London stocks closed lower on Monday, with the FTSE 100 registering its sixth straight day of losses, as a slump in consumer sectors dragged the index lower.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index slid 0.3% to 10,720.30 points, closing at an over three-week low. The midcap FTSE 250 fell 0.7% to 24,704.40 points, posting its biggest percentage drop in more than three weeks.
• U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran should surrender to end a war with the United States after a senior Iranian official said Tehran would escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and the wider region if diplomacy fails, further clouding the hopes for a peace deal.
• Oil prices edged higher, with Brent crude rising 0.5% to $89.02 on Monday. [O/R]
• Traders will keep a close eye on UK job market data due on Tuesday and inflation data on Wednesday for further clues on the Bank of England’s policy path.
• “The longer we go without any sort of resolution, the more likely we are to see Brent crude oil test the $100 per barrel mark seen in recent months,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell. “It could mean any relief on inflation is temporary.”
• The FTSE 350 personal goods, beverages and personal care, drug and grocery store indexes fell between 1.9% and 2.7%, becoming top sectoral decliners.
• British employers remained reluctant to hire and business confidence stayed near its weakest levels outside the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
• Britain’s sovereign credit rating was maintained at “AA-“, with a stable outlook, by Fitch late on Friday.
• AstraZeneca rose 0.9% after the drugmaker said its Tagrisso-Orpathys combination and Daiichi Sankyo-partnered Enhertu met key goals.
• Miners helped limit losses in the FTSE 100 index as gold prices firmed and copper hit a more than six-month high. Fresnillo climbed 1.6% and Anglo American added 2%. Rio Tinto and Glencore gained between 1% and 0.9%.
• Rolls-Royce climbed 1.5% after Morgan Stanley and Citigroup raised their price targets on the firm.
(Reporting by Anand Gopal and Medha Singh）
