British Equities Close Little Changed; US-Iran Negotiations Progress
Britain's FTSE 100 ended the week 0.09% in the red as the US and Iran reportedly reached a preliminary deal to extend the ceasefire for 60 days, which remains subject to US President Donald Trump's final approval.However, Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency cited a source as saying the proposed memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington remained unfinished after changes to the text in recent days, while also pushing back on some media reports on the potential deal, Al Jazeera reported.Back home and in corporate news, Ocado Group (OCDO.L) agreed to develop supermarket and petrol station chain Asda's online business across the UK with the Ocado Smart Platform, sending the London-listed grocery technology group's shares up 7.11% on Friday's close. The partnership is set to go live in early 2027, allowing Asda to offer online services such as scheduled and short lead-time orders, as well as click and collect."The deal broadens Ocado's UK exposure beyond existing partnerships and further positions the company as a technology and fulfilment enabler across multiple operating models, including store-based ecommerce fulfilment," AlphaValue/Baader Europe said. "While management does not expect a material FY26 financial contribution, the partnership improves medium-term revenue visibility and supports Ocado's pathway toward positive free cash flow generation in H2 FY26 and FY27."Meanwhile, AstraZeneca (AZN.L) received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for Imfinzi, or durvalumab, plus Bacillus Calmette-Guérin induction and maintenance therapy for adults with BCG-naïve, high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. The drugmaker was up 0.48%.It was a quiet day for local economic news, with investors anticipating the final S&P Global PMI figures, Bank of England mortgage and consumer credit reports, and Nationwide and Halifax house price data next week.
