The FTSE 100 Index Opens 0.03% Lower

The FTSE 100 traded slightly lower as global stocks weakened and Brent crude approached $100 a barrel, reinforcing expectations that central banks may need to keep raising interest rates to contain inflation. Banks were among the worst performers, with Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC Holdings and Barclays falling between 1.3% and 1.7%, while NatWest and Standard Chartered also declined. Pharma stocks AstraZeneca and GSK slipped around 0.5%-0.7%, and Rolls-Royce was down 0.9%. In contrast, Computacenter jumped 4% after strong results, benefiting from the boom in data-centre spending. Rising oil prices supported energy stocks, with BP up 1.5% and Shell gaining 1%. Miners also advanced as copper prices reached another record high, lifting Antofagasta 1.7% and Glencore 1.3%. Meanwhile, UK retail sales grew 0.7% in August, according to the British Retail Consortium, below the 1.6% 12-month average and 3.1% growth recorded in August last year.

The FTSE 100 Index is dropping 4 points. Leading the losses are HSBC Holdings (-1.34%), Lloyds Banking (-1.28%) and Barclays (-0.97%). Top gainers were London Stock Exchange (1.51%), BP (1.46%) and Croda International (1.41%).

The FTSE 100 Index decreased 7 points or 0.07 percent on Monday to close at 10824 points. The decline was led by Entain (-2.54%), Relx (-2.33%) and St. Jamess (-2.28%). On the upside, the strongest performers were Standard Life (1.98%), Centrica (1.70%) and Smiths (1.58%).