London close: Stocks flat as US-Iran uncertainty caps gains

(Sharecast News) - UK stocks finished flat on Monday after a relatively subdued session, as investors focused on developments in the Middle East and another surge in oil prices.

The FTSE 100 ended just 0.01% higher at 10,498.29, having traded within a narrow range for most of the session, with a near-5% jump in the price of Brent crude limiting upside.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said markets remained "remarkably sanguine" despite the increasingly fraught situation in the Middle East.

"The US's apparent decision to pile on the pressure on Iran by reinstating the blockade has lifted oil prices, though the reaction remains calm relative to the potential for supply disruption," he said.

"Markets seem to be pricing in a resumption of negotiations in due course, given the lack of appetite for an extended standoff, but with oil stockpiles not fully rebuilt this is a risky view to take."

Donald Trump said on Monday that the US was reinstating the naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz with immediate effect and that all commercial vessels will be charged "at the rate of 20%" on all cargo shipped.

In a post on Truth Social, the US president wrote: "The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating the IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran's ships or customers from entering or leaving."

By the close of play in London, Brent crude was up 4.7% at $79.59 a barrel. Oil was already trading higher after the US and Iran exchanged further military strikes over the weekend. The US Centcom said it struck more than 140 targets at the weekend in response to Tehran attacking another commercial ship in the Strait, while Iran fired missiles and drones at the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain.

In other news, investors were looking ahead to the start of earnings season in the US which kicks off in earnest on Tuesday, with quarterly results due from banking giants JPMorgan, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Wells Fargo.

Telecoms stocks rise, airlines drop

Telecoms stocks were broadly in demand, with Vodafone, Airtel Africa and BT Group among the highest risers on the FTSE 100 as the sector continues to benefit from last week's M&A activity. Vodafone, in particular, was extending gains made on Friday after French billionaire Xavier Niel agreed to acquire Emirates Telecommunications Group's entire stake in the company for �4.4bn.

Computacenter rose as brokers raised their estimates after a strong trading update from the company last week. Bank of America initiated coverage of the stock with a 'buy' rating, while Stifel upgraded its recommendation from 'hold' to 'buy'.

Airlines IAG, Wizz Air and easyJet were on the descent as oil prices rose strongly following the latest bout of conflict between the US and Iran. In contrast, energy majors BP and Shell were tracking oil prices higher.

On the FTSE 250, shares in PageGroup surged 20% after the recruiter's second-quarter earnings beat forecasts, driven by a strong performance in the Americas, offsetting weaker trading in France, Northern Europe and the UK.

Fintech group Plus500 tumbled 15% despite reporting a record first-half performance and backing its full-year guidance.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,498.29 0.01%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,396.58 0.11%

techMARK (TASX) 5,949.97 0.81%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Vodafone Group (VOD) 116.15p 5.50%

BP (BP.) 505.00p 4.63%

Pearson (PSON) 1,318.00p 3.82%

BT Group (BT.A) 197.15p 3.74%

Airtel Africa (AAF) 337.80p 3.43%

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 8,698.00p 3.30%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 86.48p 3.17%

The Sage Group (SGE) 856.40p 3.03%

Persimmon (PSN) 1,067.00p 2.89%

Relx plc (REL) 2,478.00p 2.52%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Fresnillo (FRES) 2,559.00p -2.92%

IG Group Holdings (IGG) 1,758.00p -2.66%

Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,440.00p -2.57%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 460.30p -2.25%

British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,381.00p -1.99%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 370.80p -1.90%

AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,610.00p -1.75%

Halma (HLMA) 3,594.00p -1.70%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,415.40p -1.60%

St James's Place (STJ) 1,139.50p -1.38%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Pagegroup (PAGE) 153.80p 19.69%

Hays (HAS) 48.78p 13.23%

Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 654.00p 7.04%

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 229.60p 6.57%

Victrex plc (VCT) 708.00p 4.58%

Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 749.50p 4.17%

Playtech (PTEC) 398.20p 3.27%

Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 1,020.00p 3.24%

Vistry Group (VTY) 252.80p 3.10%

WPP (WPP) 282.90p 3.02%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 4,200.00p -14.95%

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,124.00p -4.66%

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 802.50p -4.15%

Pacific Horizon Inv Trust (PHI) 1,080.00p -3.74%

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 116.00p -3.57%

Fidelity Emerging Markets Limited Ptg NPV (FEML) 1,434.00p -3.11%

Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 751.00p -2.97%

IP Group (IPO) 63.90p -2.89%

Templeton Emerging Markets Inv Trust (TEM) 314.00p -2.64%

Coats Group (COA) 74.70p -2.61%