The FTSE 100 looks set to drift lower on Tuesday, with futures pointing to a modest 12-point drop – potentially wiping out the month’s gains.
That follows a weak finish to Monday’s session, where early strength faded, and the index closed down 58 points at 10,321.
The main pressure point remains energy. Brent crude has pushed above $110 a barrel, a three-week high, as hopes for progress in Middle East peace talks continue to stall. Higher oil prices are once again feeding into inflation concerns and weighing on equity sentiment.
Overnight, Wall Street was relatively calm but constructive. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both edged to fresh record highs, supported by strength in mega-cap tech names like NVIDIA Corporation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, slipped slightly.
Asian markets didn’t share that optimism. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index both fell more than 1%, reflecting growing unease around the geopolitical backdrop and rising input costs.
Back in the UK, inflation data offered a mixed signal. Figures from the British Retail Consortium showed shop price inflation slowed to 1.0% in April, down from 1.2% in March. Retailers appear to be absorbing some cost pressures to support demand, suggesting the full impact of higher energy prices has yet to hit consumers.
Taken together, the picture is one of cautious markets: resilient US equities, softer Asian sentiment, and a UK market caught in between—leaning slightly negative as oil continues to climb.
