The FTSE 100 made steady progress on Tuesday, closing up 21.68 points, or 0.2%, at 10,879.38, as gains in mining stocks offset declines in oil companies. The FTSE 250 ended 234.53 points higher, or 1.0%, at 24,459.30, while the AIM All-Share closed up 5.75 points, or 0.8%, at 774.36.
Oil Prices Dip on Peace Hopes
Oil prices moved towards 80 dollars a barrel after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested a deal could be reached with Tehran by Wednesday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. Speaking to CNBC, Mr Bessent said: “I think there is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait.” He added: “So you know, I’d expect the energy prices to settle back down, which, as I said, will be good for the entire world.”
Brent crude for October delivery traded lower at 80.60 dollars a barrel on Tuesday afternoon, down from 83.92 dollars late Monday. The decline dragged BP and Shell shares down by 4.9% and 2.5% respectively.
BP Results and Strategy
BP also unveiled better-than-expected second quarter results, with underlying replacement profit before interest and tax soaring to 10.31 billion dollars in the quarter ending June 30, up from 5.25 billion dollars a year earlier, ahead of the company-compiled consensus of 9.48 billion dollars. New chief executive Meg O’Neill called it a “strong quarter” but acknowledged areas “where our performance fell short”.
Ms O’Neill, who joined BP in April from Woodside Energy, said the firm has made “good progress” strengthening its balance sheet. On Tuesday, the oil major said it was looking to offload Archaea, its US biogas business, which it bought in 2022 for 3.3 billion dollars. Strengthening the balance sheet was one of five priorities Ms O’Neill laid out to “deliver a step change in performance”. “We need to take a clear look at ourselves: assessing what needs to change, stopping what holds us back and building strength where it matters. We have to get fit to grow,” she said.
Analysts at RBC Capital Markets said the “devil is in the detail, and BP will need to ‘walk the talk’ consistently over the coming quarters to re-build investor confidence”. “That said, ownership of BP’s historical failings is a good step forward for the investment case,” they added.
Global Markets and SpaceX
In European equities, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 0.6%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended 0.8% higher. US stocks were also higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.6%, the S&P 500 up 1.3% to hit an all-time high, and the Nasdaq Composite advancing 1.9%.
US markets are gearing up for results from SpaceX, its first since its initial public offer in June. After a strong start, shares in the company, which owns the Starlink satellite internet system and social media platform X, have fallen below the 135 dollars per share IPO price. They were up 4.6% at 119.82 dollars on Tuesday. Visible Alpha consensus expects revenue of 6.86 billion dollars, an operating loss of 1.62 billion dollars, and diluted losses per share of 0.19 dollars. Attention will be on the outlook and capital expenditure, with the latter forecast to increase to 118.4 billion dollars in 2028 from 48.7 billion dollars this year.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, noted that earnings are not the only big event for the SpaceX share price this week. On August 6, a lock-up period for SpaceX shares will expire, which could more than double the tradable float, she said. “Thus, tonight’s numbers may not be the biggest driver for SpaceX shares,” she added.
Mining Stocks Boost FTSE
Rising metals prices underpinned the FTSE 100’s gains, boosting mining stocks. Gold was higher at 4,078.23 dollars an ounce on Tuesday from 4,036.96 dollars on Monday. Silver rose 3.0%, while copper was trading 1.6% higher compared with the same time on Monday. Mining stocks Antofagasta, Endeavour Mining and Anglo American were prominent blue-chip gainers, up 6.9%, 3.4% and 5.5% respectively.
Other Movers
Smith & Nephew fell 6.3% after cutting its full-year sales growth guidance to 4% from around 6%, as second-quarter underlying revenue growth of 1.6% missed consensus expectations because of weaker demand for US hip and knee implants. “Not a great print and the revenue miss and lowered guidance will weigh on the shares,” analysts at Panmure Liberum said.
Travis Perkins surged 18% on the FTSE 250 after reporting better-than-expected interim operating profit. Adjusted operating profit rose 6.3% to £67 million in the six months ended June 30 from £63 million a year before, which analysts at Stifel said was above the £60 million market consensus. The Northampton-based building materials distributor said it is seeing encouraging early progress in its operational turnaround.
Irn-Bru owner AG Barr fell 5.4% after it said revenue was impacted by reduced stock availability, primarily from internal supply chain issues. CLS Holdings dropped 8.0% as it said full-year earnings will be below market expectations, with leasing transactions in the first half of 2026 steady but slower than expected, while its largest tenant at Spring Gardens is no longer seeking a short-term extension to a lease.
On the FTSE 100, the biggest risers were Antofagasta, up 252.0p at 3,931.0p, Halma, up 194.0p at 3,742.0p, Anglo American, up 202.0p at 3,907.0p, Polar Capital Technology Trust, up 34.5p at 669.0p, and Fresnillo, up 131.0p at 2,629.0p. The biggest fallers were Smith & Nephew, down 75.0p at 1,122.0p, BP, down 27.1p at 525.0p, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, down 325.0p at 7,735.0p, Shell, down 84.0p at 3,321.5p, and Pearson, down 22.0p at 1,227.5p.
Economic Calendar
Wednesday’s economic calendar has a batch of composite PMI readings including the UK at 09:30 BST. In addition, ADP payrolls data and the ISM services PMI will be released. Wednesday’s UK corporate calendar has half-year results from miner Glencore and insurer Legal & General plus a trading statement from Next.
