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Stock prices in London were mostly lower at Monday midday with housebuilding stocks down, following Andy Burnham setting out his policy plans as he aims to become UK prime minister. The FTSE 100 index was down 18.00 points, 0.2%, at 10,490.02. The FTSE 250 was down 0.35 points at 23,146.84, and the AIM all-share was down 0.13 points at 770.22. The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.2% at 1,040.76, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.1% lower at 19,846.25, and the Cboe small companies was 0.5% higher at 18,097.42. In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.1%. Sterling was at $1.3222 on Monday morning, up from $1.3216 at the London equities close on Friday. Against the euro, sterling rose slightly to €1.1591 from €1.1588. The euro was slightly lower at $1.1405 from $1.1406. Against the yen, the dollar advanced to JP¥161.86 from JP¥161.64. ‘All eyes are back on the Middle East after renewed tensions despite efforts to bring the war to an end,’ said AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has said $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets would be released by Qatar as negotiations with the US were challenged by attacks across the Persian Gulf this weekend. Pezeshkian is the highest-ranking official within Iran to reference the release of the funds held by Qatar, a key mediator in the negotiations with Pakistan. So far, US officials say no frozen Iranian assets have been released. Iran’s foreign ministry denied reports that Iranian and American technical teams will meet in the coming days to discuss implementation of the deal to end the conflict. ‘No technical meetings of the working groups are planned for this week,’ Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said, quoted by state TV, referring to the Iranian week ending on Friday. AJ Bell’s Mould added: ‘Investors will want greater reassurance that the ceasefire is lasting and not a flash in the pan.’ Brent crude was trading higher at $73.01 a barrel on Monday morning from $71.49 on Friday. At midday, Andy Burnham was setting out his policy plans in his first major speech since launching a leadership bid, which appears likely to be unopposed and will see him become prime minister. Burnham promised to give the UK a ‘new direction’ with the biggest transfer of power out of Whitehall in modern times. The prospective prime minister promised to end ‘politics as usual’ to rescue a country which is ‘stuck in a rut’. Burnham pledged to pull people together in the ‘broadest possible coalition’ to revive hope across the country. Housebuilders were lower on Monday, as figures from the Bank of England showed UK mortgage borrowing slowed sharply in May. Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals fell to £2.9 billion in May from £4.4 billion in April. This was below the previous six-month average of £5.1 billion and marked the weakest monthly borrowing since May 2025, when net lending totalled £1.9 billion. Net mortgage approvals for house purchases, a leading indicator of future borrowing, fell to 56,200 in May from 66,000 in April, below the FXStreet consensus forecast of 63,000. The figure was also below the previous six-month average of 63,300 and marked the lowest level since December 2023. On the FTSE 100, Persimmon shares fell 2.3% while Barratt Redrow slid 2.0%. On the FTSE 250, Vistry sunk 3.5%, Bellway lost 2.2%, Taylor Wimpey was 1.8% lower and Berkeley Group fell 1.7%. Stocks in New York were called higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called up 0.4%, the S&P 500 index 0.8% higher, and the Nasdaq Composite to gain 1.2%. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.38% on Monday morning, widened slightly from 4.37% on Friday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was unchanged at 4.86%. Back in London, shares in British American Tobacco were 1.7% lower. The London-based cigarette and nicotine product maker says it expects to cut 5,500 jobs globally by the end of the year, excluding the US, as part of its Fit2Win programme. The programme, which was launched last year and aims to make the company more agile, cost disciplined and innovative, remains on target to achieve around £600 million in annual cost savings by 2028, BAT said. BAT added that around 3,500 roles have also been moved to strategic partners. Chief Executive Tadeu Marroco said: ‘We are building a future-ready organisation that is more agile, cost disciplined and technology enabled.’ ‘These changes affect many of our colleagues, and we are focused on supporting them through this transition with care and respect, as we position the business for the future,’ the CEO added. On the FTSE 250 index, Foresight Group shares climbed 8.4% after it reported higher annual profit, revenue and assets under management. The London-based sustainability-focused infrastructure and private equity investment manager said pretax profit for the year ended March 31 rose 30% to £53.9 million from £41.4 million a year earlier. Revenue increased 11% to £164.9 million from £148.6 million, while recurring revenue rose 5.6% to £135.3 million from £128.1 million. Foresight recommended a final dividend of 19.0p per share, up 13% from 16.8p, taking the total dividend for the year to 27.1p, up 12% from 24.2p. Assets under management at the end of March increased 7.9% to £13.02 billion from £12.07 billion, while funds under management rose 7.0% to £9.02 billion from £8.43 billion. Marshalls shares were up 2.9% after Sky News reported that Breedon Group approached the firm with an all-share takeover proposal. Marshalls is understood to have rejected the approach, Sky News said. There are not thought to be any live discussions between the companies, it added. Breedon shares were down 2.2%. Among small caps, shares in DeFi Development Corp UK almost tripled. The provider of an AI platform that allows businesses to automate tasks said it plans to change its name back to Cykel AI, reversing a change that took place in January. ‘The board believes that the change of name better reflects the company’s strategic repositioning and renewed focus on artificial intelligence,’ it said. Non-Executive Chair Hadley Stern, Chief Executive Officer Michael Chan and Chief Financial Officer Nathalie Maggi will step down from the company on Tuesday. The firm appointed Gerald Tritt as CEO. He currently serves as CEO of Jolt Health and Clara Technologies, two listed health and wellness companies. The company agreed to extend the deadline on £2.8 million of warrants to June 29, 2028. The previous deadline ended last Monday. ‘The board is confident that the extension will allow the company to progress its development in an orderly manner and is committed to updating shareholders as and when there are material developments,’ it added. Gold was lower at $4,037.03 an ounce early on Monday from $4,085.63 late Friday. Still to come on Monday’s economic calendar is a reading from the US Dallas Fed manufacturing index. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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