Business news live: Oil prices latest as FTSE 100 rises and UK pay growth slows to below inflation rate

Time for our usual midday check on the best and worst of the day for the FTSE 100 so far – the index itself is pretty much flat again, down 0.04 per cent for the day.

• Babcock International +11.9 per cent
• Experian +2.04pc
• Rolls Royce +1.85pc
• Fresnillo +1.7pc
• Halma +1.46pc

• WPP -2.61pc
• Easyjet -1.89pc
• 3i Group -1.64pc
• NatWest -1.57pc
• Pearson -1.51pc

Cult Beauty and Myprotein operator THG has said sales returned to growth in recent months as it brought its products to a growing number of stores around the world.

Shares in the Manchester-based firm leapt higher after it said its nutrition business was growing at the fastest rate in more than three years.

It told investors that revenue growth for the division – which also includes Myprotein’s clothing arm, and Myvitamins – was expected to be between 5% and 7% for the second quarter.

Warehouse REIT have announced a recommendation to accept a takeover bid by London Stock Exchange-listed Tritax Big Box, for £485m – just weeks after having originally planned to be bought by a US private equity firm for £470m.

REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) are businesses which essentially own property to generate income through leasing them out. Many operate in specific sectors or geographical areas.

Tritax Big Box is a £3.7bn market cap REIT on the LSE. Its shares have dropped 1.6 per cent today but are up more than 11 per cent across 2025.

Defence giant Babcock International has hailed a “new era for defence” with rising global threats prompting governments around the world to strengthen spending, especially on the burgeoning nuclear sector.

Shares in the London-listed company surged after it reported higher profits and raised its financial outlook.

It generated an operating profit of £364 million in the year to the end of March, 51% higher than the previous year.

Revenues grew by 11% to £4.8 billion, with particularly strong growth in the nuclear and marine sectors.

It also said it was now expecting to meet its target underlying operating margin in the next financial year – one year earlier than it previously thought.

Anna Wise, at PA, reports.

The government is facing backlash over inheritance tax (IHT) plans, with a massive 94 per cent of advisers saying plans to tax pensions upon death from 2027 would result in added costs, administration nightmares and potential marginal tax rates of 64 per cent.

Rachel Vahey, head of public policy at AJ Bell, said:

“Advisers strongly oppose the government’s plan to impose IHT on pensions on death. Nearly all advisers asked (94%) do not believe the government’s current intended taxing of unused pension funds on death to be the right course of action, echoing the industry-wide concerns expressed since Rachel Reeves announced the plans in her Autumn Budget last October.

“Our research shows advisers agree that the current proposals are unworkable and have the potential to wreak havoc in the industry, instead showing their support to put in place simpler, less catastrophic solutions such as charging income tax on inherited pensions or levying a flat tax charge on unused pension funds.”

With the Israel-Iran ceasefire still looking a fragile one, the price of Brent Crude Oil has risen again on Wednesday.

It’s not a sharp rise such as the movement we saw over the weekend (up) or yesterday after the ceasefire announcement (down), but it still shows the uncertainty in the region.

Brent is up 0.9 per cent today, but it was as much as 1.8pc up just a few hours ago.

“Oil prices remain volatile with Brent crude heading slightly higher on the speculation about hostilities breaking out again. It’s gaining strength from industry data indicating supplies are tighter in the market,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Brent is currently trading at $66.76.

There hasn’t been any additional evidence of escalating tensions between Israel and Iran over the last 12 hours or so and that appears to have put investors in the mood to buy once more.

“Markets were risk-on following the Middle East truce,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Miners, oil producers and airlines were in demand on the UK stock market, helping to drive the FTSE 100 0.2% higher. There was a clear rotation as investors moved away from more defensive-style stocks such as utilities, tobacco and consumer staples.”

Tesla is once more seeing evidence of brand damage across Europe, with data showing EV sales remain on the rise – but the American carmaker’s sales plummeted once more.

A drop of 28 per cent sales for the region year on year to May has been reported, while vehicle registrations for battery EVs for the region grew by 27 per cent.

Increasing competition from European and Asian EV makers, as well as Tesla’s older model lineup, likely contributed to the falling share of the market.

Halfords reported stronger than expected profits for last year, rising more than 6 per cent to £38.4m.

However, the company also cautioned against inflation and said it needed to make savings of around £35m to offset rising costs including rising labour expenses.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG said:

“Halfords has become the latest retailer to issue a cautious update on the outlook for consumer spending, which comes despite its steady expansion into the higher-margin car servicing business. The rise in earnings for the autocentre division suggests the new CEO appointment is bearing fruit. Overall today’s numbers seem to provide the justification for the recent share price bounce to the current eighteen-month highs.”

Today, following news of the Iran-Israel ceasefire, oil and gas prices fell. Then, when it appeared as though the truce might not last, they climbed again. The movements were not huge – certainly not of the magnitude we might expect with the outbreak of war in the Middle East, the world’s prime energy supplier.

Certainly, they are not embarking on the traditional rollercoaster, soaring and plunging on every development as they have done in past crises. So, what did the traders and their analysts know that we didn’t?

Chris Blackhurst explains all: