Commodity-linked gains lift FTSE; fading Ukraine optimism weighs on midcap index

(Reuters)-- London's FTSE 100 increased on Wednesday, aided by a jump in commodity-linked shares. At the same time, uncertainties emerging around the development of the Russia-Ukraine peace negotiation weighed on general belief and dragged the midcap index lower.

After dropping as much as 0.18%, the blue-chip index shut 0.6% greater, with energy and miners leading gains, while the domestically-focused mid-cap index dropped 1.0%, breaking its three-day winning streak.

Oil majors BP Plc and Covering Plc got 3% and 4.6%, specifically, as oil rates clawed back hefty losses suffered earlier today. Covering also got an increase after J.P. Morgan elevated its cost target. [O/R] The Kremlin on Wednesday stated there was no development indicator yet in talks, even as it welcomed that Kyiv has laid out its demands to finish the dispute in written form.

"The release from the Kremlin this morning that it saw no innovations in peace negotiation has seriously increased doubts regarding its proposal to de-escalate," stated Stuart Cole, ahead macroeconomic expert at Equity Capital.

Moscow on Tuesday vowed to minimize military operations around Kyiv and in north Ukraine.

Including in the worries, the widely tracked U.S. 2-year-10-year Treasury yield curve briefly inverted on Tuesday, which is extensively considered an indication of an economic downturn.

"The quick inversion in 2yr-10yr Treasury returns aggravates concerns that global central bank actions to bear down on inflation will create a decline in development," Cole added.

Other breakthroughs were topped by weakness in financials, down 1.3%. Lloyds Financial Team led losses after RBC double downgraded the supply to "underperform," saying growth vehicle drivers did not appear to be "game-changing."

The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 is tracking a sixth straight quarterly gain, buoyed by higher oil and gas prices. At the same time, the FTSE 250 is established for its first quarterly decrease since March 2020 amidst increasing problems concerning damage to economic growth due to surging inflation.

To name a few stocks, Pearson fell 5.9% to the bottom of FTSE after the education team stated it had turned down a third takeover offer from Beauty, valuing it at 6.7 billion pounds ($8.8 billion).