London, June 9, 2026, 18:01 BST
- The FTSE 100 dropped 1.4% to end at 10,227.33, marking its lowest close since May 15.
- HSBC and Standard Chartered pulled the index lower. BP and Shell dropped as oil prices slipped.
- Sterling gained, though investors kept an eye on rates and Middle East risks.
FTSE 100 closed at the weakest level in over three weeks on Tuesday, dragged lower by Asia-heavy banks and oil stocks. The decline came even as sterling strengthened.
FTSE 100 ends at six-week low, mid-caps track lower The FTSE 100 fell 1.4% to close at 10,227.33, its lowest since May 15, giving up ground as broad selling hit London shares. The FTSE 250 dropped 0.8%, with the mid-cap index slipping as domestic names came under pressure, Reuters said.
Banks and energy stocks, both major players in London, led the drop. Losses in these two heavyweight sectors pushed the market lower, outweighing smaller gains elsewhere and making the index fall more than it first looked.
Standard Chartered dropped 6.3% and HSBC was down 4.4%, leading losses among blue chips. JPMorgan analysts wrote that China’s new outbound direct investment rule looks more negative than they thought for UK, Asian and Swiss banks, Reuters reported.
Energy shares lost 2.2% after oil slid over 3%. BP ended 3% down, with the company tapping Gordon Birrell to run upstream and Richard Harding stepping in as interim downstream boss. Shell dropped too, as oil prices eased with talk tensions in the Middle East could cool.
BP’s reorg is on the table for investors. The oil company said the new setup will kick in operationally July 1 and show in reports as of Jan. 1, 2027. CEO Meg O’Neill said the shift aims to “reduce complexity.” Reuters
GSK lost 0.5% after it said it would buy U.S.-listed Nuvalent in a $10.6 billion deal. On the small-cap side, Molten Ventures surged 16.1% after reporting annual numbers. Fever-Tree Drinks added 5.1% as the company stuck to full-year market forecasts and increased buybacks.
Europe was weaker too, not just London. The STOXX 600 fell 0.5% to 618.64. Miners dropped 2.5% and energy lost 2.4%. Investors are watching a shaky Iran-Israel ceasefire and new risks from Lebanon. “Markets had been in a holding pattern” on Middle East headlines and AI volatility, said Craig Cameron at Franklin Templeton. Reuters
Global stocks slipped in New York as Wall Street grew cautious ahead of U.S. inflation numbers. Brent crude dropped 3.33% to $91.11 a barrel, and U.S. crude lost 3.94% to $87.70, according to Reuters’ global markets report.
Sterling traded higher. The pound gained 0.36% to $1.3385 and reached a two-week peak versus the euro. A weaker dollar and improved risk appetite supported the move. Kamal Sharma, forex strategist at BofA, said markets have ignored the balance-of-payments part of the UK’s “dual deficit” issue and said more capital-heavy foreign investment should be a “medium-term positive” for the pound. Reuters
Equities still faced a tricky rate setup. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. LSEG data cited by Reuters showed markets betting on a 25-basis-point Bank of England hike in September as investors remained worried about energy prices from the Iran conflict. Enrique Díaz-Alvarez, chief economist at Ebury, said the UK economy was “more resilient” than expected after an upward revision in business surveys. Reuters
Market pricing may be too optimistic about de-escalation. Fresh Middle East attacks could push oil higher, stoking inflation worries. If U.S. inflation numbers out Wednesday are strong, bond yields and rate-sensitive stocks could come under more stress. That puts the focus in London back on banks, miners, and oil majors, who would either carry the gains or shoulder the losses.
