London’s FTSE 100 index closed down 1.31% on Wednesday as escalating Middle East tensions and fuel supply fears drove Brent crude above $100 a barrel for the first time since July.
The price surge followed an Iranian ballistic missile attack targeting a US Navy warship, prompting American forces to retaliate by destroying five Iranian tankers, according to US Central Command.
Iranian state television broadcast an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warning ordering tankers near Kuwaiti and Bahraini piers to evacuate immediately or face being targeted by Iranian forces.
Iranian forces also launched an overnight missile strike against an air base in Jordan, deepening fears of a broader regional conflict with direct consequences for global energy supply chains.
On the domestic policy front, the UK government is preparing primary legislation requiring technology platforms and app developers to enforce device- and app-level safeguards blocking children from accessing and sharing explicit content online.
Secretary of State for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy said cross-departmental efforts with Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOGL) have produced “meaningful” operating system-level protections against nude image sharing, but added that initial commitments “do not meet the scale of this crisis.”
Aberdeen Group (ABDN.L) bucked the broader market decline, rising 0.40% after the company appointed Torbjörn Magnusson as chair designate with immediate effect, subject to regulatory approval.
Magnusson, the former chair of If P&C Insurance, will succeed interim Chair Jonathan Asquith once the necessary regulatory clearances are secured by the firm.
HSBC (HSBA.L) fell 1.63% after digital media portal Finanz-Szene reported the lender will shut down its HSBC Transaction Services business in Düsseldorf, Germany, resulting in the loss of 300 remaining jobs at the unit.
International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG.L) dropped 2.40% after its British Airways unit said it would cancel more than 190 flights following disruption caused by a technical issue with UK air traffic control on Tuesday.
British Airways said it is working to build a new schedule to operate as many flights as possible and resolve disruption for affected passengers in the coming days.
Glenstone REIT’s takeover proposal of 0.714 pound sterling per share for Alternative Income REIT (AIRE.L) became unconditional after it received acceptances from shareholders representing 22.78% of the real estate investment trust as of Tuesday, with Alternative Income REIT closing down 2.61%.