London close: Stocks fall for fifth day as geopolitical uncertainty persists
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Friday 24 Apr 2026
(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 fell for the fifth straight session on Friday amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, as investor focus remains fixed on developments in the Middle East.
The UK benchmark index finished 0.75% lower at 10,379.08, its lowest finish since 7 April, having dropped 2.71% over the week.
"The FTSE 100 slipped on Friday and headed for its first weekly decline in five weeks, as fading confidence in a swift resolution to the Iran conflict pushed investors back into a more defensive stance," said Patrick Munnelly, partner of market strategy at Tickmill Group.
"Even so, the market backdrop was not uniformly negative. Sterling edged higher after stronger-than-expected retail sales data, which offered some support to the domestic demand picture, though that was not enough to shift the broader tone."
Suggestions that the war in Iran could drag on dented sentiment, after US president Donald Trump said he wouldn't rush a deal. Questioned by reporters at the White House about the timeframe for the war, Trump said: "Don't rush me."
Meanwhile, he announced on Truth Social that the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel will be extended by three weeks following talks between the two sides at the White House. The US president said a meeting between vice president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio and the ambassadors to Israel and Lebanon had gone "very well".
Risk appetite was also hit by comments from Sarah Breeden, the deputy governor of the Bank of England, who warned that equity market valuations are too high given current macroeconomic risks. "There's a lot of risk out there and yet asset prices are at all-time highs. We expect there will be an adjustment at some point," Breeden said in an interview with the BBC.
In other news, the Office for National Statistics reported that UK retail sales unexpectedly rose 0.7% in March as consumers rushed to get fuel after the outbreak of war in the Middle East. That followed a 0.6% decline in February, ahead of analysts' expectations of no change.
Mondi drops, Computacenter jumps
Mondi slumped 11% as the paper and packaging blue chip said it was raising prices and cutting jobs in response to increased volatility caused by the US-Israel war on Iran and Lebanon. It also reported a sharp fall in first-quarter underlying earnings as market conditions remained "challenging".
JD Sports Fashion fell 3% following a report that Andy Higginson quit as chair this week after pushing for chief executive Régis Schultz to be ousted and failing to win unanimous backing for the move from the retailer's board.
On the upside, British American Tobacco was among the best performers after a double-upgrade to 'overweight' at Morgan Stanley, which said it was its top pick in European tobacco. The bank hiked its price target on BAT to 4,900p from 3,050p.
On the FTSE 250, tech group Computacenter surged 15% on the news that full-year results would be "comfortably ahead" of market expectations after a strong first‑quarter performance, driven by robust growth in technology sourcing unit and continued progress in services.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,379.08 -0.75%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,582.81 -0.80%
techMARK (TASX) 5,857.24 -0.63%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 8,120.00p 2.84%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,302.00p 1.97%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 146.00p 1.88%
The Sage Group (SGE) 902.80p 1.64%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 9,992.00p 1.44%
Entain (ENT) 599.60p 1.32%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 347.00p 1.31%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 344.50p 1.29%
BT Group (BT.A) 223.00p 1.25%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,459.00p 1.24%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Mondi (MNDI) 748.20p -11.12%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,131.50p -4.60%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,686.00p -3.78%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 13,956.00p -3.70%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 69.94p -2.94%
BAE Systems (BA.) 2,020.50p -2.86%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 355.20p -2.79%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,257.50p -2.75%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,158.00p -2.73%
GSK (GSK) 2,020.00p -2.70%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Computacenter (CCC) 3,828.00p 14.54%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 505.50p 6.02%
Softcat (SCT) 1,374.00p 3.31%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 210.60p 3.29%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 257.40p 2.47%
Pacific Horizon Inv Trust (PHI) 1,010.00p 1.51%
Greggs (GRG) 1,632.50p 1.49%
The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (TRIG) 68.55p 1.41%
Derwent London (DLN) 1,753.00p 1.39%
Mony Group (MONY) 172.90p 1.32%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Genuit Group (GEN) 268.40p -7.77%
Genus (GNS) 2,408.00p -4.82%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 937.00p -4.00%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 43.02p -3.89%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 613.00p -3.77%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 64.10p -3.61%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 446.60p -3.38%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 508.50p -3.33%
Pollen Street Group Limited (POLN) 843.00p -3.33%
HGCapital Trust (HGT) 365.00p -3.31%
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