FTSE 100 Trades at Over 2-Week Low
2026-04-24 07:37
By
Agna Gabriel
1 min. read
The FTSE 100 fell for a fifth straight session on Friday, hitting a more than two-week low as US-Iran talks remain deadlocked and the Strait of Hormuz stays effectively closed.
Banks, defence names, pharma and miners led declines.
Mondi dropped around 6% after warning that higher energy, raw material and logistics costs linked to the Middle East conflict are weighing on its outlook.
In contrast, energy and consumer stocks outperformed amid elevated oil prices.
On the data front, UK retail sales rose 0.7% in March, beating expectations, with a 0.2% increase excluding fuel.
Meanwhile, Bank of England policymaker Sarah Breeden warned that global equities may face a correction, saying current valuations do not fully reflect risks such as a potential economic slowdown, stress in private credit markets and possible AI driven repricing.
For the week, the UK index is down 2.4%.