The FTSE 100 surrendered early gains to finish slightly lower on Thursday, as a raft of heavyweight stocks trading ex-dividend offset broader optimism over progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Lloyds, Barclays, Relx and Reckitt Benckiser all slipped after losing entitlement to their latest dividend payments, while other defensive blue chips, including AstraZeneca and Unilever, also dragged on the index. Relx was among the weakest performers, dropping more than 4%. Tritax Big Box also fell about 4% after raising £350 million via a share placing to fund its data centre expansion, a move analysts described as near-term dilutive.
On the upside, Diageo jumped more than 5.5% after unveiling a restructuring plan, guiding for flat sales this year and announcing $1 billion in cost savings over the next three years. Persimmon added more than 3% after posting better-than-expected earnings and reiterating the upper end of its full-year home completion guidance.
