FTSE 100 Live: Stocks inch higher as miners rise, BAT and Chemring fall

Last updated: 12:15 02 Jun 2026 EDT, First published: 02:17 02 Jun 2026 EDT

FTSE 100 up 34 points to 10,373 Miners gain as copper prices rise, gold steadies BAT and Chemring updates disappoint

5.15pm: In the green

London stocks made gains on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 adding 34 points at 10,373. Across the Atlantic, US stocks remained close to record highs, even as peace talks between the US and Iran stalled again.

“US equity indices ground higher while their European peers managed to hold on to slight gains amid reports that Iran paused its negotiations with the US while Israel pushes further into Lebanon,” IG chief technical analyst Axel Rudolph said.

“On the other side of the Atlantic, eurozone inflation accelerated to its highest level since September 2023, remaining well above the European Central Bank’s target as a sharp rise in energy prices, driven by Middle East supply disruptions, pushed overall price growth higher."

4.04pm: FTSE indices break losing streak

UK equities have generally moved higher today, with strength in mining stocks and banks helping the blue-chip benchmark recover from three consecutive negative sessions.

Antofagasta, Glencore and Anglo American top the leaderboard, with Barclays, Rio Tinto, Standard Chartered next.

Some more consumer-focused names are also among the risers, with IHG, Kingfisher and M&S all up over 2%.

The FTSE 250 outperformed its big sibling, though still only up 0.4%.

This was supported by "broader buying interest in midcaps and rate-sensitive domestic shares", says market analyst Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill.

He flags the comments from Andrew Bailey to the House of Lords economic affairs committee this afternoon, where the Bank of England Governor said the monetary policy committee's priority remains returning inflation to its 2% target, not redefining it after repeated overshoots.

"Asked whether the persistence of above-target inflation through much of the 2020s meant the BoE should rethink its framework, Bailey pushed back, saying the focus must be on managing the journey back to target and ensuring the public believes in the legitimacy of the Bank’s objective," says Munnelly.

"He also rejected the idea that raising the target to 3% would be an appropriate response to missed targets."

After voting to keep rates steady at 3.75% at the last meeting on 30 April, part of an 8-1 majority, Bailey noted that rising market interest rates had given the Bank some breathing room to assess whether another rate increase is needed in response to inflationary pressures linked to the conflict in Iran.

"For investors, the message was balanced but firm: the BoE is not rushing into another hike, but it is also not ready to declare victory on inflation."

3.12pm: Is there a shift back from private to public markets?

Staying on the US, but with potential read-across for markets on this side of the Atlantic, Anthropic’s and SpaceX's IPO filings (with OpenAI expected too) and Alphabet’s planned $80 billion equity raise, this is a strong signal of a shift back toward public markets as funding demands accelerate, says Michael Field, chief equity analyst at Morningstar.

"Last year the talk was about unicorns and the advantages of remaining private. This year that narrative has been turned on its head, most recently with announcements from Anthropic and Alphabet.

"It’s no coincidence that Anthropic is now filing for an IPO at the same time as OpenAI and SpaceX. At the same time, Alphabet is reversing its long-held capital allocation policy of buying back shares and issuing $80 billion in equity.

"The game has changed. These companies are now burning through cash to win the AI race and public equity is the cheapest source available, particularly in a rising interest rate environment.

"Not only are these businesses injecting capital, they’re doing it at exactly the right time.

"We’ve seen investor sentiment change with the sell-off in AI-related stocks during 2025. This was a warning that just because the fundamentals look positive, investors’ attitudes towards these firms can quickly shift."

2.52pm: Wall St opens in red

US stocks have opened with wheels spinning but the4 big three indices not going anywhere much.

The Dow is down almost 0.2%, while broader S&P 500 is down less than 10 points or 0.1%, with the Nasdaq even flatter.

Back in London, the FTSE is also pretty much flat now.

1.53pm: easyJet and Rosebank notes

Some broker notes worth flagging from today.

Shares in easyJet have been sent higher after Citi estimated that the airline's aeroplane fleet could be worth 770-890p, around double the recent share price even after the.

The US investment bank said the company's aircraft assets should help underpin the share price as takeover speculation continues, following the Castlelake announcement that it was exploring a potential bid.

