FTSE 100 Live: Stocks jittery amid oil tensions; Khan woos Anthropic AI
Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog.
Inflation fears have dominated the week and as for the time being, they don’t look to be heading anywhere.
The FTSE 100 ended Thursday’s session slipping 1.5 per cent to 10,413.94p as markets battled renewed fears of an energy crisis.
Brent crude futures – the international benchmark for oil – were brought some reprieve late on Thursday on the speculation the US may intervene in the futures market.
A senior White House official said the US Treasury department was set to come forth with a plan to ease energy prices – though was scarce on details and did not rule out futures market intervention.
“Oil prices remain elevated, and as things stand there’s no sign that either WTI or Brent looks set to reverse direction,” said David Morrison at Trade Nation.
“Oil has, perhaps more than any other market, been driven by headlines concerning the ongoing hostilities across the Middle East, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz.”
It came as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer vowed to “resist” pressure on the UK’s response to the conflict with Iran as he defended Britain’s “level-headed” military response.
He said the UK would focus military capabilities on the defence of allies, with the Prime Minister announcing that additional Typhoon jets would be sent to Qatar.
But Starmer also was quick to remind in his press conference on Thursday that there may not be a quick end to the current conflict – a sentiment that has kept markets risk aversion elevated.
We’ll be bringing you the latest on this and more.
Here’s a few of our top stories from yesterday:
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- Less magic, more panic in Disney’s AI deal
- Construction hit by wet weather as low housebuilding weakens output
- Barclays set to cash in on market frenzy amid Middle East crisis
- Oxford Street regeneration a complex undertaking for City Hall
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