LONDON, April 27, 2026, 18:04 BST
London’s FTSE 100 dropped for the sixth session in a row on Monday, marking its longest decline in over a year as weakness in energy and consumer stocks weighed on the market. The blue- chip benchmark closed down 0.6% at 10,321.09. The FTSE 250 finished little changed, holding flat.
The landscape has shifted: this bout of market weakness isn’t just a function of scattered earnings misses or short-term profit grabs anymore. Brent crude climbed roughly 3%, hitting $108.46 a barrel. The backdrop: U.S.-Iran negotiations hit an impasse, and tanker flows through the Strait of Hormuz are still restricted. That’s keeping inflation jitters firmly in play. “There is only one direction for oil prices to go,” said PVM Oil Associates’ Tamas Varga. Goldman Sachs, with Daan Struyven’s team leading the call, flagged that economic risks are mounting beyond the bank’s main crude scenario. Reuters
The Bank of England once again takes a front seat in the equity narrative. With the Bank Rate widely expected to remain at 3.75% on Thursday, investors are zeroing in on any hint that officials might consider rate hikes if surging energy costs start filtering into wages and corporate pricing. “The economic data is likely to take a downturn” in the coming months, said Thomas Pugh, chief UK economist at RSM, suggesting that the market’s focus could shift back to growth risks. Reuters
Energy names dragged down the main index, even with oil prices up. Shell dropped 1.7% after agreeing to acquire Canada’s ARC Resources. Sainsbury’s shares sank 3.3% as Goldman Sachs hit the stock with a double downgrade. Marks & Spencer finished off 4.7% after JPMorgan pointed to Worldpanel data showing UK clothing sales losing momentum. Gold miners also retreated, off 2.8%, as bullion prices slipped.
Shell is picking up ARC in a $16.4 billion transaction, debt included, which will bump output by roughly 370,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day—a standard that wraps oil and gas volumes into a single tally. The move marks Shell’s largest acquisition since BG back in 2016. It’s a much smaller bite than Chevron’s $55 billion Hess purchase, but it plugs more Canadian gas and liquids into Shell’s portfolio near its LNG Canada business. Chief Executive Wael Sawan said he felt “very comfortable” with how the deal fits into Shell’s financial framework. Reuters
There wasn’t much relief for consumers as economic conditions stayed tough. The Confederation of British Industry reported its retail sales volume gauge dropped to -68 in April, down from -52 in March—the lowest level since records began in 1983. CBI economist Martin Sartorius said companies will be pressing the government to recognise that easing the cost-of-living squeeze means taking on business costs as well.
Burberry, Smith & Nephew, Standard Chartered, M&G and IG Group popped to the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard. On the flip side, Entain, Marks & Spencer, Endeavour Mining, J Sainsbury and Weir Group were among the sharpest decliners. The selling didn’t spare consumer names or commodity-linked plays.
But it’s not all downside. If energy shipments start moving again through the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices could slip, taking some heat off rate forecasts—good news for rate-sensitive stocks and retailers. A drawn-out halt, though, flips the story: Goldman’s tougher oil outlook spells stickier inflation and a sharper hit to household budgets.
Politics and markets are tangled up right now. Prime Minister Keir Starmer plans to convene a Cobra emergency committee with Bank of England officials on Tuesday to tackle the economic fallout from the Iran war. He pointed out that fuel prices have already climbed. For UK equities, oil prices, central bank moves, and the FTSE’s slide are set to dominate the next 72 hours.