Rosebank Industries, the industrial turnaround vehicle run by former Melrose executives, is up 4% after attracting 'buy' ratings from both Jefferies and Citi as the two banks resume coverage following the completion of its acquisitions of MW Components and CPM, transforming the company from a single-asset story into a group of three US industrial businesses.

The twin acquisitions, totalling more than $3 billion, add a manufacturer of engineered fasteners, springs and precision metal products, and a global supplier of process equipment and aftermarket solutions for food, feed and energy markets. They join ECI, the electrical components business Rosebank acquired last year.

Elsewhere, Panmure Liberum has initiated on Rentokil Initial, seeing the pest control giant as poised for a recovery after years of disruption linked to its acquisition of US business Terminix.

Analyst Joe Brent expects new chief executive Mike Duffy to improve operational performance, accelerate growth and close the profitability gap.

12.59pm: Net zero = £100bn

Britain's net zero economy now contributes more than £100 billion a year to economic output and supports 1.1 million jobs across the country, according to new research from CBI Economics.

The report found that businesses involved in activities ranging from renewable energy and electric vehicles to home insulation and clean technology generated £105 billion of gross value added last year, equivalent to almost 4% of UK economic output.

A pipeline of around £455 billion of potential investment in energy infrastructure was identified, prompting the CBI to describe the sector as a growing economic "powerhouse".

Louise Hellem, the CBI's chief economist, said clean power and decarbonisation were already a significant part of Britain's industrial base and warned the UK "cannot afford to step back" from an industry with substantial future growth potential.

Workers in the sector earn an average salary of more than £43,000 a year, around 11% above the national average.

12.23pm: FTSE still lagging Continental peers, US futures in red

The FTSE and other European markets have essentially been moving sideways since 9.30am this morning.

The London index is still lagging, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 0.7% firmer.

This contrasts with a weaker outlook on Wall Street, where futures point to a softer open.

Dow Jones futures are down 214 points or 0.4%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures slipped 0.2% and 0.1%.

In the background, oil prices are down, with Brent falling 1.3% to $93.70 a barrel and US WTI similarly lower at $90.93.

11.41am: BP backs Blanc to lead search for another chair

BP has backed Amanda Blanc to lead the search for a new chair despite concerns from some investors over her role in appointing Albert Manifold, who was ousted last week after only eight months in the job.

The Financial Times has reported that several shareholders had questioned whether Blanc, BP's senior independent director, should oversee the process after leading the search that resulted in Manifold's appointment last year.

However, interim chair Ian Tyler said in a statement: “At the request of the board, Amanda Blanc will lead the search process for BP’s next chair. As in previous searches, this will be a rigorous process involving the entire board and the final decision will reflect our collective view.”

11.13am: Marvell flies on Huang comments

Marvell Technology shares have rocketed almost 27% higher in pre-market trading in New York, after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang declared it as the "next trillion-dollar company".

Huang was speaking on stage at the Computex conference in Taipei, in a conversation with Marvell CEO Matthew Murphy.

He flagged Marvell's key role in providing the custom chips and high-speed interconnects required to scale massive, distributed artificial intelligence data centres.

Reports stated that the comment was "made in a lighthearted tone".

10.57am: Warning for social media short sellers

Short seller Andrew Left, best known as Citron Research, especially to investors in companies including Tesla, Palantir, Tilray, CV Sciences and Namaste Technologie, has been found guilty by a court in LA last night.

The ruling was that Left used social media posts to illegally manipulate stocks, causing price movements that he would quickly profit from. He was convicted on 13 of the 17 counts.

Prosecutors said he earned more than $20 million from such trades from 2018 to 2023.

Bloomberg calls it "a landmark case" that has been "closely watched by short sellers worried they could come under fire, too".

Short sellers such as Left typically build short positions in companies, ie betting that the shares will fall, then issue research reports detailing arguments why they think the company is no good.

“This sets a dangerous precedent for short sellers, who now fear that publishing negative research and exiting trades quickly will trigger federal audits and market manipulation charges,” Yale accounting professor Frank Zhang told Bloomberg.

Left plans to appeal the decision, saying, "The jury got it wrong." Business Insider reports that Left's lawyer has filed a motion for a mistrial due to an outdated verdict form used by the jury.

10.20am: Gold price surge changes weighting for central bank reserves

Gold has overtaken US Treasuries as world’s top reserve asset, the European Central Bank says, based on its calculations.

