The FTSE 100 edged down 0.2% on Monday as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East intensified following the collapse of US-Iran talks over the weekend. President Donald Trump renewed threats to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, heightening investor anxiety. Washington attributed the failure of the negotiations to Iran’s refusal to renounce potential nuclear ambitions, while Iranian media blamed what it described as excessively stringent US conditions.
Risk-off sentiment weighed on several sectors. In healthcare, AstraZeneca slipped 1.8% and GSK 0.5%. Banks were also weaker, with HSBC, Lloyds, Barclays and NatWest losing between 0.5% and 1.1%. Travel stocks came under pressure as EasyJet fell 2.6% and International Airlines Group declined 1.3%.
By contrast, energy names benefited from a sharp rebound in crude prices: BP gained about 1% and Shell 1.2%. Aerospace and defence group BAE Systems advanced more than 2.5%, while information and analytics company RELX rose 1.8%, helping to contain the index’s overall losses.
