London close: Mining stocks pull Footsie lower as risk appetite fades
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Wednesday 03 Jun 2026
(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 fell on Wednesday for the fourth time in five days as renewed conflict between US and Iran hit sentiment, along with a threat by Donald Trump to impose fresh tariffs on around 60 countries.
Losses in the heavyweight mining sector saw the UK blue chip index finish 41.21 points lower (-0.4%) at 10,332.30, tracking trends seen across most major European indices.
In the Gulf, tensions increased after US forces fired a Hellfire missile to disable a tanker attempting to break through the American blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, and later said they attacked sites on Iran's Qeshm Island.
Iranian drones hit Kuwait's international airport, causing "significant" building damage and injuries to a number of people, according to officials. Air traffic was suspended on Wednesday morning.
The developments pushed the price of oil higher for the third straight session, with Brent crude up 1.7% at $97.60 a barrel, rising as high as $98.99 earlier on, heading for its highest settlement price since topping $100 on 22 May.
Meanwhile, trade spates were once again making headlines after the Office of the US Trade Representative raised the possibility of extra tariffs of up to 12.5% on countries over alleged failures to ban goods made with forced labour.
The European Commission hit back at the threat, saying that the US should "fully respect the terms" of the trade agreement made last July, while UK government spokespeople quashed the allegations, saying that current legislation has already dealt with the issued of modern slavery.
"Implementation is not immediate, with at least a month of consultation ahead, but the direction of travel matters," said Patrick Munnelly, partner of market strategy at Tickmill Group.
"If tariffs return while oil is already elevated, they broaden the inflation impulse and make it harder for central banks to dismiss as a one-off energy shock. Markets may not price the full effect today because the timeline is delayed, but they are rebuilding the policy risk premium."
Inflationary pressures caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East prompted the OECD on Wednesday to slash its projection for worldwide GDP growth this year from 3.4% to 2.8%. The policy forum also warned that, if disruptions to energy and trade flows last well into next year, it would have "much longer-lasting negative consequences" on the global economy.
In other news, investors were digesting the S&P Global UK services PMI business activity index which dropped to 49.3 in May, down on April's 52.7 and the first reading below the neutral 50.0 benchmark since April 2025.
Miners drop, B&M jumps
Miners dominated the fallers list on the FTSE 100 as metal prices dropped across the board: gold fell over 1% while silver, copper and platinum all declined by around 2.5%.
Fresnillo, Rio Tinto, Glencore and Anglo American were all in the red.
ICG was under the cosh after Swiss alternative investment firm Partners Group capped withdrawals from one of its flagship funds.
Defensive stocks were the best performers of the day on the Footsie, with utilities United, SSE and National Grid on the rise, along with supermarkets Tesco and Sainsbury and pharma giant GSK.
However, it was B&M European Value Retail which was the standout mover of the day, surging 15% after the retailer posted a smaller-than-expected slide in annual profits, despite being hit hard by weaker sales in the UK and soaring costs. Adjusted pre-tax profits were down 38% at £284m, topping the £274m consensus forecast.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,332.30 -0.40%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,186.29 -0.82%
techMARK (TASX) 5,969.14 0.07%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,390.00p 4.73%
SSE (SSE) 2,336.00p 3.55%
Tesco (TSCO) 443.60p 3.04%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 304.60p 2.80%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,347.00p 2.40%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,308.00p 2.19%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 198.70p 1.95%
BP (BP.) 545.50p 1.83%
GSK (GSK) 1,851.50p 1.70%
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 6,870.00p 1.70%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
ICG (ICG) 1,770.00p -4.58%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,120.00p -4.27%
Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 40.84p -3.85%
Fresnillo (FRES) 3,168.00p -3.71%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 8,072.00p -2.84%
Anglo American (AAL) 4,106.00p -2.82%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 4,289.00p -2.70%
Experian (EXPN) 2,521.00p -2.59%
Croda International (CRDA) 2,949.00p -2.58%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,702.00p -2.49%
FTSE 250 - Risers
B&M European Value Retail (BME) 195.40p 14.60%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 779.00p 3.18%
Harworth Group (HWG) 125.80p 3.11%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 235.80p 2.17%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 3,302.00p 2.17%
Applied Nutrition (APN) 275.50p 1.95%
Cranswick (CWK) 5,510.00p 1.85%
SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 46.40p 1.53%
Greggs (GRG) 1,669.00p 1.52%
Pennon Group (PNN) 503.50p 1.43%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 240.20p -9.83%
GB Group (GBG) 187.40p -7.91%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 42.06p -7.76%
WPP (WPP) 264.00p -5.10%
Energean (ENOG) 741.00p -5.06%
IP Group (IPO) 67.40p -4.53%
Ninety One (N91) 212.00p -4.05%
Marshalls (MSLH) 135.90p -3.96%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 367.20p -3.77%
Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 292.50p -3.62%
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