Market ReportFTSE 100

Written by:

Oliver Haill

__

About this content

Disclaimer No investment advice

Share article

__

__

__

__

__

__

NO INVESTMENT ADVICE

The content on this Site is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a personal recommendation, an offer or solicitation to buy or sell securities, or any other regulated activity. It should not be relied upon as the basis for any investment decision.

Before making any investment decision, you should:

• Read the relevant prospectus, term sheet, subscription agreement, or other offering documentation in full

• Consider whether the investment is suitable for your individual circumstances, financial position, and objectives

• Seek independent advice from an appropriately qualified financial adviser

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. The value of investments can fall as well as rise. You may not recover the amount you invest, and in some cases you may be required to pay more.

FOR OUR FULL DISCLAIMER CLICK HERE

About this content

×

About Oliver Haill

Oliver has been writing about companies and markets since the early 2000s, cutting his teeth as a financial journalist at Growth Company Investor with a focusing on AIM companies and small caps, before a few years later becoming a section editor and then head of research. He joined Proactive after a couple of years freelancing, where he worked for the Financial Times Group, ITV, Press Association, Reuters sports desk, the London Olympic News Service, Rugby World Cup News Service, Gracenote... Read more

__

About the publisher

Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists.

Proactive news team spans the world’s key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth.

We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors.

The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies.

Use of technology

Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter.

Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows.

Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation.

FTSE 100 Live: Stock markets set for slower start, Shell, BAE, JD Sports report

Last updated: 02:27 07 May 2026 EDT, First published: 02:15 07 May 2026 EDT

7.26am: Local elections, and will it force Starmer out and affect bonds? 

A short explainer on UK local elections from the economics team at Berenberg, as part of a "US investors' questions about Europe" update this morning. 

To the question, "Will UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stay in office? And what happens if he does not?" this was the answer:

"The ruling Labour party will endure major losses in local government elections this Thursday, 7 May. According to opinion polls, the party’s vote share has crumbled from 40% to 19% of the vote since the seats up for election were last contested in 2021 and 2022.

"Sometime after the defeat, Labour Members of Parliament (MPs) will probably attempt to replace the Prime Minister in the hope that a new leader can improve the government’s performance before the next general election in 2029.

"Under party rules, 81 MPs must nominate a challenger to the Prime Minister to trigger a leadership ballot of grassroots members.

"The left-leaning grassroots party members would likely elect a candidate to the left of Starmer on economic policy.

"This creates a risk of higher business costs and corporate taxation. However, any new Prime Minister will have limited room for manoeuvre.

"The bond market will force the government to stick by and large to its fiscal consolidation plan.

"The large number of Labour MPs who won their seats from the centre-right Conservative party in 2024 cannot afford a shift to the left in policy that alienates their voters."

7.15am: FTSE 100 facing slower start, local elections in focus

A slower start for the FTSE 100 has been called on Thursday, as domestic attention turns to politics with an important round of local elections that some predict could heap pressure on Keir Starmer to resign. 

The UK's blue-chip index is expected to open around 10 points higher, a day after it climbed almost 220 points to 10,438.66.

There were similar gains to the FTSE's 2.15% rise in Europe, while overnight in the US, tech stocks were the key driver as the Nasdaq rose 2% and the S&P 500 1.5% as both closed at new record highs, with the Dow Jones adding 1.2%.

Oil prices have moved little overnight, with Brent crude at just under $102 a barrel. 

Asia's main stock benchmarks are all up 2-3%, playing catch-up after yesterday's report that the US and Iran were close to agreeing a one-page memo that would end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations.

Iran’s ISNA news agency said that Tehran is looking at the US proposal, with Bloomberg reporting that a response is expected to be sent via Pakistan in the next two days.

UK corporate results today include Shell, BAE Systems, JD, Centrica and M&G.