London's FTSE 100 held near multi-week peaks on Wednesday as a slide in oil prices weighed on Shell and BP, offsetting gains across homebuilders and industrial miners. Copper climbed to a six-month high, cushioning the index against the energy-sector drag.
British blue-chip shares held near multi-week peaks on Wednesday. A sharp retreat in global crude prices dragged on heavyweight energy producers, but the drag was offset by gains across homebuilders and industrial miners.
Softening raw material costs relieved consumer-facing sectors but weighed directly on index heavyweights Shell and BP. Both oil majors fell over 1.5% each. The drag traced back to a 2% drop in global oil benchmarks, driven by reports that Iran and Oman have resumed bilateral talks to manage and potentially reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The prospect of restored maritime transit eased immediate supply fears, and it pushed Brent crude futures down toward $86 a barrel, triggering profit-taking across energy majors.
The cautious baseline followed a strong session for domestic equities. That session had drawn support from the UK government's newly unveiled £10 billion social housing program aimed at boosting low-cost construction nationwide.
Despite the energy-sector headwinds, broader sentiment drew support from a rally in industrial metals. Copper prices surged to a six-month high amid dwindling London Metal Exchange inventories, giving an operational tailwind to mega-cap miners Rio Tinto and Anglo American. Meanwhile, gold prices eased slightly ahead of upcoming U.S. inflation data.
Source: Investing.com
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