U.K. stock markets ended Monday's session in negative territory as sectoral declines in Chemicals, Software & Computer Services and Fixed Line Telecommunications pushed the benchmark lower.
At the close in London the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 was down 0.12%.
The session's strongest performers on the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 included:
- JD Sports Fashion PLC (LON:JD) - rose 3.38% or 2.64 points to finish at 80.82;
- Fresnillo PLC (LON:FRES) - added 3.17% or 122.00 points to close at 3,976.00;
- Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LON:MKS) - gained 2.47% or 9.80 points to end at 406.90.
On the downside, the session's largest decliners were:
- Smurfit WestRock PLC (LON:SWR) - fell 8.51% or 310.00 points to trade at 3,333.00 at the close;
- ICG PLC (LON:ICGIN) - declined 4.95% or 86.00 points to end at 1,652.00;
- Flutter Entertainment PLC (LON:FLTRF) - down 4.37% or 394.00 points to 8,620.00.
Market breadth was negative, with falling issues outnumbering advancing ones on the London Stock Exchange by 985 to 783, while 537 stocks finished unchanged.
Notably, shares of Flutter Entertainment PLC (LON:FLTRF) moved to three-year lows during the session, declining 4.37% or 394.00 to 8,620.00.
Commodities and currency markets saw mixed action. April gold futures jumped 2.90% or 147.34 to $5,228.24 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for April delivery fell 0.29% or 0.19 to $66.29 a barrel, and the May Brent contract slipped 0.28% or 0.20 to $71.10 a barrel.
In FX trading, GBP/USD was unchanged 0.13% to 1.35, while EUR/GBP was unchanged 0.06% to 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures was lower by 0.22% at 97.51.
This session’s results leave the U.K. benchmark slightly weaker as sector-specific declines outweighed gains among select retail and mining names. The market's breadth and the move to multi-year lows for some stocks underscore pockets of selling pressure amid otherwise contained headline moves in oil and currencies.