(Sharecast News) - A peace deal between the US and Iran wasn't enough to lift UK stock markets on Monday, with the FTSE 100 underperforming global equity indices to post a daily loss of 0.4%.
The UK benchmark finished 41.1 points lower at 10,430.62, pulling back after a 244.39-point gain (+2.4%) over the past three trading sessions, with losses from heavyweights in the oil, healthcare and defence sectors providing a big drag.
That was in contrast to gains of 1.1% in Frankfurt, 1.4% in Milan, and 1.9% for the S&P 500 in New York.
"A rally for mining stocks has made a powerful contribution to the FTSE 100 today but the joy of weighting means that losses for BP and Shell on oil's fall, plus AstraZeneca's continued struggles, have kept the index in the red while everything else heads higher," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.
"But the future looks brighter - while tech stocks lead the way, some rotation out of the expensive sector is likely, and the FTSE 100's relative cheapness will help the index play catch-up."
Geopolitics was in focus once again after the US and Iran agreed to end all fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices tumbling. By the close in London, Brent crude was 5.3% lower at $82.72 a barrel, on track to settle at its lowest since early March.
The long-sought peace deal was first announced by Pakistan, which had acted as a mediator between the warring factions. Full details have not been published, but prime minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed both sides had declared "immediate and permanent termination" of all military operations, including in Lebanon. There was no mention of Israel.
Donald Trump shortly afterwards said the Strait of Hormuz would reopen. Posting on Truth Social, the US president wrote: "I hereby fully authorise the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorise the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade."
Looking to the rest of the week and central bank policy announcements will be in focus, with the Bank of Japan, the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Federal Reserve, the Swiss National Bank and the Bank of England all due to make decisions.
Oil, defensive stocks sink
Energy giants Shell and BP slid in tandem with oil prices, along with FTSE 250 peers Harbour Energy, Diversified Energy and Ithaca.
Defence firm BAE Systems was also in the red, while share prices in defensive sectors - from pharma to utilities and telecoms - also fell, with AstraZeneca, GSK, Vodafone and Centrica among the worst performers.
Precious metals miners and miners more generally were on the rise, with Fresnillo, Hochschild, Endeavour, Antofagasta and Anglo American among the top performers.
Rate-sensitive housebuilders advanced, with Persimmon, Barratt Redrow, Berkeley and Bellway all up. Vistry bucked the trend, however, following a Financial Times report the housebuilder has offered voluntary redundancies to employees as it tries to preserve cash to shore up its business.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,430.62 -0.39%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,362.62 0.16%
techMARK (TASX) 5,906.11 -0.98%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Fresnillo (FRES) 3,200.00p 6.60%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,444.00p 5.98%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 4,290.00p 5.90%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,346.00p 4.56%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,358.40p 3.85%
Informa (INF) 844.20p 3.43%
IMI (IMI) 2,940.00p 3.16%
Halma (HLMA) 4,018.00p 3.08%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 448.50p 2.82%
Prudential (PRU) 1,006.00p 2.53%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,820.50p -4.74%
Shell (SHEL) 3,080.50p -4.06%
BT Group (BT.A) 202.50p -3.34%
BP (BP.) 517.00p -3.27%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 112.50p -2.47%
Centrica (CNA) 181.55p -2.29%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,279.00p -2.22%
Entain (ENT) 588.60p -2.10%
Tesco (TSCO) 463.40p -2.03%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 13,200.00p -1.95%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 594.00p 11.13%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 872.00p 7.65%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,158.00p 7.22%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 4,106.00p 7.21%
Pan African Resources (PAF) 115.20p 5.98%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 1,020.00p 4.51%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 254.60p 4.17%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 755.00p 3.99%
Pacific Horizon Inv Trust (PHI) 1,170.00p 3.91%
Ashoka India Equity Investment Trust (AIE) 249.00p 3.53%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Vistry Group (VTY) 224.40p -6.97%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 229.80p -6.81%
Clarkson (CKN) 4,494.00p -6.18%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 444.80p -6.08%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 753.00p -4.92%
Chemring Group (CHG) 500.00p -4.76%
B&M European Value Retail (BME) 192.00p -4.67%
Rank Group (RNK) 103.20p -3.73%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 101.80p -3.60%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 182.40p -3.34%