London open: Stocks flat as oil heads towards $100 a barrel

8th Sep 2026 08:12

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were steady in early trade on Tuesday as oil headed towards $100 a barrel and as Canada's retaliatory tariffs on the US came into effect.

At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was flat at 10,820.56, while Brent crude was up 1.8% at $98.72 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was 3% higher at $94.18 after Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis attacked several cities in Saudi Arabia, wounding more than 70 people and igniting fires at several oil facilities.

Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said: "Trade tensions and geopolitical stalemate are adding to inflationary concerns - pushing prices up across a large basket of commodities, which will feed through to household and business costs. The moves are adding to the note of caution reverberating on financial markets, as investors assess the likelihood that interest rates may have to stay higher for longer to keep a lid on consumer prices.

"Tariff wars have reared up again after Canada slapped billions of dollars of retaliatory tariffs on American goods, after talks with the US administration collapsed. The former trade allies have turned foes, with President Trump turning up the heat, and the latest measures are likely to add another layer of uncertainty for businesses and consumers. Canada's retaliatory tariffs on around $20 billion of US goods came into effect today, with duties ranging from 15% to 50%."

Streeter also pointed to the fact that oil and gas prices are "painfully" elevated, with Brent crude heading above $98 a barrel and wholesale gas prices shooting sharply higher as the market prices in heightened risks around the Strait of Hormuz.

Investors were mulling the latest trade figures from China, which showed that exports grew by 25% year-on-year in August, up from 23.9% in July and broadly in line with market expectations. Year-to-date, exports are now up 19.3% year-on-year to $2.92tn. ING said "the data shows that external demand remains strong, especially in China's key export growth areas".

Import growth also ticked up slightly in August to 28.2% from a revised 27.6% year-on-year in July. ING said this was somewhat softer than expectations for 31% growth "but nonetheless remained strong".

On home shores, industry data released earlier showed that UK retail sales growth eased in August as summer spending cooled, with discretionary spending hit as consumers tightened their belts.

According to the latest BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor, total retail sales rose 0.7% year-on-year following 3.1% growth in August 2025. This was below the 12-month average growth of 1.6%.

Food sales were up 2.6% following 4.7% growth a year earlier, while non-food sales fell 0.8% year-on-year in August, versus 1.8% growth the year before.

In-store non-food sales declined by 1.2% last month following 1.3% growth in August 2025, while online non-food sales fell 0.2%, having growth 2.7% in August 2025.

Harvir Dhillon, lead economist at the British Retail Consortium, said: "August was a disappointing month for retail sales. Despite pockets of growth, particularly in some food categories, overall performance was below the average for the past year. With the cost of households bills rising, and set to rise further, many shoppers have clearly been tightening their belts. This was particularly true for discretionary spending, as big-ticket purchases like furniture and household appliances declined and consumers opted to instead treat themselves to smaller luxuries in health and beauty.

"As summer spending cools, all eyes turn to the Autumn Budget. Retailers are being hit by a double whammy of rising costs and slowing consumer demand. The new government has put high streets at the centre of their vision for better economic growth and the upcoming Budget is an opportunity to deliver on this commitment. Taking action on business rates and energy costs would help support retail investment in local communities while delivering value for consumers."

In equity markets, tech provider Computacenter rallied as it said full-year earnings would be "significantly ahead" of forecasts after it almost doubled interim profits on the back of a strong performance in North America. Pre-tax profit for the six months to 30 June rose 87% to £152.4m. The company now expects adjusted earnings to be at least £380m compared with a company compiled consensus of £341m.

Autotrader was boosted by an upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold' at Jefferies, while Rightmove gained after an upgrade to 'hold' from 'underperform' by the same outfit.

Homeware retailer Dunelm tumbled as it posted flat full-year pre-tax profits, unveiled a three-year strategic growth plan and said unusually hot weather had dented trading in the first six weeks of FY27.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,820.56 -0.01%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,465.61 -0.17%

techMARK (TASX) 6,100.32 0.48%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Computacenter (CCC) 5,755.00p 4.76%

Autotrader Group (AUTO) 526.00p 3.88%

BP (BP.) 554.80p 1.39%

Compass Group 11 (CPG) 31.07p 1.24%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,938.00p 1.15%

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,832.00p 1.08%

Glencore (GLEN) 610.70p 1.01%

British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,120.00p 1.00%

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,524.00p 0.89%

Halma (HLMA) 3,668.00p 0.82%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Kingfisher (KGF) 299.20p -1.03%

HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 1,562.40p -0.96%

GSK (GSK) 1,818.50p -0.79%

Standard Life (SDLF) 940.50p -0.74%

Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 112.45p -0.71%

Legal & General Group (LGEN) 291.70p -0.68%

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,096.00p -0.68%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 82.48p -0.67%

Abrdn (ABDN) 247.00p -0.64%

M&G (MNG) 357.90p -0.64%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 4,174.00p 4.75%

Trustpilot Group (TRST) 286.60p 3.79%

GB Group (GBG) 157.00p 2.81%

Rightmove (RMV) 500.80p 2.80%

SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 36.45p 2.68%

RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd (RTW) 2.45p 2.08%

Harbour Energy (HBR) 267.80p 1.98%

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,628.00p 1.94%

Mony Group (MONY) 201.80p 1.87%

NCC Group (NCC) 142.00p 1.72%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Dunelm Group (DNLM) 807.50p -9.76%

Johnson Service Group (JSG) 134.00p -6.41%

Avon Technologies (AVON) 1,772.00p -5.14%

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 2.40p -4.76%

Ashmore Group (ASHM) 213.20p -3.70%

Schroder Asia Pacific Fund (SDP) 837.00p -2.22%

GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd (GCP) 82.50p -2.14%

IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 378.50p -2.11%

Ashoka India Equity Investment Trust (AIE) 250.00p -1.57%

SSP Group (SSPG) 191.90p -1.54%