Markets Thursday Open: Reeves-Burnham Backing Steadies FTSE; Gilt Yields Ease Slightly
UK and European markets opened Thursday modestly higher on the Reeves-Burnham backing clarity. The FTSE 100 opened at 10,665, up 0.09% on Wednesday’s close. Brent crude eased to $85.30 on continued Iran framework progress. Sterling firmed slightly to $1.3440. UK 10-year gilt yields eased to 4.87% on the Chancellor-question clarity. The Bank of America commentary keeps the August Bank Rate cut probability above 50%. The Bank of England MPC’s next meeting in August remains the binding UK macro variable; the political-fiscal-positioning architecture should crystallise around the structured-succession framework.
The Thursday open is structurally balanced: equity-side modest gains on the Reeves-Burnham backing clarity; commodity-side Brent continues easing on framework progress; FX-side sterling firms modestly; bond-side gilt yields ease slightly. The Burnham-Reeves continuity question has been materially clarified by the Reeves Thursday BBC Breakfast appearance, though the formal Chancellor identity in any Burnham cabinet remains undetermined. The Brent $85-95 band that delivers a flat Ofgem October price-cap reset is now well below the lower bound.