London’s FTSE 100 reversed early gains on Wednesday to trade 0.4% lower at 10,190, its weakest level since late March, as selling pressure spread across European equity markets and US futures. Technology stocks led the downturn, while investors continued to track a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 also slipped, easing to 22,822. WH Smith tumbled nearly 16% to its lowest point since late 2010 after cutting its annual profit forecast for the second time in two months and announcing an equity raise to bolster its balance sheet amid travel disruptions linked to the Iran conflict.
UK banks came under pressure as well, with HSBC down 2.1% and Standard Chartered off 1.7%, after a JP Morgan note assessed the impact of new Chinese regulations on the sector.
Elsewhere, traders clung to hopes for a lasting peace in the Middle East, even as the US and Iran carried out fresh strikes, following President Donald Trump’s comments that an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was close.
