London open: FTSE flat as investors mull inflation data
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Wednesday 19 Aug 2026
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were steady in early trade on Wednesday despite a strong performance from the mining sector, as investors mulled the latest UK inflation figures.
At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was flat at 10,729.45.
Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that inflation rose as expected in July, pushed up in part by higher gas prices. Consumer price inflation increased to 2.9% from 2.6% in June, in line with economists' expectations.
Housing and household services, and furniture made the largest upward contributions to the monthly change, while transport made the largest, partially offsetting, downward contribution.
Within housing and household services, gas prices rose 14.7% in July, having fallen 7.2% a year earlier. The ONS explained that the jump in prices came mainly from higher standard variable tariffs, after Ofgem changed the energy price cap.
The energy regulator estimated that for an average household paying by direct debit for dual fuel, this equated to an annual bill of £1,862, up £221.
Core inflation - which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco - was 2.6% in the 12 months to July, unchanged from June and versus expectations for a small decline to 2.5%.
ONS deputy director for prices Mike Hardie said: "Inflation rose in July, driven by a sharp increase in gas prices following this month's change to the energy price cap. This was the largest rise in gas prices for almost four years.
"Other upward pressures included furniture prices falling by less than usual for this time of year, and also a smaller fall for clothing prices due to reduced discounting.
"The prices of raw materials and goods leaving factories slowed again, driven by a drop in the prices of crude oil and refined petroleum respectively."
Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said that while the headline rate "may be concerning, and there are niggles of worry about what could be ahead", if you strip out volatile food and fuel prices, then the core rate of inflation has held steady at 2.6%.
"This will be more reassuring for the Bank of England, especially with services inflation easing from 3.6% to 3.4%. Policymakers will also have an eye on the cooling labour market, with vacancies falling and public-sector pay increases easing," she said. "Right now, two interest rate hikes are still priced in by financial markets, but forecasts have changed wildly, and much will depend on the data in the months to come.
"But the Iran crisis remains a huge wildcard, and right now the heat is still being felt in energy markets, with Brent crude hovering close to $92 a barrel with hostilities continuing and negotiations for a long-term solution remaining elusive. If tensions keep oil and gas prices elevated for months rather than weeks, higher energy and transport costs could start to feed through into the wider economy, potentially triggering renewed wage demands."
In equity markets, Rio Tinto was the top gainer on the FTSE 100 following a Bloomberg report it's in talks about a potential $600m investment in McEwen Copper, which owns the Los Azules project in Argentina. Miners more generally were on the rise, with Anglo American, Glencore and Antofagasta also higher.
Oxford Nanopore Technologies advanced as it announced a new 2030 revenue target of more than $700m and reported a narrowing of its interim losses as revenue ticked higher, driven by strong adoption in EMEAI and across Applied end markets.
Ithaca Energy jumped as it upgraded its 2026 dividend guidance and hailed another "strong" quarter and first-half performance.
Discoverie Group also rose as it announced the opening of a new manufacturing facility in Bangalore, India to support increasing customer demand both across the region and international.
On the downside, medical technology firm Smith & Nephew slumped as it said that chief financial officer John Rogers will step down on 30 September, to take up an external position in the US.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said Rogers was "seen as someone largely responsible for the group's margin improvement".
Trainline tumbled on news it's being investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority over whether all of its mandatory fees have been included in the upfront prices displayed to consumers buying train and coach tickets in advance on its app and website.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,729.45 0.01%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,498.93 -0.25%
techMARK (TASX) 6,154.72 -0.23%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Rio Tinto (RIO) 7,201.00p 1.18%
Weir (WEIR) 2,612.00p 1.08%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,869.00p 1.02%
BP (BP.) 538.30p 0.86%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 11,888.00p 0.71%
BT Group (BT.A) 202.90p 0.69%
Glencore (GLEN) 556.70p 0.69%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 491.90p 0.68%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,569.00p 0.51%
Shell (SHEL) 3,410.50p 0.49%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,070.00p -3.47%
Entain (ENT) 543.40p -1.45%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 1,362.00p -1.30%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,433.00p -1.30%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,068.00p -1.12%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 386.60p -1.10%
British Land Company (BLND) 419.80p -0.94%
Experian (EXPN) 2,849.00p -0.80%
Autotrader Group (AUTO) 523.60p -0.80%
Barclays (BARC) 499.50p -0.76%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 130.80p 7.20%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 264.70p 5.17%
AEP Plantations (AEP) 193.00p 3.54%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 422.60p 2.50%
Energean (ENOG) 755.50p 2.03%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 258.00p 1.98%
Pan African Resources (PAF) 111.50p 1.45%
Michael Page (PAGE) 211.00p 1.44%
RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd (RTW) 2.56p 1.17%
The Schiehallion Fund Limited NPV (MNTN) 2.19p 1.15%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Trainline (TRN) 205.40p -15.31%
Harworth Group (HWG) 168.00p -4.65%
Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 589.00p -4.09%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 102.20p -3.40%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 243.00p -2.96%
Renishaw (RSW) 5,000.00p -2.63%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 33.42p -2.51%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 274.40p -2.07%
THG (THG) 32.30p -2.00%
JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 815.00p -1.69%
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