17:11 — FTSE 100 closes 14 points higher for the day at 10,748
The FTSE 100 closed at 10,748, up just 5 points on the day, capping a session that swung from an early dip near 10,709 to 10,717, to a high of 10,764 before settling just below that peak.
Greatland Gold (AIM:GGP) led the FTSE 100 risers, closing at 706p, up 4.75% and at its session high, with Wheaton Precious Metals (LSE:WPM) also firmer at 11,000p, up 3.77%, also at a session high. Ithaca Energy (LSE:ITH) and Harbour Energy (LSE:HBR) extended their advances to close up 4.27% at 268.6p and 3.57% at 266.8p respectively, tracking Brent crude's push above $91 on the back of continued Trump-Iran tensions over the Strait of Hormuz.
Weir Group (LSE:WEIR) added 3.79% to close at 2742p, also at its session high.
Hays (LSE:HAS), which closed down 5.04% at 67.85p after its results earlier in the week. Legal & General fell 3.66% to 287.1p and Marks & Spencer eased 2.52% to 374.8p.
Among smaller names, Talisman Metals (AIM:TLM) surged 16.67% to 7p after confirming a £501,800 placement to fund copper exploration in Morocco, while Capital (LSE:CAPD) added 10.23% to 118.5p on its half-year results.
Potter & Moore fell 8.33% to 22p following a cautious AGM trading update, and Rome Resources (AIM:RMR) slipped 7.94% to 0.29p.
Robinson (AIM:RBN) closed down 5.66% at 125p after reporting a 5% rise in first-half revenue to £28.9m alongside a lower gross margin.
16:25 — FTSE 100 moves onto the front foot
London's FTSE 100 mounted a mini rally, climbing 21 points to 10,764.
Hays (LSE:HAS) and JD Sports remained among the notable drags, following respective negative reactions to Thursday's trading updates.
Without news, Marks & Spencer was another laggard, while stronger oil prices meant Ithaca Energy (LSE:ITH) and Harbour Energy (LSE:HBR) continued to lead London's risers, gaining up 4.19% and 3.54%.
Gold continued to push ahead, up 0.84% to $4,583, while bitcoin extended its advance to $72,290, up 4.33%.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq Composite all remained lower on the day, off 0.28%, 0.61% and 0.73% respectively.
14:46 — Wall Street opens lower
Wall Street opened softer, with the S&P 500 down 13.65 points at 7,694.
The Dow is off 361 points at 53101.31, and the Nasdaq is down 83 points at 26,247.
13:11 — Wall Street indicated lower as Treasury bond relief fades
US futures point to a softer open on Wall Street, a reversal from the firmer close delivered Wednesday.
Early indicators see the S&P 500 down 0.45%, the Dow off 0.68% and the Nasdaq 100 down 0.69%, with New York finding support in the bond relief.
After the positive reflex, market watchers have been a bit more twitchy about the bond market buy-back intervention that yesterday took the edge off.
comes as the Treasury's long-bond buyback intervention, credited with calming yields and equities earlier this week, shows signs of losing its grip.
The price of gold eased 0.46% to 4,524 as some of that trade unwinds, while the dollar index sits little changed at 98.79.
Brent crude, meanwhile, is up 2.89% firmer at $92.64 whilst WTI is up 3.44% to $87.10.
In London, meanwhile, the FTSE 100 sits at 10,717, down 25.61 points.
12:31 — FTSE holds near 10,722, JD Sports languishes after profit warning
The FTSE 100 remains anchored at around 10,722, down 20 points, at midday.
JD Sports remains the session's notable story, with the share down heavily after the retailer this morning issued a profit warning.
Among the brokers, Shore Capital (LSE:CAPD)'s David Hughes kept to a Hold and 75p target for JD this morning, while Interactive Investor's Richard Hunter called the downgrade "a blow to the retailer's aspirations" coming after what he described as a flat year for the shares.
11:11 — JD Sports guidance cut and Ashtead Technology deferrals weigh
The FTSE 100 remained little changed at 10,722, off 20 points for the session, meanwhile crude is pushing higher, with Brent up around 2.4% this morning.
JD Sports' profit warning sees the stock down 14% to 80p.
The sportswear retailer this morning reported second quarter group organic sales down 1.3% and like-for-like sales down 3.1%, with footwear described as soft "given consumer pressures and ongoing product cycle evolution."
Shore Capital (LSE:CAPD) reacted, describing "accelerating sales declines" and repeating a Hold rating with a 75p price target.
Elsewhere, Ashtead Technology (LSE:AT.) has flagged that Middle East conflict disruption is now pushing further into its order book: a trading update states that projects earmarked for the second half of 2026 in the region have been postponed until 2027, with vessel scheduling changes and broader economic uncertainty also cited.
Zeus Capital cut its price target on the stock from 600p to 560p, but kept a Buy rating, saying "we acknowledge the potential for further share price downside short term" but retaining the recommendation; Panmure Liberum held its 600p target and Buy stance on the same update.
