LONDON, March 27, 2026, 08:57 GMT
- By 0825 GMT, the FTSE 100 edged up 0.1% to 9,978.89, clawing back a slice of Thursday’s 1.3% drop. Sharecast
- UK retail sales slipped by 0.4% in February. Consumer confidence for March dropped to its lowest level in 11 months. Reuters
- AstraZeneca shares climbed, lifted by upbeat COPD trial results. Brent crude held firm, trading above $107 a barrel. Sharecast
London shares barely budged Friday morning. The FTSE 100 edged up 0.1% to 9,978.89 by 0825 GMT, clawing back just a sliver of Thursday’s 1.3% slide. AstraZeneca lent a hand, buoyed by encouraging late-stage trial data. Even so, fresh Middle East jitters and pricier oil kept buyers on the sidelines. Sharecast
The slow open comes as investors face opposing forces. Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, flagged a likely “struggle in early trade” for the FTSE with Brent edging toward $110 a barrel again. Friday’s UK figures, pointing to weaker consumer spending power, added another headwind at home. Sharecast
Fresh data from inside the country gave investors more to think about. Retail sales slipped 0.4% in February—less than the 0.7% decline Reuters had penciled in, but still a pullback after January’s strongest monthly climb since May 2024. GfK’s consumer confidence index, too, slid to -21 for March, marking its lowest point since April 2025. Reuters
Neil Bellamy at GfK picked up a “ripple of fear” in March’s numbers. On the retail side, Matt Jeffers, Accenture’s UK and Ireland retail strategy chief, flagged rising fuel and input costs as a hurdle for retailers this spring. Reuters
Europe wasn’t offering much comfort either. By 0816 GMT, the STOXX 600 edged 0.2% lower, and traders now see a 71% chance of the European Central Bank hiking rates in April. Across the Channel, most economists in a Reuters poll still think the Bank of England will keep its key rate at 3.75% for the rest of the year—even as markets are increasingly betting on more tightening. Reuters
Gabriella Willis at Santander CIB sees the “risk of hikes has increased” if the conflict persists, yet she keeps her main view: BoE rates stay steady. BoE’s Alan Taylor called the hurdle for another hike “high,” and Morgan Stanley’s Bruna Skarica argued policymakers still need “a lot more evidence” before considering a move. Reuters
AstraZeneca climbed after reporting its tozorakimab drug helped reduce COPD flare-ups in two pivotal trials. Sentiment swung sharply Thursday: shares of 3i tumbled 17.6% as Action, its discount retailer, projected 2026 same-store sales growth tracking close to 2025 levels. Next, on the other hand, advanced 4.2%. Reuters
Next’s caution continued to weigh on consumer stocks. Chief executive Simon Wolfson told Reuters price hikes in June or July would be capped at “1% to 2% maximum.” The larger concern, though, comes if the war pushes transport and energy costs higher for longer—Wolfson flagged the risk of a more general surge in manufactured-goods prices down the line. Reuters
Oil kept its role as the market’s swing card. Brent crude traded at $107.97 a barrel at 0608 GMT, Reuters reported, holding more than 48% higher than its mark at the outbreak of the conflict on Feb. 28. “The market is trading on war longevity, not just headlines,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, analyst at Phillip Nova. Reuters
London faces a simple dilemma here. If crude prices surge again, it’s likely inflation nerves, yields and consumer restraint hit the high street before energy stocks get any lift; that leaves retailers and domestic names exposed. A shift in diplomacy could flip the script, putting the FTSE’s heavyweight defensives back in the driver’s seat. Reuters
