(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window)
* FTSE 100 up 0.08%, FTSE 250 down 0.6%
* Standard Life ( PNXGF ) falls despite better-than-expected annual
profit rise
* CAB Payments ( CABPF ) surges after StoneX Group's ( SNEX ) acquisition
proposal
March 16 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 was little
changed on Monday, as gains in energy shares offset weakness in
other sectors amid Middle East tensions, while investors awaited
a rate decision from the Bank of England later this week.
As of 1011 GMT, the blue-chip FTSE 100 was 0.08% up
after logging a second consecutIve week of losses.
Now in its third week, the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran
continues to create turmoil across the Middle East and rattle
global energy markets.
On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump insisted that nations
heavily reliant on Gulf oil have a responsibility to help
protect the Strait of Hormuz through which 20% of the world's
energy transits.
Energy sector rose 1.2%, with oil major BP
and Shell up more than 1%.
On the flip side, the travel and leisure sector
fell nearly 2%.
Metal miners were also among
the top losers as gold prices were steady, and copper prices
fell.
Britain's mid-cap index was on track for deeper
losses on Monday, down 0.6%, weighed down by weakness in
industrials and financial stocks.
Investors' focus this week will be on interest rate
decisions in the UK, the U.S., and Europe, with central banks
holding their first full meetings since the start of the war and
widely expected to pause further rate cuts for now.
Economists polled by Reuters mostly expect a 7-2 vote by the
BoE's MPC to keep bank rate at 3.75%. Before the start of the
war on February 28, a cut to 3.5% was seen as a near certainty.
Data on Monday showed that the asking price for British
homes held steady in the four weeks to March 7.
Among other movers, insurer Standard Life ( PNXGF ) fell 2.4%
despite reporting a better-than-expected rise in annual profit.
CAB Payments ( CABPF ) jumped 13.4% after the financial
services firm StoneX Group ( SNEX ) proposed an all-cash
acquisition of the cross-border payments provider at 241.4
million pounds ($319.7 million).
($1 = 0.7554 pounds)
(Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini
Ganguli)