The small-cap resources cluster from earlier in the morning, Talisman Metals (AIM:TLM), Sunrise Resources (AIM:SRES), Cleantech Lithium (AIM:CTL), Mila Resources (LSE:MILA) and Tap Global (LSE:TAP) among the gainers.
Rome Resources (AIM:RMR) is among the fallers, while Hays (LSE:HAS) remains the session's notable laggard at 69.6p.
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09:50 — Treasury buyback relief lifts sentiment as FTSE gap to futures persists
The FTSE 100 is sitting in a soft patch on Thursday morning, down 34 points at 10,709.
It comes against a soothed backdrop, thanks to an interventionist move in Washington.
The US Treasury has expanded long-term debt buybacks, which eased one of the market's most pressing stress points overnight, pulling long-end yields lower.
It is "relief, not resolution", according to Patrick Munnelly, strategist at Tickmill Group, who noted that the underlying fiscal and inflation pressures remain unaddressed.
Susannah Streeter, analyst at Wealth Club, struck a similar note, pointing to record US national debt and inflationary pressures still bubbling beneath the calmer surface.
Sticking to London headlines, Hays (LSE:HAS) remained a FTSE laggard, down 4.41% at 68.3p.
Gold and small-cap resources names remain the session's brightest spot.
Brent crude meanwhile remained on the front foot, indicated 2.11% firmer at $91.95, which represented a modest tailwind to London's oil and gas names.
09:01 — Hays "comfortably beat expectations" but shares continue to lag
Hays remained the morning's notable name in the main market, down 4.4% to 68.3p, despite number that on the face of them looked decent enough.
The recruiter's preliminary results confirmed a final dividend of 0.29p, unchanged from last year, with cover of 2.8 times pre-exceptional earnings.
And Mark Crouch, analyst at eToro, said operating profit of £48.6 million "comfortably beat expectations despite net fees falling 8%, showing that management's aggressive work on costs is beginning to carry some real weight."
Rome Resources adds 7.94% to 0.34p after independent modelling identified two new mineralised zones at its Kalayi tin deposit in the DRC, alongside an undrilled continuation of the high-grade tin trend to the southeast of existing drilling.
Mila Resources was another early small-cap standout, up 17.86% to 1.65p, after the explorer shared positive geophysics results from its Monal copper-gold project in Queensland, which the company says have produced compelling drill targets for potential porphyry mineralisation.
08:20 — FTSE 100 opens flat; as Hays slumps 4.4%, Resolute Mining climbs
The FTSE 100 opened at 10,740.3, down 3 points - so, flat basically.
Among the stocks moving on news, Hays led the fallers, down 4.41% to 68.3p, the first clear market verdict on its preliminary results despite the recruiter's return to profit growth for the year to June.
Resolute Mining holds its gain at 2.43%, touching a session high of 67.4p after its half-year profit swing on the gold price.
Another gold name, Greatland Resources is up 2.82% to 693p, also at a session high, as the morning's gold and resources names outperform.
As usual, small-cap movers are more pronounced further down the market.
Mila Resources has jumped 17.86% to 1.65p on positive geophysics results at its Monal copper-gold project in Queensland, while Rome Resources is up 7.94% to 0.34p after identifying new mineralised zones at its Kalayi tin deposit in the DRC.
08:00 — JD Sports, Ashtead Technology, Santander lead morning's RNS wire
Time to take a glance at the early headlines:
JD Sports Fashion cuts full-year profit guidance after Q2 organic sales fell 1.3% and like-for-like sales dropped 3.1%.
Ashtead Technology Holdings warns full-year results will miss expectations after Middle East conflict delays pushed several offshore projects into 2027.
Irish Continental Group's independent board updates shareholders on early proxy votes ahead of the recommended cash offer from Bluefin Bidco.
AB Dynamics acquires eMpulse Test Systems LLC.
Shield Therapeutics (AIM:STX) publishes interim results for the six months to 30 June.
The full detail on this morning's news is in The Premarket Brief.
06:46 — FTSE 100 seen firmer as Treasure buy-backs calms Wall Street worries
The FTSE 100 is seen firmer ahead of Thursday's open, with IG's early pre-market quote marked at 10,750, up 6 points from Wednesday's close.
Wall Street closed higher on Wednesday evening, with the Dow up 113 points to around 53,456, the S&P 500 added 15 points to 7,706 and the Nasdaq Composite up 34 points to 26,324.
The VIX, Wall Street's volatility gauge, tumbled 5.24% to 15.01, a sharp retreat that points to a calmer risk backdrop heading into the London session.
Asia carried that tone through its own Thursday session, with Japan's Nikkei 225 jumping 857 points, or 1.31%, to 66,183.
The US Treasury's expanded long-term debt buyback programme is emerging as a talking point in early commentary, with Swissquote noting the move may temporarily lower long-term yields and ease borrowing costs and dollar pressure, even as it does not resolve the underlying fiscal problem.