The precious metal made up 27% of total official foreign reserves at the end of 2025, the ECB says, compared to 22% for US Treasuries and the euro at 15%.

A year earlier, gold was 20% of reserves and US government bonds stood at 25%.

Geopolitical tensions are driving strong central bank demand for gold, says ECB president Christine Lagarde adding more poetically that "forces of fragmentation are becoming more pronounced."

But the ECB notes that price changes are the key factor, with the gold price surging around 60% in nominal terms last year and 30% in 2024, "which mechanically increases the share of gold in total official foreign reserves".

"Correcting for such valuation effects by using the gold price at the end of 2023, the share of the euro (16%) remains at par with the share of gold (16%), while the share of US Treasuries continues to be markedly higher (26%).

"Going forward, gold faces limitations as an official reserve asset compared with the major fiat currencies: its price is volatile, it is not remunerated and, when held in physical form, it is costly to store. More importantly, the supply of gold is not fully elastic and does not adjust seamlessly to shifts in international demand for liquidity."

9.40am: BoE data just out

Fresh Bank of England data points to a resilient housing market, even as borrowing growth cooled in April.

Mortgage approvals rose to 65,900, ahead of expectations at around 62K and up from a revised 63,980 in March and an average of around 63,100 over the past six months.

It was the highest level of approvals since January last year.

Net mortgage lending slowed sharply to £4.4 billion from a revised £6.8 billion the previous month, worse than the £5.2 billion consensus forecast.

This came as the ‘effective’ interest rate – the actual interest paid – on newly drawn mortgages increased to 4.08% from 4.03% in March. The rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages was 3.92% in April, down from 3.93% in March.

Net lending to individuals eased to £6.2 billion from £8 billion.

Consumer credit growth also moderated, with households borrowing an additional £1.9 billion in April, in line with March and the past six-month average.

9.27am: FTSE adds to gains

The FTSE 100 has recouped around two thirds of yesteerday's loss, after almost an hour and a half of trading.

Miners are the key driving force, housebuilders and retailers are the most represented sectors on the leaderboard.

Falls for BAT and oil giants are resulting in the London index lagging mainland European peers, with the German DAX up 1.4% and others around the Continent all up over 1%.

Market analyst Neil Wilson at Saxo notes that the Footsie is advancing despite some losses for heavyweights "as advancers outnumbered decliners 4:1".

He adds that "headlines around Iran grab the steering wheel but the AI trade remains the engine for stock markets", with Nvidia powering Wall Street's gains overnight, as well as plans for an Anthropic IPO and Alphabet's $80 billion AI investment.

On the Stoxx 600, tech companies are in the lead, topped by Dutch technology investor Prosus after it was given more time to sell down its stake in Delivery Hero.

STMicroelectronics is up 8.2% as it raised its data centre revenue target to $1 billion, driven by strong AI demand and expanded capacity.

9.09am: Euro inflation rises

Eurozone inflation rose to 3.2% last month, its highest level since September 2023.

It adds to expecations that the European Central Bank could lift interest rates soon.

Euro-area consumer price inflation climbed from 3% in April, Eurostat data shows, driven by an increase in energy inflation to 10.9% in May, offsetting a fall in food, alcohol & tobacco inflation to 2.0%.

8.46am: Elementis up, Chemring down

One of the top risers on the FTSE 250 is Elementis, up 6.2% after completing the sale of its pharmaceutical manufacturing business to AB Foods and confirming a share buyback.

The specialty chemicals group said it had completed the disposal for an enterprise value of €34.3 million and expects to receive net cash proceeds of about €30 million ($35 million), all of which will be returned to shareholders via the buyback.

Elementis said the disposal would improve adjusted operating margins both at group level and within its personal care division, while also reducing future capital requirements.

Elsewhere, Chemring is down 5% after its results.

Analyst Andrew Humphrey at Peel Hunt says that with management’s expectations for the year unchanged, guiding to 70% of FY26 operating profit in the second half, this would support an full-year adjusted operating profit outturn of £81.7 million, which compares to his forecvast of £81.2 million and a wider City consensus of £80.8 million.

"We suspect our forecasts did not fully capture the import of comments made in the AGM statement in February, highlighting a slower start to the year at the US countermeasures business (Kilgore). The UK also remains slower than anticipated, given delays to the Defence Investment Plan, though this should be fully reflected in expectations, and we view the margin performance (40bps higher YoY) as strong."

