FTSE 100 Falls on Friday
2026-03-06 12:13
By
Agna Gabriel
1 min. read
The FTSE 100 reversed gains to drop more than 1% on Friday after starting the session more than 0.5% higher, as energy prices resumed their rally amid an unresolved conflict in the Middle East that has entered its seventh day with uncertainty over Iran.
Concerns that surging crude oil and natural gas prices could trigger a global inflation spiral are weighing on equity markets.
Financials turned lower, with HSBC Holdings down more than 2.5% and Barclays down 3.5%.
AstraZeneca also fell nearly 2.2%, while GSK declined 1.9%.
Unilever dropped 2.5% and BAT fell 2.3%.
Miners were also weaker, including Glencore down 3.1% and Anglo American 5%.
On the positive side, oil majors Shell and BP were up 0.4% and 1%, respectively.
The index fell more than 5.5% for the week, marking its worst performance since the market turmoil caused by global tariff tensions last April.
The drop ends a streak of five consecutive weekly gains during which the FTSE 100 repeatedly set record highs.