FTSE 100 Pauses After Two-Day Slide
2026-03-04 08:38
By
Agna Gabriel
1 min. read
The FTSE 100 hovered near the flatline on Wednesday after two sessions of sharp declines, as investors reassessed market conditions.
Oil giants BP and Shell slipped 1.1% and 0.9%, respectively, despite higher crude prices, following strong gains earlier in the week that have since eased.
Comments from Donald Trump about safeguarding oil shipments helped ease fears of a severe energy disruption.
Financial stocks remained under pressure amid concerns that persistent inflation could slow global growth, with HSBC Holdings down 1.5%, Barclays 0.6% and Lloyds Banking Group 0.6%.
In contrast, defensive names such as AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever and British American Tobacco edged higher, while BAE Systems gained over 1% and miners Rio Tinto and Anglo American rose around 0.7%.