Business news live: Oil prices drop despite strikes on Iran, Industrial Strategy reaction and FTSE 100 falls

At the close of play today, the FTSE 100 has closed in the red, 0.17 per cent down.

That’s less than some of the European indices, with the DAX 0.3 per cent down and France’s CAC 40 stood at -0.65 per cent.

By contrast, US stocks are rising at the start of the day, with the S&P 500 up 0.37 per cent.

Perhaps that positive sentiment will filter through to Europe tomorrow…depending on what happens overnight, of course.

That’s it for our rolling business coverage today – we’ll be back at 7am on Tuesday to bring you plenty more. See you then.

Lots of focus on oil, but don’t forget the key bellweather commodity – gold.

Having dipped somewhat recently after reaching record levels, gold is back on the rise over the past few days and is up 0.47 per cent today.

The price of $3401 is some way of mid-June’s $3460-plus level, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.

An investigation by EY has found that investment into projects in the green energy and utilities sector in the UK dropped sharply last year.

UK had previously been Europe’s leader in that regard, but France overtook the UK following a 57 per cent drop.

While a big surge in 2023 investment partly contributed to that, it will still be seen as a blow as the government tries to push for investment into projects which serve the decarbonisation agenda.

US President Donald Trump has demanded oil prices be kept low.

Not so much an official statement or request imploring markets maintain stability, more Mr Trump’s usual method of capital letters and exclamation marks via social media:

“EVERYONE, KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN. I’M WATCHING! YOU’RE PLAYING RIGHT INTO THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY. DON’T DO IT!”

You’ve had your orders.

Earlier, Brent Oil had risen several percent before giving back those gains. Fast forward to this afternoon and Brent’s price is at -0.1 per cent for the day, down to just below $77.

Markets just starting perhaps to feel the chances of a full Strait of Hormuz closure might not be the outcome?

A low-key and smaller rollout than initially anticipated of the Tesla robotaxi has started in Texas, with shares in the company up 5 per cent on opening today.

It makes the EV maker the highest riser in the Nasdaq 100, with a market cap edging back towards $1.1trn.

Tom Stevenson, investment director at Fidelity International, believes it would need a severe spike in oil price from this level to significantly impact global growth.

“Financial markets have responded with measured calm to geopolitical developments in the Middle East. While the developments over the weekend marked a significant geopolitical moment, investor reactions across asset classes suggest a belief that the broader economic and market impact may remain limited – at least for now.

“The oil price was unsurprisingly the main story, with an initial spike of nearly 6% in the cost of Brent crude, quickly being pared back to a gain of less than 1%.

“Stock markets have so far taken the events in their stride. The MSCI Asia Pacific index fell nearly 1% while the Stoxx Europe was 0.2% down, as was the FTSE 100. US market futures were little changed.

“While the market’s calm might seem strange given the geo-political backdrop, it reflects the reality that even an ongoing conflict in the Middle East may have only limited impact on global growth. The global economy is much less energy-intensive than it was in the 1970s when the Arab oil embargo had such a devastating stagflationary impact on western economies.

“In addition, the oil market is well supplied currently, with Opec+ countries able to deploy considerable spare capacity. Demand is relatively subdued in the world’s two biggest economies, the US and China, and supply is abundant. It would take a spike in the oil price to over $100 a barrel to have a serious impact on economic growth and current expectations are significantly lower than that.”

A cash offer from a private equity firm, Advent International, is for £37.63 per share.

Spectris’ share price at the close of Friday’s session was around £33.48, sparking an immediate jump of 15 per cent when markets reopened on Monday morning – by far the FTSE All-Share’s biggest riser on the day.

Even so, the price could yet move even higher.

Full details on why here:

Rachel Reeves has spoken to reporters over oil prices, per the Guardian:

“We want de-escalation because it’s the right thing for the Middle East, but we also want de-escalation because of the ramifications of conflict in the Middle East for the rest of the world including the UK.

“We have seen increases in oil prices in recent days and weeks, which of course will have an impact on the UK economy. We recognise the challenge that businesses and families face with energy costs.

“Of course, higher oil prices will have implications for the UK economy. One of the reasons we want de-escalation is to ensure that oil continues to flow and to ensure that that key route, both for oil and for wider trade – the Strait of Hormuz – continues to be open.”