Investing.com — British stocks traded higher on Thursday as dovish central bank commentary from the Sintra forum offset pressure from lower oil prices tied to progress in US-Iran talks.
The closed 1.7% higher. Germany’s and France’s were also up 2.1% and 1.7% respectively. firmed to 1.3361, up 0.7%.
Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh, ECB President Christine Lagarde and BoE Governor Andrew Bailey all struck a dovish tone on a panel at Sintra. Jefferies strategist Mohit Kumar, described Bailey as “probably the most clear,” arguing the UK is undergoing a “soft patch” in which rising mortgage rates have “effectively tightened” policy without further hikes.
Lagarde noted oil “was at $120 a few weeks ago and is now close to $70.” Jefferies said the panel “supports our view of no (further) hikes this year from the Fed, ECB or BoE.”
Jefferies also flagged that ’s plan to monetise excess AI compute capacity via a cloud offering triggered a sell-off in chip names, with the sharply lower overnight as a result.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi criticised a U.S.-led regional security summit in Bahrain, writing on X that “Hormuz is defined under Iran’s command, not CENTCOM” and that a military summit “cannot establish legal order and security for the Persian Gulf.”
The summit, led by CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper, brought together military officials from a dozen nations including Syria and Lebanon, the first time those two countries’ militaries had joined a US-led regional defence conference, according to CENTCOM.
Separately, Qatar and Pakistan said in a joint statement that “positive progress was made” in indirect Doha talks between US and Iranian negotiators on issues tied to the Islamabad memorandum of understanding, with both sides agreeing to continue discussions after the funeral processions for Iran’s former Supreme Leader.
U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters Wednesday, said “the denuclearization of Iran is moving along well” and described the Doha meetings as “very good,” while Vice President JD Vance told CNN “talks are going well,” though he added discussions on the nuclear issue were only just set to begin.
fell to $70.35 a barrel, down 1.7%, while dropped 2% to $67.24. were down 0.10% at $4,077.92, while rose 0.86% to $4,066.31.
UK round up
reported an 18% rise in annual profit and said trading at the start of the new financial year had been very solid, with sales growth in both the UK and Nordics.
will acquire in a $360 million cash deal, offering shareholders $4.74 per share including a special dividend, subject to shareholder, regulatory, and Egyptian government approvals.