Must read: oil back above $100, Bellway, fashion merger
ii’s head of investment rounds up the morning’s big news.
24th March 2026 08:57
by Victoria Scholar from interactive investor
Global markets
European markets have opened flat amid a cautious start to trade after a strong session on Wall Street and overnight in Asia. Housebuilders and defence stocks are underperforming on the FTSE 100 while Kingfisher (LSE:KGF) is among the top gainers after earnings. Puig Brands SA Ordinary Shares - Class B (XMAD:PUIG) shares have soared around 15% in Spain after confirming merger talks with The Estee Lauder Companies Inc Class A (NYSE:EL).
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Brent crude is back above $100, trading up ~1.4% at around $101.3 a barrel, while WTI is up over 2% with markets gripped by a sense of unease again, as signs of de-escalation in the Iran war appear to be fading after Iran launched missiles at Israel on Tuesday and denied talks with the US. The Wall Street Journal also reported that the UAE and Saudi Arabia were considering entering the war.
Bellway
The housebuilder sector appears to be on shaky foundations. Bellway (LSE:BWY) has reduced its 2026 full-year operating margin guidance to 10.5% from 11%. Investors shrugged off an improvement in its outlook for volumes which is now expected to be higher than previous guidance for between 9,300 and 9,500 homes.
Its share price has become hostage to the Bank of England’s monetary policy paralysis, with the Bellway’s stock down over 25% since the start of the year amid resurgent inflation fears, the prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates and worsening mortgage affordability. These are headwinds that are hitting the wider UK housebuilder sector.
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The Iran war and the consequent economic uncertainty are also set to negatively impact consumers’ propensity to buy, as well as confidence. But these headwinds are not only impacting housing demand but also adding pressure in terms of build cost inflation as the energy shock looks set to push up construction costs like material and labour.
Shares in Bellway have fallen sharply today, shedding around 9%, with the likes of Persimmon (LSE:PSN), Barratt Redrow (LSE:BTRW) and Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (LSE:BKG) also nursing losses.
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