The FTSE 100 Index Closes 0.20% Lower

The FTSE 100 edged down 0.2% to 9894 on Monday, its lowest level since late December, but recovered significantly from earlier losses of more than 1.5% as hopes of a Middle East de-escalation briefly improved sentiment. Brent crude dropped over 9% after President Donald Trump announced a pause on strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure following what he described as productive talks, though oil later trimmed losses after Iranian media denied any contact with Washington. Defence and energy stocks weighed on the index, with BAE Systems down more than 4% and BP and Shell falling 4.3% and 2%. Other heavyweights including AstraZeneca, Unilever and BAT also declined around 1%. In contrast, banks rebounded strongly, with HSBC, Lloyds, Barclays and NatWest rising between 1.8% and 3.3%, while Rio Tinto gained over 2%.

The FTSE 100 Index decreased -20 points or 0.20 percent on Monday to close at 9898 points. The decline was led by BT (-6.15%), BAE Systems (-4.53%) and BP (-4.25%). On the upside, the strongest performers were Entain (7.98%), Antofagasta (7.22%) and Croda International (6.66%).

The FTSE 100 recovered from early losses to trade near flat on Monday as hopes of a Middle East de-escalation briefly lifted sentiment, with Brent crude falling more than 5% after President Donald Trump announced a pause on strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure following what he called productive talks on ending hostilities. Oil pared some of its decline after Iran’s semi-official Fars agency said there had been no direct or indirect contact with Washington. Banking stocks reversed sharply, with HSBC, Barclays and NatWest up between 1.9% and 3%, while Rolls-Royce rose over 2% and Rio Tinto more than 1%. Meanwhile, oil majors Shell and BP slipped over 3%, AstraZeneca fell more than 1%, and BAT and BAE Systems dropped 1.5% and 2.7%, respectively.