FTSE 100 today: Stocks opened lower as markets weigh Trump’s Iran deal optimism

The IRGC Navy’s deputy for political affairs warned that any fresh US aggression would be met with a response "beyond the enemy’s calculations," as Iran’s parliament speaker mocked Washington’s Strait of Hormuz strategy, dubbing it "Operation Trust Me Bro" and declaring it had "failed."

UK round up

JD Sports cautioned that profits would fall further in 2026/27, citing muted market growth and uncertainty over the Middle East conflict’s impact on its younger, less affluent customer base, after like-for-like sales fell 2.3% in the first quarter.

BAE Systems said it was on track for earnings growth of 9% to 11% this year, as the Iran war kept orders flowing into Britain’s biggest defence contractor, whose order backlog has nearly doubled since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

M&G swung to £600 million in net inflows in the first quarter, reversing outflows of £100 million a year earlier, driven by demand from Japanese partner Daiichi Life and other external clients.

Hiscox reported a 10.2% rise in first-quarter insurance contract written premiums, driven by robust growth in its retail insurance business across the UK, US and Europe.

IHG beat first-quarter room revenue estimates with global RevPAR growth of 4.4% against expectations of 3.3%, supported by strong bookings from affluent US travellers, though the Middle East conflict threatens to curb travel spending.

Shell posted first-quarter adjusted earnings of $6.92 billion, beating analyst forecasts of $6.36 billion, though it trimmed its quarterly share buyback to $3 billion from $3.5 billion and flagged a rise in its debt ratio after war-related damage to its Qatari Pearl gas plant.

BP received an extended US licence to use a payment workaround involving sanctioned Iranian and Russian partners in a major Azerbaijani gas project, Bloomberg reported.

Intertek is set to reject Swedish private equity firm EQT’s sweetened takeover offer of £58 per share, the Financial Times reported.

Construction activity in Britain shrank at its fastest pace in almost six years in the three months to March, according to a survey published on Thursday.

Private sector pay settlements held steady in March, with median annual offers from British employers unchanged on the previous month, a separate survey showed.

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