2026.03.2317:23:34UTC+00FTSE 100 Falls to 3-Month Low

The FTSE 100 slipped 0.2% to 9,894 on Monday, its weakest close since late December, but staged a sharp recovery from earlier losses of more than 1.5% as hopes for de-escalation in the Middle East briefly lifted risk appetite. Brent crude fell more than 9% after President Donald Trump announced a pause on strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure, citing what he called productive talks. Oil later pared some of those losses after Iranian media denied there had been any contact with Washington.

Defence and energy names dragged on the index, with BAE Systems losing more than 4%, while BP and Shell declined 4.3% and 2%, respectively. Other blue-chip heavyweights, including AstraZeneca, Unilever and BAT, were also down by around 1%. In contrast, banks rebounded strongly: HSBC, Lloyds, Barclays and NatWest advanced between 1.8% and 3.3%, and miner Rio Tinto added more than 2%.