UK Shares Fall on Rising Oil Prices; Raspberry Pi Surges
British stocks slipped into the red on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 closing 0.23% lower, as Brent crude rose again amid waning chances for a US-Iran peace agreement.Iran set conditions for resuming negotiations with the US via Qatari mediation, which included agreement on a shipping channel agreed by both Oman and Iran, lifting of the naval blockade, and the release of Iran's frozen assets, Deutsche Bank Research said, citing a spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry. Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian also said transport through the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the US meets Tehran's terms.In corporate news, Raspberry Pi (RPI.L) shares jumped 18.13% after interim profit attributable to shareholders gained year over year to $17.1 million from $5.4 million, thanks to a rise in revenue to $256.9 million from $135.5 million. The low-cost computing company expects to meet its production goals for full-year 2026."Raspberry Pi delivered a record first half, with revenue up 90% and Adjusted EBITDA up 108%. Demand from our OEM customers and our reseller channel was strong throughout, and our order backlog doubled during the period. The decision in FY 2025 to build significant strategic memory inventory has allowed us to maintain product availability at a time when smaller competitors have struggled to secure allocation. With a substantial order backlog, expanding production capacity and a strong pipeline of OEM opportunities, Raspberry Pi is well positioned for rapid growth in unit shipments in 2027 and beyond," said Raspberry Pi Chief Executive Officer Eben Upton.Halma (HLMA.L), meanwhile, declined 2.51% after affirming its constant-currency organic revenue growth guidance for fiscal 2026 in the low double-digit percentage. Ahead of its results for the fiscal first half ending Sept. 30, the safety technology company also upgraded its adjusted EBIT margin outlook to the range of 23.5% to 24%, from 22.7%, supported by continued good operational delivery and favorable product and portfolio mix across all three sectors.Vistry Group (VTY.L) slumped 2.99% after descending into an attributable loss of 607 million pounds sterling for the six months ended June 30, from an attributable profit of 31.3 million pounds a year earlier amid a 475 million-pound impairment. Revenue dropped to 1.42 billion pounds from 1.64 billion pounds.Additionally, the British homebuilder proposed to consolidate its operating regions to 12 from 25 as part of a transition to a "smaller, more focused" company. By repositioning the business as a specialist mixed-tenure housebuilder, Vistry will end Open Market exposure in the South East and shift to a fully pre-sold model.
