Source: Sharecast
After a subdued start, which saw the Footsie struggling for direction for most of the morning, the UK benchmark dropped firmly into the red by lunchtime, finishing the session down 1.2% at 10,284.75.
The total 5.7% decline since last Friday's close put the index on for its lowest finish since 30 January.
Stocks across Europe and US suffered steep falls, with major indices in Frankfurt, Milan, Madrid, Zurich and New York registering falls of at least 1% – with sentiment further dampened by a surging oil price and much weaker-than-expected US non-farm payrolls report released during the afternoon.
“It has been another tough day for global equity markets. The rush for the exits that began on Monday has accelerated over the last 48 hours, on the realisation that there is unlikely to be a quick end to the war in the Middle East," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.
"Stock markets, already reeling from the higher oil price, were hit by today’s payrolls that revealed a quadruple blow of bad news that signals the US economy continues to weaken. Having added no jobs since last April, the rationale for a Fed rate cut is there, but now inflation is back to effectively stymie policymakers.”
Brent crude soared 8.6% to $92.71 a barrel by the close in London, hitting highs not seen since 2023, after Qatar warned that Gulf production could grind to halt within days amid spiralling hostilities across the region.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump called for the "unconditional surrender" of Iran, effectively ruling out a deal with Tehran, as fighting with US-Israeli forces entered its seventh day.
On home shores, figures from Halifax showed that house prices ticked up in February, in line with expectations. House prices rose by 0.3% last month, following a 0.8% rise in January. A typical property now costs around £301,151. Year-on-year, prices rose by 1.3%, the strongest rate for four months.
IMI jumps on results; miners in the red
Specialist engineer IMI rallied as it reported a 27% jump in annual earnings, announced a £500m share buyback and forecast mid-single-digit organic revenue growth for 2026.
Defence firms BAE Systems and Babcock also performed well amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, while oil giants Shell and BP gushed higher as Brent crude breached $90 per barrel.
On the downside, miners lost ground, with Anglo American, Glencore and Antofagasta all weaker.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,284.75 -1.24%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,500.95 -0.88%
techMARK (TASX) 5,866.44 -0.60%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Rightmove (RMV) 466.00p 5.38%
Autotrader Group (AUTO) 494.80p 3.71%
BAE Systems (BA.) 2,214.00p 3.31%
3i Group (III) 3,014.00p 2.90%
IMI (IMI) 2,814.00p 2.25%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,368.00p 2.01%
BP (BP.) 498.90p 1.41%
Shell (SHEL) 3,133.00p 1.15%
The Sage Group (SGE) 843.20p 1.08%
Relx plc (REL) 2,640.00p 0.65%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Kingfisher (KGF) 325.70p -4.96%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 7,950.00p -4.88%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,966.00p -4.43%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,231.00p -4.38%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 342.20p -4.25%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 364.00p -3.75%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,249.00p -3.70%
Spirax Group (SPX) 7,170.00p -3.24%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,738.00p -3.09%
Barclays (BARC) 404.15p -3.08%
FTSE 250 - Risers
ITV (ITV) 84.25p 7.32%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 159.20p 6.77%
Mony Group (MONY) 172.90p 5.88%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 325.00p 5.79%
Avon Technologies (AVON) 1,900.00p 5.79%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 816.00p 4.95%
THG (THG) 32.20p 3.27%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 503.00p 2.99%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 156.00p 2.70%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 191.20p 2.58%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Genuit Group (GEN) 317.00p -7.04%
Carnival (CCL) 1,921.50p -6.77%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,550.00p -6.08%
Vistry Group (VTY) 448.20p -5.70%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 598.00p -5.38%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 927.50p -5.31%
Marshalls (MSLH) 154.40p -5.28%
Elementis (ELM) 152.40p -4.87%
B&M European Value Retail (BME) 179.96p -4.62%
Ibstock (IBST) 109.20p -4.55%