He concludes: "Trading momentum is strong, though we may not see meaningful progress in the share price until short-term budget issues affecting Roke have been resolved."

8.12am: FTSE 100 opens modestly higher

The FTSE 100 has opened 26 points higher at 10,365, with miners at the forefront.

Precious metals miner Fresnillo is prominent for the second day in a row, up 3.7%, while copper-focused Antofagasta is not far behind at 3%, Anglo American up 2.75%, gold digger Endeavour at 2.6% and Rio Tinto up 2.25%.

Perenially volatile names such as retailers Kingfisher and JD Sports, bookmaker Entain and Metlen Energy & Metals are also among the top risers.

Losers are led by BAT, which is down 3% after its half-year update.

Oil giants BP and Shell are down 1.7% and 0.95% after oil prices retreated.

7.59am: Chemring backs outlook despite profits dip

Defence technology specialist Chemring has reported lower first-half profits but a record order book, and said it remained on track to meet full-year expectations.

The maker of chaff, energetics and sensors posted revenue up 7% to £237.3 million for the six months to 30 April, while underlying operating profit fell 8% to £24.5 million as the underlying operating margin narrowed to 10.3% from 11.9%.

The decline reflected weaker profitability in its Sensors & Information division, where lower utilisation rates and a less favourable business mix weighed on performance.

Trading was said to have improved during the second quarter.

7.45am: Anthropic files for IPO and other AI news

A major tech story overnight was that Anthropic, the maker of the Claude AI models, submitted draft registration for an IPO this autumn.

This would see it leapfrog ChatGPT developer OpenAI, which is also expected to file for an IPO in the coming days.

Also yesterday, Google owner Alphabet announced plans to raise $80 billion to fund its AI plans, one of the biggest equity issues deals in history, including a $10 billion investment from Berkshire Hathaway.

7.33am: BAT guides to lower end of outlook

British American Tobacco says revenue and profit will come in towards the bottom end of its guidance for the 2026 financial year as continued declines in traditional cigarette volumes are offset by stronger-than-expected growth in nicotine pouches and vaping products.

For its New Categories arm, the tobacco group upgraded its forecast to "mid-teens" percentage revenue growth in both the first half and full year, up from a previous forecast for "low double-digit" growth.

For the group overall, BAT maintained its guidance for revenue growth of 3-5%, adjusted profit growth of 4-6% and adjusted diluted earnings per share growth of 5-8% in 2026, though it expects results to come in at the lower end of those ranges.

Furthermore, profits growth is expected to be weighted towards the second half of the year.

7.17am: FTSE 100 called higher as Trump helps oil retreat

The FTSE 100 is set to claw back some losses on Tuesday morning trading, as oil prices simmered down on Donald Trump's soothing news that Hezbollah and Israel had agreed to "stop shooting" at each other.

London's blue-chip index has been called around 40 points higher on the futures market after ending the previous session down 70.33 points at 10,338.95.

The expected rebound mirrors moves elsewhere in Europe, while investors also took some encouragement from a modestly positive session on Wall Street overnight.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.4%, the S&P 500 added 0.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% higher, marking fresh record highs for all three indices as Nvidia jumped more than 6% after unveiling a new superchip for PCs.

Oil prices, which have become the market’s main barometer of Middle East geopolitical risk, eased back this morning after a volatile 24 hours.

Brent crude traded around $94.30 a barrel, down from a brief surge above $97 yesterday when Iran said it was suspending talks with the US unless Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Gaza ceased.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, market analyst at Swissquote, said traders were struggling to keep pace with a rapidly changing picture in the Middle East.

“When you think that the geopolitical headlines could not get worse, they do,” she says, noting conflicting messages from Washington and Jerusalem over the prospects for a de-escalation in Lebanon, as Benjamin Netanyahu contradicted the US President by saying that fighting in Southern Lebanon would continue. "It’s a mess," says Ozkardeskaya.

Trump countered the news from Tehran, claiming talks with Iran were continuing "at a rapid pace" and telling reporters that he thinks a ceasefire agreement will be completed "over the next week".

The key issue for oil markets remains the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, says Ozkardeskaya, though risks to prices remain "two-sided". She said crude could move back above $100 a barrel if peace efforts stall, while a lasting end to the fighting could pull prices closer to $80.