FTSE 100 Closes at 10,460, Up 0.62%; Brent Records Biggest Weekly Fall in Two Months
The FTSE 100 closed at 10,460 on Friday, up 0.62% on the day and 1.4% on the week, as the unsigned-but-likely US-Iran deal lifted European equities. Brent crude finished at $93.80 a barrel, down 2.7% on the day and on course for its largest weekly fall in two months. The US 10-year Treasury yield eased to 4.48%. Sterling firmed to $1.3430. UK 10-year gilt yields fell 4 basis points to 4.98% — below the 5% threshold for the first time since 13 May. Defence stocks BAE Systems, Babcock and Melrose pulled back; BP and Shell traded lower on the lower oil-price outlook.
The gilt-yield move below 5% is the biggest macro signal of the day for UK fiscal policy — the move directly eases the Treasury’s fiscal headroom calculation and the Reeves cost-of-living-package arithmetic. If the Iran deal is signed in the next 48-72 hours, gilt yields are likely to test the 4.85% post-Easter-week low. The Brent fall — from above $100 a barrel last week to $93.80 on Friday — would feed through to Ofgem’s next quarterly price-cap reset (October) and roll back part of the 13% July hike. The FTSE 100 close at 10,460 is within 1.5% of its all-time intraday high of 10,690 set in mid-April; Wall Street’s S&P 500 set fresh all-time highs through the day.