London, March 27, 2026, 17:09 GMT
The FTSE 100 barely budged Friday, clawing its way back from a session low of 9,883.15 to finish just 4.82 points lower at 9,967.35—a slip of 0.05%. The FTSE 250 didn’t fare as well, dropping 331.32 points, or 1.56%, to close at 20,964.75.
The stakes around that earlier split are higher now, as the macro backdrop for UK stocks deteriorates. The OECD sliced its 2026 UK growth view to 0.7% and bumped its inflation outlook up to 4.0%. Markets have moved to price in three 25 basis point hikes from the Bank of England this year. Ross Walker at NatWest Markets called the UK’s starting point “suboptimal,” adding: “policy leeway looks very constrained.” Reuters
Conditions at home are turning softer. Official figures put February retail sales down 0.4%, reversing sharply from January’s 2.0% surge. Retailers have begun flagging that prolonged conflict could force them to push up prices, squeezed by rising input and fuel bills; Next also signaled that price hikes may be on the table if the turmoil drags on.
Most of the session, investors pulled back from risk. By 1125 GMT, the FTSE 100 slipped 0.7%, Reuters said, as Brent crude surged to $110.55 a barrel. “Words alone aren’t cutting it right now,” Hargreaves Lansdown’s Matt Britzman noted, after Washington pushed the Iran-Hormuz deadline out again. Reuters
AstraZeneca offered a lift in London trading. Shares in the drugmaker jumped 3.41%, leading the FTSE 100 risers, after it reported that its experimental treatment for chronic lung disease hit primary endpoints in two late-stage studies. Ruud Dobber, who heads up biopharmaceuticals at AstraZeneca, said the results indicate the drug could see use in a wide patient group if regulators sign off.
Relief barely registered. Metlen Energy & Metals tumbled 8.63%, topping the FTSE 100 decliners, with Barratt Redrow and Babcock both down 4.70%, and Auto Trader off 3.77%. Housebuilders, industrials, anyone with a tie to growth or rates—sellers hit them fast, even as the headline index found its footing.
London’s main index managed to outperform wider European bourses in the selloff. The STOXX 600 slipped 0.8% early on, according to Reuters, while both Frankfurt and Madrid dropped over 0.7%. Gains in AstraZeneca propped up healthcare stocks, helping limit losses for the sector.
But what happens next might hinge more on moves in energy and rates than on company headlines. Neil Bellamy at GfK said a “ripple of fear” among shoppers could easily become a “flood” if the conflict keeps dragging out. BoE rate-setter Alan Taylor, for his part, argued rates need to stay put until the war’s true impact on the economy becomes clearer. The FTSE 100’s almost unchanged close? Feels more like a pause than a proper shift. Reuters
