London, March 11, 2026, 17:24 GMT.
- The FTSE 100 slipped 58.47 points, down 0.56% at 10,353.77, trimming Tuesday’s sharp 1.6% bounce.
- Brent crude climbed 4.38% to $91.65 as traders doubted a record IEA reserve release could entirely make up for the supply shortfall.
- Shares of Legal & General slipped as one of the session’s major laggards. Balfour Beatty, on the other hand, moved higher following an upbeat 2026 profit outlook.
The FTSE 100 in London slipped on Wednesday, giving up a chunk of Tuesday’s strong recovery. With oil prices pushing up again, inflation worries re-emerged and weighed on the index. The FTSE settled at 10,353.77.
The gains from Tuesday were tied to optimism that tensions in the Middle East could ease. But by late afternoon, Brent crude had rebounded to $91.65 a barrel, while the UK 10-year gilt yield pushed up to 4.684%. That’s reignited questions about how quickly interest rates might actually come down.
U.S. inflation data for February came in at 0.3%, exactly as economists had predicted, but markets barely reacted—focus had already shifted to the looming energy shock that those numbers hadn’t yet captured. Chris Beauchamp, IG’s chief market analyst, noted Britain’s particular vulnerability to higher energy costs. Oxford Economics, meanwhile, put a number on it: UK inflation could jump by 0.4 percentage points if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked for as long as two months.
Early on, energy stocks helped cushion the market. By late morning, Shell and BP managed gains with Brent pushing past $90, though most other sectors in London’s wider market remained underwater.
Legal & General slipped after falling short on several key earnings targets and posting a dip in its Solvency II ratio, the capital buffer required by regulators. Chief Executive Antonio Simoes told Reuters, “In two years, we’ve reshaped the company,” adding that the group felt “very comfortable” with its solvency standing. Reuters
L&G finds itself under the gun competitively. With Simoes stepping in at the beginning of 2024, shares have barely moved. Aviva, on the other hand, has surged roughly 44%, and the FTSE 100 isn’t far behind, up about 34%.
Harbour Energy shares slid, weighed down by news that EIG Asset Management, its third-biggest holder, unloaded roughly 60 million shares at a price below Tuesday’s close. Balfour Beatty moved the other direction, lifted by its outlook for 2026: the company is guiding for a high-single-digit increase in operating profit, supported by a record order book packed with UK power contracts—nuclear projects included.
The market remains shadowed by risk. Ipek Ozkardeskaya at Swissquote Bank warned the Iran war may not be “done and dusted quickly,” while Barclays flagged a possible drop in the STOXX 600 toward 550 if oil prices linger around $100 a barrel. Reuters
UK stocks would feel the pinch once again—more expensive imported energy, persistent inflation, and limited scope for the Bank of England to loosen policy. By the end of Wednesday, the FTSE 100 had settled about 5.1% under its February 27 record close of 10,910.55.
The decline stayed orderly enough. Still, Tuesday’s rally quickly evaporated once crude prices climbed, shifting the focus in London back to oil and shipping news rather than local economic indicators.
