LONDON, April 9, 2026, 10:30 BST
- FTSE 100 is holding close to 10,600, steady after Wednesday’s 2.5% surge—the strongest finish since March 2.
- Brent crude is climbing back near $98 a barrel, with skepticism over a U.S.-Iran ceasefire fanning fresh inflation concerns in Europe.
- Lenders in a Bank of England survey anticipate mortgage demand will climb in the second quarter, following a lackluster opening to 2026.
The FTSE 100 hovered near 10,600 on Thursday morning, barely budging after a relief rally took it to a one-month high the day before. The index outperformed several continental benchmarks, but sentiment remained fragile. Fresh uncertainty over the U.S.-Iran ceasefire sent oil prices climbing once more.
Wednesday’s rebound saw banks, travel names, and homebuilders heading higher, while BP and Shell lagged as crude prices tanked. But by Thursday, with Brent climbing back toward $98 and Europe’s energy sector posting a 0.9% gain, the momentum swung in favor of oil stocks.
FTSE 100 jumped 2.5% to finish Wednesday at 10,608.9, a level not seen since March 2. The FTSE 250 fared even better, climbing 4.1%—its strongest close since March 11. Those moves followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s late Tuesday announcement of a two-week ceasefire with Iran, which sent oil prices tumbling.
Thursday brought a shift. Germany’s DAX dropped 1.3%, per Reuters, with France’s CAC 40 off 0.7%. Losses hit industrials, travel, banks, and tech stocks throughout Europe. London’s main index managed to hold up better for a time, though the STOXX 600 eventually slipped into negative territory.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, put it this way: “Volatility remains stable, but the impulse is to backtrack on some of Wednesday’s moves.” Traders are still zeroed in on the safety of tanker passage through the Strait of Hormuz, the critical route for roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. Reuters
The Bank of England released its own domestic update. According to its quarterly Credit Conditions Survey, demand for house-purchase loans stayed flat in the first quarter, but lenders anticipate an uptick in the second. Remortgaging activity is also expected to climb.
Still, there’s no sign of a full recovery at home. British builders just saw their steepest monthly surge in cost inflation since records started back in 1997, Reuters reported this week. Tim Moore of S&P Global Market Intelligence described the near-term as “challenging.” Services companies? They’re dealing with their fastest input cost growth since 2021. Reuters
That’s left rate-sensitive names—like banks and homebuilders—under the gun, with their shares quick to react when interest-rate outlooks change. Prashant Newnaha, senior rates strategist at TD Securities, said central banks will be on “high alert” for any risk that the supply shock starts pushing up inflation expectations. Reuters
Downing Street isn’t just watching the shipping route for market moves. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Britain aims to coordinate with shipping, insurance, and energy groups to shore up confidence in Hormuz. She’s also urging that the strait stay toll-free and wants to see the current ceasefire expanded to Lebanon.
Should talks stay on track and tankers resume regular routes, that move that powered travel, banks, and homebuilders Wednesday might get another shot. But a breakdown—Brent over $100 again, the truce slipping—could see UK stocks’ relief rally fade just as fast.
