March 26 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 equities index

dropped more than 1% on Thursday, as lingering uncertainty over

a Middle East ceasefire weighed on sentiment, while a steep fall

in 3i Group ( TGOPF ) shares added further pressure.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters the U.S. proposal was

"one-sided and unfair", while U.S. President Donald Trump warned

that Iranian negotiators "better get serious soon" or there

would be "NO TURNING BACK."

The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed down 1.3%, snapping a

two-day winning streak, while the midcap FTSE 250 index

fell 0.8%.

* 3i Group ( TGOPF ) shares shed 17.6% to more than a

two-year low after the private equity firm said its discount

retailer Action expects like-for-like sales growth between 4%

and 5% in 2026, broadly similar to the 4.9% growth it recorded

in 2025.

* Global stocks slipped on Thursday as the price of

Brent crude pushed past $105 a barrel. That move followed the

Iranian government's announcement that it was ruling out talks

with Washington, dampening expectations of a quick end to the

nearly month-long U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

* Around 90% of the economists polled by Reuters now

expect the Bank of England to hold its key interest rate at

3.75% through the end of this year, even as markets price in

nearly two or three hikes after war-driven energy shocks forced

a sharp reversal from earlier this year, when investors were

expecting rate cuts.

* Britain's economic growth prospects this year received the

sharpest downgrade of any major economy in the OECD's interim

forecast update following the Middle East conflict.

* Next shares rose 4.2% to the top of the benchmark

after CEO Simon Wolfson said the clothing retailer has not seen

a noticeable drop-off in UK sales since the war started at the

end of February.

* Playtech ( PYTCF ) shares fell 12.1%, pushing the stock

to the bottom of the midcap index, after the online gambling

platform missed revenue estimates for its 2025 fiscal year.