Wall Street opens lower; FTSE holds at 10,798

Wall Street opened lower with the Dow off 276 points to 52,909, whilst the S&P 500 was down 50 points to 7,635 and the Nasdaq Composite the weakest of the three, down 271 points to 26,099.

In London, the FTSE 100 has held its session high, at 10,797.66, now off just 26 points, or 0.25%, for the day.

US futures point to a softer open, with the S&P 500 indicated down 0.61% at 7,639 and the Nasdaq 100 off 1.17% at 29,107 ahead of Tuesday's open.

The setup follows euro-area inflation accelerating to 3.3%, the highest reading in almost three years, cementing the case for an ECB rate rise next (LSE:NXT) week and feeding the cautious tone that has run through London's morning.

London has been steadier through midday, with the FTSE 100 off 59 points at 10,764.

Bodycote (LSE:BOY)'s takeover premium and Capricorn Energy (LSE:CNE)'s cash bid remain the session's standout corporate moves, both fully priced in by lunchtime, while the broader index has yet to see its recovery matched by a lift in the number of risers.

By midday, London's index continued to stall,

The FTSE 100 is off 88 points at 10,736, recovering a portion of the morning's earlier decline.

Euro-zone inflation has jumped to its highest level in almost three years.

Swissquote's Ipek Ozkardeskaya, in his daily market commentary, flagged that the S&P 500's earnings yield now sits below the US 30-year bond yield, arguing that combination is "a reason to navigate cautiously and perhaps look for regional and cross-asset diversification."

Brent crude is 1.34% higher at $91.42, adding to the inflation-and-yields backdrop weighing on European equities.

Gold remains soft, off 1.23% at $4,426.6 per ounce, with Greatland Gold (AIM:GGP) and Endeavour Mining (LSE:EDV) still pacing the FTSE's fallers at the bottom of the session's range.

Wall Street's own session resumes later, with US futures pointing to a lower open across the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq 100.

London's sell-off has broadened sharply through the morning.

The FTSE 100 dropped 128 points to 10,695, a fall of 1.19%.

Greatland Gold (AIM:GGP) and Endeavour Mining (LSE:EDV) lead the fallers, down 9.27% to 607p and 7.65% to 4,379p respectively, both sitting at their session lows as gold slips 1.27% to $4,424.8 on the global tape.

Capricorn Energy (LSE:CNE) has finally moved in response to its takeover situation, up 10.5% to 379p.

Reckitt Benckiser (LSE:RKT) continues to hold its gain, up 4.33% to 5,354p.

Among the smaller names, Ampeak Energy (LSE:AMP) is up 15.38% to 3p after selling a 24.7% stake in its AW1 battery project to Jones Bros for £7.8m, while African Pioneer (LSE:AFP) has risen 12.2% to 2.3p as it begins drill planning at its Ongombo-Ongeama project.

East Star Resources (LSE:EST) is up 19.09% to 5.24p on its second copper joint venture agreement to advance the Rulikha project, and Chariot (LSE:CHAR) has climbed 11.76% to 1.9p after deepening its exposure to oil-producing assets offshore Angola.

The FTSE 100 opened lower at 10,784.47, down 40 points or 0.37%, with fallers outnumbering gainers.

Reckitt Benckiser (LSE:RKT) leads the blue-chip gainers, up 5.53% to 5,416p, while Bodycote's £1.64bn takeover by Veritas Capital and the DNO cash bid for Capricorn Energy have yet to register in the mover data.

Connecting Excellence Group (AQSE:XCE) is a standout mover, up 18.64% to 1.75p after signing Heads of Terms on its first recruitment acquisition and reporting flagship unit Spencer Riley grew revenue 20.6% to c.£1.84m in the year to June.

Ondine Biomedical (AIM:OBI) has jumped 10.55% to 12.99p on positive topline Phase 3 results for its LANTERN nasal photodisinfection study, which met its primary efficacy endpoint.

Europa Oil & Gas climbed 11.11% to 2.0p on an update to its EG-08 farm-out agreement in Equatorial Guinea.

Losers are concentrated among internationally-exposed names: InterContinental Hotels (LSE:IHG) is down 3.84% to 156.4p at a session low, and Wheaton Precious Metals (LSE:WPM) has slipped 2.74% to 11,185p despite trading at a session high on the day.

Centrica (LSE:CNA) is bucking the weaker tape, up 2.99% to 160.05p.

A glance at the morning's early headlines:

Bodycote (LSE:BOY) has agreed a recommended £1.64bn cash takeover by Veritas Capital, confirmed via scheme of arrangement.

Capricorn Energy (LSE:CNE) has agreed a recommended $396m cash acquisition by DNO, trumping Genel Energy (LSE:GENL)'s earlier bid.

Bunzl (LSE:BNZL) has raised its 2026 outlook and launched a £500m share buyback alongside half-year results.

AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN) has won EU approval for Enhertu in first-line HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, completed a $1.5bn Zegfrovy licensing deal with Dizal, and reported its Tagrisso-Orpathys combination hit its goal in a first-line lung cancer trial.

Connecting Excellence Group (AQSE:XCE) has signed Heads of Terms for its first recruitment acquisition and reported flagship unit Spencer Riley grew revenue 20.6% to c.£1.84m.

Mkango Resources (AIM:MKA) has completed its acquisition of Remloy.

Alternative Income Reit (LSE:AIRE) says acceptances for Glenstone's cash offer have gained momentum ahead of Friday's deadline.

Croma Security Solutions Group (AIM:CSSG), Finseta (AIM:FIN) and Great Southern Copper (LSE:GSCU) have also issued updates this morning, covering an acquisition, an H1 trading update and drilling results respectively.

The full detail on this morning's news is in The Premarket Brief.

The FTSE 100 is seen very slightly softer ahead of Tuesday's open, with IG's early pre-market quote marked at 10,772, down 1.3 points from Friday's.

Whilst London was closed for the August bank holiday, Wall Street closed lower on Monday evening after oil prices jumped on reports of US strikes on Iranian sites in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Dow was off 324 points, or 0.61%, to 53,235, whilst the S&P 500 was down 0.32% to 7,687 and the Nasdaq Composite eased 0.13% to 26,367.

A global bond selloff has deepened overnight, with yields pushing to levels not seen since 2008 as the same energy price spike stokes inflation fears.

Brent crude oil stood at $90.49 per barrel and WTI was up 0.49% at $85.61.

In Asia, the session stayed largely directionless, with the Nikkei essentially flat at 66,338.39.

Elsewhere, the dollar index is little changed at 99.494, gold is barely firmer at $4,483 per ounce, and Bitcoin added 0.73% to 79,135.