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Stocks in Europe opened mostly lower on Monday amid a rise in the price of oil as the US said it will impose a blockade of Iranian ports in a few hours. The FTSE 100 index opened down 44.39 points, 0.4%, at 10,555.98. The FTSE 250 was down 133.61 points, 0.6%, at 22,216.77, and the AIM all-share was down 0.65 points, 0.1%, at 776.83. The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.4% at 1,052.95, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.4% at 19,337.62, and the Cboe small companies was down 0.2% at 17,652.52. In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.9%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 1.0%. US President Donald Trump said a US blockade of Iranian ports will begin on Monday at 1000 ET, 1500 BST. US Central Command said it would ‘not impede’ ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz to or from other countries, though oil prices jumped above $100 a barrel. Brent was quoted at $104.21 a barrel early Monday in London, up from $96.14 late Friday. The move follows weekend peace talks between the US and Iran that ended without agreement. Trump said the talks failed because Iran would not ‘give up its nuclear ambitions’, while Iran’s foreign minister blamed ‘shifting goalposts’ from Washington. In response to the blockade, Iran’s parliament speaker said the country would not ‘surrender under threats’, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that any military vessels approaching the Strait of Hormuz would be ‘dealt with severely’. The pound was quoted at $1.3427 early Monday, lower than $1.3472 at the London equities close on Friday. Against the euro, sterling fell slightly to €1.1479 from €1.1482 a day prior. The euro traded at $1.1698 early Monday, lower than $1.1735 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JP¥159.65, up versus JP¥159.10. In the UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has refused to join Trump’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a move that could otherwise compound economic pain for Britons through higher petrol costs. Starmer is set to discuss cost-of-living pressures with local residents during a visit to Greater Manchester on Monday. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will travel to Washington this week for International Monetary Fund meetings, having warned that ‘the war in Iran will come at a cost to British families and business’. The prime minister previously said UK mine-hunting systems were already in the region. However, these are thought to refer to minesweeping drones that could be deployed once the situation stabilises, and are distinct from Trump’s blockade. On the FTSE 100, oil majors BP and Shell were at the top of the index, both up 1.4%, supported by the rise in oil prices. Among other gainers, Imperial Brands was up 1.3% after beginning the second £725 million tranche of its £1.45 billion share buyback plan on Monday, with the programme set to run until October 28 at the latest. Halma rose 0.9% after acquiring California-based ophthalmic surgical instruments manufacturer Surgistar Inc for $90 million. The Amersham-based safety products manufacturer said the acquisition is a bolt-on for its healthcare company MicroSurgical Technology Inc. The deal, on a cash- and debt-free basis, will be funded from existing facilities. Surgistar designs and manufactures ophthalmic surgical instruments and devices including blades, cannulas and trephines. BA-owner International Consolidated Airlines Group was at the bottom of the index, down 2.7%, affected by Middle East disruption and oil price volatility. The stock also received broker cuts, with Bernstein reducing its price target to 470 pence from 480 pence while keeping an ’outperform’ rating, and Barclays cutting its target to 425 pence from 440 pence with an ’overweight’ rating. Associated British Foods was down 2.2% after RBC cut the stock to ’underperform’ from ’sector perform’ and reduced its price target to 1,850 pence from 2,050 pence. On the FTSE 250, airlines Wizz Air and easyJet were among the biggest fallers, down 6.3% and 3.9% respectively. Vistry was down 3.7% after the Kent-based housebuilder, operating under the Linden Homes, Bovis Homes and Countryside Homes brands, appointed Adam Daniels as chief executive officer and executive director with immediate effect. He succeeds Greg Fitzgerald, who steps down as executive chair, CEO and board director. Daniels, currently executive chair of one of Vistry’s largest operating divisions, joined the group in 2016 through Countryside Partnerships. The company said his appointment follows a multi-year succession process and that he will focus on improving cash generation, boosting open-market sales and reducing inventory in 2026. Wise rose 4.9% after reporting higher quarterly volumes and income ahead of its planned US listing. The London-based money transfer provider said cross-border volume increased 26% year-on-year to £49.4 billion in the quarter to March 31, or 27% on a constant currency basis. Active customers rose 22% to 11.3 million. Underlying income climbed 24% to £435.3 million from £350.4 million a year earlier, both on a reported and constant currency basis. Wise also said it is changing how it reports results ahead of its US listing. Essentra fell 8.5% after Deutsche Bank cut the stock to ’hold’ from ’buy’ and reduced its price target to 100 pence from 150 pence. The UK government is set to unveil plans in the King’s Speech that would allow it to adopt EU rules without necessarily giving MPs a vote on each individual measure. As part of Starmer’s reset with Brussels, ministers will seek powers to implement single market rules through secondary legislation, meaning Parliament could approve or reject such measures but would not be able to amend them. The proposed UK-EU reset legislation, enabling the use of so-called Henry VIII powers, is expected to form part of the King’s Speech package on May 13 and will go through the usual parliamentary scrutiny process. Critics argue that allowing dynamic alignment with Brussels through secondary legislation would sideline Westminster. A government spokesman said: ‘The bill will go through Parliament in the normal way. Any new treaties or deals with the EU will also face parliamentary scrutiny, and Parliament will have a role in approving new EU laws required under those deals via secondary legislation. ‘This will allow us to deliver a food and drink trade deal worth £5.1 billion a year, backing British jobs and slashing costly red tape for our farmers, producers and businesses.’ The government has repeatedly stated that the UK will not rejoin the single market, though Reeves has said that divergence from Brussels rules should be ‘the exception, not the norm’. In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.6%, the S&P 500 down 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.4%. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.33%, widening from 4.30%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.93%, widening from 4.90%. In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo closed down 0.7%. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed up 0.1%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 1.0%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.3%. Gold was quoted at $4,734.63 an ounce, down from $4,775.63 on Friday. Still to come on Monday’s economic calendar are US existing home sales. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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