London’s stock indexes fell on Monday after the U.S. moved to blockade Iranian shipping following the collapse of the weekend peace talks that dimmed hopes of a swift end to the Middle East conflict.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 0.4% to 10,558.38 points by 0944 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 slipped 0.8%.
- London markets were swept up in a risk-off stance globally as failed U.S.-Iran talks pushed up oil prices to more than $100 a barrel again.
- The two indexes had logged gains last week after a two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, though the fragile truce showed signs of strain as fighting continued.
- Heavyweight banks came under pressure on Monday, with HSBC and Barclays leading the declines, down 1% and 1.3%, respectively.
- Energy stocks gained, with Shell and BP rising about 1.8% each.
- Travel and leisure stocks declined as oil prices jumped. Cruise operator Carnival was down 3.9%, while airlines also inched lower.
- EasyJet and Wizz Air fell 4.3% and 7.3%, respectively. Bernstein downgraded Wizz to “market-perform” from “outperform”.
- A report said Finance Minister Rachel Reeves would set out her approach to help businesses struggling with higher energy prices later this week, in the wake of the Middle East conflict.
- Homebuilder Vistry appointed insider Adam Daniels as CEO, but its shares fell 4.9% amid broader market
- Wise advanced 5.3% after the fintech group reported a 26% jump in fourth-quarter cross-border transaction volume.