(Sharecast News) - London's blue chip index fell to its lowest level in four weeks on Monday after a lack of US-Iran peace talks at the weekend weighed on stocks and pushed oil prices higher.
After swinging between gains and losses for most of the session, the FTSE 100 finished 0.6% lower at 10,321.09, falling for the sixth straight session to settle at its lowest since 31 March.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said it was "slow start to a busy week", with a "frenetic calendar" later in the coming days prompting investors to scale back risk appetite. Central bank meetings are scheduled in the US, UK, Eurozone and Canada, all of which are expected to keep their policy rates unchanged.
"Monday's relatively empty calendar stands in stark contrast to the action-packed week that lies ahead of everyone, and so today's price action has fallen firmly into the 'snoozefest' category," Beauchamp said.
"Hopes of US-Iran talks can only carry a market so far, and we have seen today's attempt at a rally wilt under concerns about this week's newsflow and renewed strength in oil prices," he said.
Investors continued to mull the latest developments in the US-Iran war following a report that Tehran has put forward a peace proposal, which includes reopening the Strait `of Hormuz, after a second round of talks over the weekend failed to materialise.
According to Axios, which cited a US official and two sources with knowledge of the matter, the new proposal was given to the US via Pakistani mediators. It was understood that the proposal focuses on solving the crisis over the strait and the US blockade first.
As part of that, the ceasefire would be extended for a long period or the parties would agree on a permanent end to the war. Nuclear negotiations would only start at a later stage, after the strait was open and the blockade lifted.
Brent was 2.8% higher at $101.86 a barrel by the close in London. Notably, Goldman Sachs lifted its oil price forecasts for this year, citing lower Persian Gulf production. For the final quarter, it now expects Brent to trade at around $90 a barrel and WTI at $83, up from previous forecasts of $80 and $75, respectively, if oil exports normalise by the end of June.
Entain down; Whitbread rallies
Entain was under the cosh on news that major shareholder Eminence Capital is being shuttered. According to a letter to advisors seen by Bloomberg, hedge fund veteran Ricky Sandler is shuttering Eminence and returning investor cash after a 27-year run. Sandler was understood to have told clients that the hedge fund hasn't performed well enough in recent years to keep operating.
Going the other way, Premier Inn owner Whitbread was the standout gainer following a report it's planning to sell a swathe of hotels to unlock 1.5bn for shareholders. According to The Times, the company is expected to announce plans later this week for the sale and leaseback of one in five of the freehold hotel properties it currently owns outright, following a strategic review of its business model.
Sainsbury's was also weaker after Goldman Sachs double downgraded the stock to 'sell' from 'buy' and cut the price target to 335p from 390p.
Intertek fell after rejecting a revised takeover proposal from Swedish private equity firm EQT at 5,400p per share, up from 5,150p.
Energy major Shell gained despite higher oil prices after announcing the $16.4bn deal to buy Canada's ARC Resources. Shell said the acquisition accelerates its strategy by adding 370,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day immediately across liquids and gas, leading to a 4% production compound annual growth rate through to 2030, compared to 2025.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,321.09 -0.56%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,579.43 -0.01%
techMARK (TASX) 5,891.59 0.59%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,173.20p 2.23%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,182.00p 2.07%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,763.80p 1.23%
M&G (MNG) 298.00p 1.15%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 1,526.00p 1.13%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,408.50p 0.86%
Pearson (PSON) 1,080.50p 0.84%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 8,184.00p 0.79%
Barclays (BARC) 427.40p 0.78%
BAE Systems (BA.) 2,036.00p 0.77%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Entain (ENT) 567.00p -5.44%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 330.35p -4.80%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 333.00p -3.34%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,902.00p -3.14%
Compass Group 11 (CPG) 29.31p -2.54%
BT Group (BT.A) 217.75p -2.35%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,105.50p -2.30%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 347.20p -2.25%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,086.00p -2.25%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,703.00p -2.22%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 316.00p 4.12%
Renishaw (RSW) 4,626.00p 3.91%
Foresight Environmental Infrastructure Limited (FGEN) 72.20p 2.56%
Hill and Smith (HILS) 2,470.00p 2.49%
Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 1,164.00p 2.46%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,860.00p 2.44%
The Schiehallion Fund Limited NPV (MNTN) 1.94p 2.37%
Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) 100.60p 2.11%
Man Group (EMG) 252.00p 2.11%
Abrdn (ABDN) 209.90p 1.79%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
THG (THG) 34.96p -6.27%
C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 116.40p -3.80%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 4,386.00p -3.56%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 204.30p -2.99%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 191.30p -2.89%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 41.80p -2.84%
Gamma Communications (GAMA) 915.60p -2.60%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 913.00p -2.56%
Pan African Resources (PAF) 141.86p -2.56%
Currys (CURY) 124.90p -2.42%
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