UK stocks steady after US-Iran talks cancel; FTSE 250 falls

London-listed shares were largely unchanged on Friday after the cancellation of US-Iran peace talks in Switzerland. Energy and healthcare gains offset weakness in miners, while the domestically focused FTSE 250 fell 0.5%.

By 0948 GMT the FTSE 100 slipped 5.40 points, or 0.05%, to 10,394.30. The FTSE 250 declined to 23,210.43 and was on course for a weekly loss.

Traders reassessed oil supply risks after Washington and Tehran called off the talks, lifting crude prices. Brent crude traded near $79.50 a barrel, supporting energy names such as BP, which rose 1.7%, and Shell, up 1.0%.

Healthcare stocks also contributed to gains. AstraZeneca rose 1.3% and GlaxoSmithKline added 0.9%.

Mining shares were among the heaviest drags on the index. Anglo American fell 2.2%, Glencore dropped 1.5% and Rio Tinto lost 1.1%.

Domestic political developments and fiscal data added to market moves. Labour mayor Andy Burnham cleared a path to potentially challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer after an election result reported on Friday. Higher-than-expected government borrowing pushed British government bond yields to their highest level in a week, slightly outpacing comparable German yields.

Company-specific moves included a roughly 5% fall in Admiral Group after an analyst downgrade ahead of results. Barratt Redrow appointed Rebecca Napier, former British Airways finance chief, as its new chief financial officer and its shares edged 0.5% lower. Entain moved modestly higher after it began exploring options for its joint venture operations in Central and Eastern Europe, including a possible sale.

At the time of the report, the FTSE 100 remained close to flat while the FTSE 250 was on track for a weekly decline.