FTSE 100 Live: Stocks to rally as oil steadies, Unilever in food sale talks, public borrowing jumps
Good morning from the City AM liveblog team.
Stocks are poised to rise on Friday morning after a statement from Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu that he could see “this war ending a lot faster than people think” reassured markets that tensions in the Middle East were set to ease.
The remarks follow further missile strikes by the US and Israel on Gulf states, including strikes on Iran which Israel claimed had destroyed Iran’s ability to enrich uranium and produce ballistic missiles.
Asian stocks rallied earlier this morning while oil fell from its peaks yesterday to settle around $107 per barrel.
Yesterday, the Bank of England held interest rates at 3.75 per cent despite a market consensus only weeks ago that they were poised for a cut. The move was a rare unanimous decision by the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee – the first one since 2018 – in signs of the strength of feeling around the uncertainty caused by events in the Middle East.
In a subsequent interview, governor Andrew Bailey effectively ruled out any further rate cuts in the near future, saying the Bank “will do what we need to do to maintain price stability.” Some MPC members also mooted the possibility of rate rises over the coming months.
Here’s a look at some of our other top stories from yesterday:
- UK job market weakens as economy set to worsen
- Revolut poised to hit Natwest and Lloyds in deposit war
- Financial watchdog says investment industry is over-reliant on regulators
- Bank of England rebuffs calls to speed up ‘shadow banking’ stress test
- London IPO market may yet recover in 2026, Peel Hunt says
