London midday: FTSE turns higher as retailers rally

27th May 2026 11:04

(Sharecast News) - London stocks had popped into the black by midday on Wednesday, with retailers pacing the advance and oil prices holding below $100 a barrel as investors continued to mull developments in the Middle East conflict.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 10,516.38, while Brent crude was 2.9% lower at $96.69 a barrel.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Brent crude oil prices remain below $100 per barrel - a good barometer of how talks between Tehran and Washington are perceived to be progressing. Plus, government bond yields are in check at levels below their recent highs.

"The hope will be that this is finally the week when a real breakthrough is achieved, but should negotiations fail then we could see market patience wear thin.

"Even if an agreement is reached, it will take time to get energy infrastructure fully back online and shipments flowing through the Strait of Hormuz at anywhere near pre-war levels."

On home shores, data from Worldpanel by Numerator showed that grocery inflation eased in May,

Like-for-like grocery prices rose by 3.1% in the fourth weeks to 17 May, down from 3.8% in April and marking the slowest rate of increase since December 2024.

Prices rose fastest in markets such as chocolate confectionery, fresh unprocessed fish and healthcare lifestyle products, and fell fastest in chilled butter & spreads, sugar confectionery and household paper.

The figures showed that shoppers leant on promotions to keep costs down, with 30.3% of sales including a deal last month, up from 28.4% a year ago. Overall take-home sales growth rose 1.5% during the four-week period.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel by Numerator said: "The easing in the rate of inflation is welcome news for shoppers who have been grappling with warnings of a hike in food prices due to the impact of the war in the Middle East.

"This follows the UK government's announcement on a plan to further reduce import tariffs by £150 million on a range of food categories. While further details are expected this week, this would equate to just £5 per household, with the average annual shopping bill for food and drink, excluding alcohol, totalling £4,087."

In equity markets, retailers were among the top performers, with JD Sports, Marks & Spencer, Frasers Group and Currys all up.

Pets at Home jumped as it reported a drop in full-year profit and a dip in revenue, but said "material" progress has been made over the past six months stabilising the retail business.

Hollywood Bowl surged after it posted a rise in interim profit and revenue and lifted its dividend as it hailed "robust" demand for affordable leisure experiences.

Greencore tumbled as the food producer said it swung to a first-half operating loss of £13.4m from an operating profit of £38.1m a year earlier, mainly due to the £1.2bn acquisition of rival Bakkavor, with increased exceptional items relating to one-off transaction and integration costs of £60.6m.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,516.38 0.24%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,523.98 0.84%

techMARK (TASX) 6,047.20 -0.18%

FTSE 100 - Risers

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 85.72p 5.44%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 363.40p 4.25%

Mondi (MNDI) 773.80p 3.45%

Spirax Group (SPX) 7,165.00p 3.17%

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 266.90p 3.01%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 425.10p 2.91%

Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 2,938.00p 2.62%

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,185.00p 2.55%

Persimmon (PSN) 1,133.50p 2.35%

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 156.00p 2.30%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

The Sage Group (SGE) 845.40p -3.20%

BT Group (BT.A) 215.90p -2.39%

Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 40.73p -2.05%

Centrica (CNA) 196.75p -1.82%

Shell (SHEL) 3,133.50p -1.82%

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 7,010.00p -1.66%

Tesco (TSCO) 447.90p -1.45%

IG Group Holdings (IGG) 1,820.00p -1.41%

Relx plc (REL) 2,400.00p -1.27%

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 9,036.00p -1.20%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Pets at Home Group (PETS) 196.20p 5.94%

Frasers Group (FRAS) 770.00p 4.19%

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 48.50p 4.17%

Currys (CURY) 153.90p 4.12%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 815.00p 3.96%

HGCapital Trust (HGT) 360.00p 3.90%

HICL Infrastructure (HICL) 133.60p 3.73%

Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 232.50p 3.56%

Breedon Group (BREE) 304.60p 3.46%

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,050.00p 3.45%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 228.40p -4.95%

Trustpilot Group (TRST) 229.20p -2.80%

Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 1,118.00p -2.78%

Harbour Energy (HBR) 273.00p -2.15%

JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 801.00p -1.86%

Energean (ENOG) 825.00p -1.85%

Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 358.00p -1.65%

Kainos Group (KNOS) 850.50p -1.39%

AJ Bell (AJB) 619.50p -1.20%

CMC Markets (CMCX) 385.00p -1.16%