FTSE 100 Trails Europe on Weak Oil Stocks
2026-05-07 08:11
By
Agna Gabriel
1 min. read
The FTSE 100 fell more than 0.5% on Thursday, underperforming other European markets as investors monitored developments in US-Iran peace negotiations and weaker oil prices pressured energy shares.
Brent crude slipped below $100 per barrel, dragging down oil majors Shell and BP by more than 2%.
Utilities also came under pressure, with Centrica, Severn Trent, United Utilities and SSE falling between 2% and 5%.
Shell reported quarterly profit above expectations with adjusted net income of $6.92 billion, though it reduced its share buyback program to $3 billion from $3.5 billion.
Centrica warned retail profit would likely come in near the lower end of guidance due to warmer weather and ongoing bad debt challenges.
BAE Systems dropped over 3% despite reaffirming its sales outlook on strong defence demand.
In contrast, travel and leisure stocks, including InterContinental Hotels, Whitbread, easyJet, Ryanair and IAG outperformed as lower fuel prices supported sentiment.