London’s blue-chip index struggled for direction on Monday, with the FTSE 100 slipping around 4 points, or 0.04%, to 10,813 after its opening hour.
The broader market mirrored that subdued tone, with the FTSE 250 falling 0.12% to 24,689 and both the FTSE 350 and FTSE All-Share declining 0.05%.
The AIM All-Share bucked the trend modestly, edging 0.05% higher as investors picked through smaller-cap names for opportunity.
Airtel Africa led the blue-chip risers with a 2.3% gain, while copper miners provided additional support to the index’s upper tier.
Antofagasta climbed 1.5% and Anglo American added 1.2%, reflecting resilience in the metals sector despite broader market hesitation.
Diageo rose 1.4% and 3i Group added 1.1%, providing further pockets of strength among the day’s blue-chip performers.
AstraZeneca proved the most significant drag, falling around 1% and offsetting gains elsewhere in the index throughout the session.
Kingfisher headed the fallers list with a 1.1% decline, while Auto Trader, BAE Systems and Melrose Industries all dropped approximately 1%.
On AIM, Tracsis (AIM: TRCS) surged 7% to 342.5p after reporting full-year trading in line with expectations and completing its £48 million acquisition of FirstGroup’s Mistral Data business.
FirstGroup’s own shares recovered after falling as much as 7% to 166.9p during early trading, eventually stabilising at 179.2p, just 0.1% lower on the day.
Geopolitical pressure shaped the commodity landscape, with Brent crude trading near US$93.16, down around 1.3%, as markets awaited the United States unveiling additional sanctions against Iran.
BP opened lower in response to weaker oil prices, while Shell was broadly unchanged, and markets remained alert to possible Iranian retaliation affecting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran has warned neighbouring countries against supporting Washington’s latest campaign, adding a layer of uncertainty to energy markets heading into the week.
Spot gold remained firm at around US$4,640 an ounce, supported by a softer dollar and safe-haven demand driven by ongoing geopolitical tensions.
Copper futures were broadly unchanged at US$6.59 per pound, delivering a mixed signal for London-listed miners at the start of the trading week.
Bitcoin traded near US$77,300, down 0.6%, as risk appetite remained cautious across global markets on Monday morning.
Asian markets were mostly weaker, with South Korea’s Kospi sinking 3.5% as Samsung plunged following a shareholder-return plan that disappointed investors.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell around 1.8% lower, Alibaba shares dropped sharply following an HK$80 billion equity placement to finance further investment in artificial intelligence.
Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.7%, while Australia bucked the regional trend with the S&P/ASX 200 finishing 0.5% higher near 9,107, led by miners including BHP, which gained around 3.4%.
With the UK economic and corporate calendars relatively quiet, geopolitics, commodity prices and bond yields are expected to remain the primary forces shaping London’s direction through the session.
