The UK stock market is down firmly in negative territory Monday morning, mirroring weakness across global financial markets amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
After a series of attacks by the US and Israel on Iran, Tehran retaliated, hitting U.S. bases in several countries in the Middle East. Due to supply concerns, oil prices skyrocketed, triggering inflation concerns.
Bank stocks are down sharply, and shares of airliners are down as well. Miners and energy stocks are finding support.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 105.89 points or 0.97% at 10,804.66 a few minutes before noon.
Informa is down nearly 6.5% and Croda International is plunging 6.1%. IAG is declining by about 5.85%, while Barclays, JD Sports Fashion, Standard Chartered, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, HSBC Holdings, Intercontinental Hotels Group and Burberry Group are down 4%-5%.
Smith & Nephew is down nearly 4% despite reporting higher profits and cash flow for 2025.
Easyjet, Mondi, Natwest Group, Next, Lloyds Banking Group, Melrose Industries, Prudential, ICG, 3i Group and Spirax Group are among the several other stocks that are down sharply.
Energy stocks Shell and BP are up 2.5% and 1.8%, respectively. Miners Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo are gaining 1.8% and 1.25%, respectively. Rio Tinto is up 0.6%.
BAE Systems is rising more than 5%. Bunzl is gaining 2%, Airtel Africa is up 1.3% and National Grid is up 1.1%.
Bunzl moved higher after the business supplies distributor reported 3% revenue growth at constant exchange rates in 2025, driven by acquisitions.
In economic news, data from mortgage lender Nationwide Building Society said UK house prices grew at a steady pace in February, reflecting a moderate recovery from a fall at the end of the last year.
House prices posted an annual increase of 1% in February, the same rate of growth as seen in January, the data showed. The rate was faster than the expected growth of 0.7%.
On a monthly basis, house prices logged a steady growth of 0.3% in February.
Data from S&P Global showed the S&P Global UK Manufacturing PMI was revised slightly lower to 51.7 in February 2026 from a preliminary of 52, and compared to a 17-month high of 51.8 in January. The reading continued to point to expansion in the manufacturing sector, with output growth reaching the highest in 17 months.
Market Analysis
FTSE 100 Down Nearly 1% As Stocks Fall On Rising Tensions In Middle East
2026-03-02 12:07:57
