London open: Stocks fall, oil prices jump as Trump threatens Hormuz blockade

(Sharecast News) - London stocks fell in early trade on Monday as oil prices rose after Donald Trump threatened to blockade the Strait of Hormuz following failed peace talks with Iran.

At 0825 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.6% at 10,540.43. At the same time, Brent crude was up 6.3% at $101.22 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was 6.7% higher at $103.00.

US vice president JD Vance said on Sunday that the US delegation had put forward a "final and best offer" but Iran had "chosen not to accept" it. "The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement. And I think that's bad news for Iran much more than it's bad news for the US," he said.

Following 21 hours of negotiations, Vance said: "The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon."

There was no indication from either side what will happen after the 14-day ceasefire ends on 22 April.

News of the failed peace talks was followed by a threat from Donald Trump to blockade any and all ships trying to enter or exit the vital Strait of Hormuz.

The US president said on Truth Social: "So, there you have it, the meeting went well, most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not.

"Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz."

Trump said the US was "locked and loaded" and its military "will finish up the little that is left of Iran".

The US Central Command said the blockade will begin at 10am ET on Monday (1500 BST).

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "Although oil prices have jumped back above the $100 level, the fact that they have not returned to pre-ceasefire highs above $111 per barrel for Brent, has tempered the selloff in risky assets at the start of this week.

"The peace talks between Iran and the US at the weekend was not a single event, but should be viewed as a process, and there are hopes that more talks will continue. Figures from the Iranian regime have hinted that this is the case."

She said that even though Trump is planning to blockade the Strait of Hormuz later on Monday, "the President is notorious for changing his mind and switching positions, so his threats are losing market impact".

"At the start of this week, traders are partly reversing last week's moves, but they are not back to panic levels, and some may argue that the selloff could have been worse."

According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump and his advisers are considering resuming limited military strikes in Iran in addition to the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, as a way to break a stalemate in peace talks.

The WSJ, citing officials and people familiar with the situation, said that is among the options the US president was considering Sunday, hours after peace negotiations collapsed. It was also understood that Trump could resume a full-fledged bombing campaign, though officials said that was less likely given the prospect of further destabilising the region and the president's aversion to prolonged military conflicts.

In equity markets, airlines were under the cosh, with BA owner IAG, easyJet and Wizz Air all sharply lower.

Housebuilder Vistry also fell as it announced the appointment of company insider Adam Daniels chief executive. Daniels joined Countryside Partnerships, which Vistry acquired in 2022, in 2016, and has gone on to hold various roles across the business. He is currently executive chair of Vistry's Yorkshire, North Midlands and West division.

He replaces long-serving Greg Fitzgerald, who will now step down as executive chair and chief executive with immediate effect.

The housebuilding sector more broadly was under pressure, with Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey also weaker.

National Grid nudged lower as it said trading remained in line with expectations but it now expects to see a net impact of roughly 1p per share to underlying earnings from costs linked to customer refunds and higherthanexpected storm costs in its US operations.

Primark owner AB Foods fell following a downgrade to 'underperform' from 'sector perform' at RBC Capital Markets, while WH Smith slumped after a downgrade to 'sector perform' from 'outperform' by the same outfit.

On the upside, oil giants BP and Shell gushed higher in tandem with oil prices. BP was also in focus after agreeing to buy a 60% interest in three offshore exploration blocks in Namibia from Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas as part of its strategy to grow its upstream portfolio.

Halma gained after saying it had bought ophthalmic instruments maker Surgistar as a bolt-on for its healthcare sector company, MicroSurgical Technology (MST), for $90m (�67m).

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,540.43 -0.57%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,237.03 -0.51%

techMARK (TASX) 5,817.01 -0.39%

FTSE 100 - Risers

BP (BP.) 583.00p 1.88%

Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,118.50p 1.48%

Shell (SHEL) 3,466.00p 1.33%

Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 32.59p 1.18%

Centrica (CNA) 212.60p 0.71%

Admiral Group (ADM) 3,281.00p 0.58%

Tesco (TSCO) 487.70p 0.50%

Halma (HLMA) 4,168.00p 0.48%

IG Group Holdings (IGG) 1,486.00p 0.47%

3i Group (III) 2,702.00p 0.41%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Fresnillo (FRES) 3,501.00p -2.67%

Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,868.50p -2.60%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 377.90p -2.47%

Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,078.00p -2.17%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,243.60p -1.94%

Entain (ENT) 524.40p -1.91%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,720.50p -1.80%

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,135.40p -1.76%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,695.20p -1.73%

Persimmon (PSN) 1,127.50p -1.70%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 4,476.00p 4.73%

Elementis (ELM) 168.00p 4.22%

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 257.50p 4.11%

Harbour Energy (HBR) 285.40p 3.10%

Hill and Smith (HILS) 2,295.00p 2.59%

Man Group (EMG) 254.80p 2.57%

Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 102.00p 2.51%

Avon Technologies (AVON) 1,770.00p 2.19%

AO World (AO.) 97.00p 2.11%

GB Group (GBG) 186.75p 1.81%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 922.00p -6.50%

easyJet (EZJ) 370.60p -3.78%

Vistry Group (VTY) 324.60p -3.59%

RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd (RTW) 2.03p -3.33%

RS Group (RS1) 569.00p -3.15%

Carnival (CCL) 2,009.00p -2.77%

Pan African Resources (PAF) 153.76p -2.72%

Wickes Group (WIX) 216.50p -2.63%

WH Smith (SMWH) 585.00p -2.55%

Applied Nutrition (APN) 218.75p -2.46%