London, June 11, 2026, 18:08 BST
- FTSE 100 finished up 49.07 points, or 0.48%, at 10,303.88.
- FTSE 250 rose by 19.30 points, or 0.08%, at 22,970.64.
- Banks, insurers and mining stocks lent support to the market. Halma and software names traded lower.
FTSE 100 ends up as bank stocks bounce, investors eye Middle East
London’s blue-chips climbed on Thursday, with financials leading a rebound. The FTSE 100 gained 49.07 points, up 0.48%, to finish at 10,303.88. The FTSE 250 added 19.30 points, or 0.08%, closing at 22,970.64. Investors kept focus on Middle East tensions, oil, and European rate moves.
FTSE 100 saw a range from 10,252.27 to 10,370.15 through the session, according to market data after the close. Investors Chronicle data put the year-on-year gain at 16.24%, with the 52-week low at 8,707.65 and the high at 10,934.94.
Financials led gains in London. Reuters said HSBC was up 2.2%. Standard Chartered climbed 3.4%, while Prudential added 2.5%. Hong Kong-focused shares bounced after falling on concern about stricter Chinese cross-border investment rules.
FTSE 100 moved higher Thursday, AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said, with gains coming as traders watched for news on a potential Middle East peace deal, the Evening Standard reported. Standard Chartered, Prudential, and HSBC helped lift the blue-chip index, according to the same article.
Mining stocks gave the index a lift. Reuters said industrial metal miners rose 1.8%. Rio Tinto and Glencore each gained about 2%, adding support for the commodity-heavy London benchmark.
Gains were held in check as software and tech shares lagged. RELX lost 3.4% and Sage Group slid 5.3%, following declines in European software stocks after Oracle announced new AI-related debt spending plans and UBS cut its rating on Europe’s IT sector.
Halma shares dropped 15.4%, making it the FTSE’s sharpest faller, after the health and safety technology company warned organic constant-currency revenue growth will slow in fiscal 2027. The move came despite strong results, as investors zeroed in on the guidance for its photonics division.
Wizz Air rose 6% after posting operating profit ahead of forecasts, but the airline flagged weaker revenue per available seat kilometre for Q1 as disruption from the Iran war weighed. Frasers Group was up 1% after it launched a €2 billion bid for the German fashion group Hugo Boss.
ECB rate hike keeps markets on edge
Markets stayed wary as the European Central Bank raised interest rates for the first time in almost three years. The ECB lifted its deposit rate to 2.25% and its refinancing rate to 2.4%. Reuters said the ECB pointed to inflation pressure from higher energy costs tied to the war in the Middle East.
Oil prices held steady in London trade, with Brent crude for August delivery at $92.95 a barrel, just off the $92.98 mark from the previous London stock close, the Evening Standard reported. Sterling slipped to $1.3342 from $1.3397 and lost ground against the euro, moving to €1.1578 from €1.1593.
The focus shifts to the Bank of England, with the Bank Rate steady at 3.75% before its June 18 meeting. Traders are betting on a 25 basis point rate hike in September, Reuters said, citing LSEG data, as markets keep factoring in inflation pressure from higher energy prices.
