| Cboe UK 100 | 1,060.43 | +0.3% | Large-caps ended higher |
| Cboe UK 250 | 20,155.84 | -0.3% | Mid-caps lost ground |
FTSE 100 managed a small gain, helped by Shell and consumer staples, while oil buffered the index from losses in miners, banks, and tech-related stocks. The session didn’t see broad buying across the UK market. Paris’s CAC 40 closed 0.5% lower, with Frankfurt’s DAX 40 dropping 1.4%. London’s relative strength mostly came down to what’s in the index, not a sweeping vote for UK assets.
Shell gained 3.38% to 3,011p after the company bumped up its Q2 integrated gas output guidance to 610,000-650,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, from 580,000-640,000. Shell also lifted its LNG liquefaction guidance to 7.4 million-7.8 million tonnes, up from 6.8 million-7.4 million tonnes. Citigroup NYSE:C raised Shell’s Q2 EPS estimate by 13%, citing stronger trading and downstream results.
Brent crude climbed after reports of attacks on ships near the Strait of Hormuz triggered worries over supply. BP LON:BP added 1.44% to 474.55p. That pushed FTSE energy up 2.8% for the day, while precious-metals miners slid 3.4%. The sector gap reached 6.2 points.
Consumer stocks gained again. Diageo LON:DGE climbed 3.47%. Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) gained 3.77%. Unilever LON:ULVR rose 2.90%. Tesco LON:TSCO was up 2.37%. Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB (WSE:XTB), called the move in Europe a shift toward “cheaper, less-loved, less tech-heavy” sectors. Reuters
| Selected FTSE 100 moves | Close | Day move | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shell LON:SHEL | 3,011.00p | +3.38% | Q2 gas, LNG and trading numbers out |
| BP LON:BP | 474.55p | +1.44% | Oil price gains |
| Diageo LON:DGE | 1,564.50p | +3.47% | Rotation into consumer |
| Unilever LON:ULVR | 4,689.00p | +2.90% | Defensive in demand |
| Fresnillo (LON:FRES) | 2,723.00p | -4.52% | Selloff in precious metals miners |
| Anglo American LON:AAL | 3,610.00p | -4.60% | Pressure on miner names |
| Barclays (LON:BARC) | 516.10p | -2.53% | Banks softer |
Home market numbers stayed soft. Lloyds Banking Group LON:LLOY said its house price index edged up 0.2% for June, the first rise since February, putting annual growth at 0.6% with an average price of 299,330 pounds. Amanda Bryden, Lloyds’ head of mortgages, said she expects the housing market to keep moving at a “measured pace.” Persimmon (LON:PSN) dropped 0.43%. Lloyds slid 1.30%. Barclays fell 2.53%. NatWest Group (LON:NWG) gave up 1.25%. LLOYDS
Gilt yields edged higher. The UK 10-year pushed to 4.86%, up 6 bps for the day. The OBR warned that most of its projections put public debt on an unsustainable path, with its central scenario showing debt climbing sharply in the 2040s.
Equities get hit by fiscal numbers because when gilt yields go up, investors demand lower prices for banks, property stocks, housebuilders and small caps. Reuters said the OBR told the government it must lift its primary balance by 3.8% of GDP in 2031/32 if it wants to keep debt close to 95% of output over time. William Ellis, senior economist at IPPR, said the government should look at “rethinking the fiscal rules” in coming years. Reuters
Sterling climbed to $1.3401, its highest in three weeks, then edged down to $1.338. The stronger pound created another headwind for big overseas earners. April LaRusse at Insight Investments said a lot of bad news was “already been priced in”. Reuters
Shell reports Q2 results on July 30. The UK’s next public-finances figures come out July 21.
