financetom
Market
financetom
/
Market
/
FTSE 100 flat as energy gains offset broader weakness
News World Market Environment Technology Personal Finance Politics Retail Business Economy Cryptocurrency Forex Stocks Market Commodities
FTSE 100 flat as energy gains offset broader weakness
Mar 16, 2026 3:53 AM

(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)

Comments
Welcome to financetom comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Related Articles >
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.financetom.com All Rights Reserved