LONDON, June 29, 2026, 18:01 (BST)
- FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) dropped 0.23%. FTSE 250 (INDEXFTSE:MCX) was down 0.57%, around two and a half times the FTSE 100’s move.
- Bank of England said mortgage approvals fell to 56,200 in May from 66,000 in April.
- Babcock International Group (LON:BAB) dropped, with miners and builders also weak. Bridgepoint Group (LON:BPT) rose 16% after news of a U.S. real-estate deal.
London had finished trading at the usual 0800-1630 BST hours when the numbers came in. The main story wasn’t the FTSE 100’s minor fall. Domestic names took the bigger hit, with mid-caps dropping harder than the FTSE’s biggest stocks.
Hargreaves Lansdown’s market board was running late, with the FTSE 100 off 23.80 points at 10,484.22. The FTSE 250 dropped 132.34 points to 23,014.85. The FTSE All-Share slipped 0.26%.
| Index | Close | Point move | % move |
|---|---|---|---|
| FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) | 10,484.22 | -23.80 | -0.23% |
| FTSE 250 (INDEXFTSE:MCX) | 23,014.85 | -132.34 | -0.57% |
| FTSE 350 | 5,691.11 | -15.02 | -0.26% |
| FTSE All-Share | 5,628.78 | -14.66 | -0.26% |
The 0.34-point gap shows this is about local demand rather than a wider sell-off. The mid-cap index dropped more than twice as much as the FTSE 100. Among blue chips, the worst losses came in housing, mining, and defence stocks.
The Bank of England handed investors a jolt with the latest data. Net mortgage approvals for house purchase dropped to 56,200 in May, down from 66,000 in April and sitting at their lowest since December 2023. Approvals for remortgaging also slipped, hitting 33,300 versus 51,200 before. Effective rates for new home loans moved up to 4.22% from 4.08%.
“The property market held up in March and April,” Simon Gammon, Knight Frank Finance’s managing partner, told Reuters. But he said May brought the “first signs” of more borrowers staying out. Gammon cited inflation, rising living costs, and softer confidence. Reuters
| FTSE 100 stock | Price | Day move |
|---|---|---|
| Babcock International Group (LON:BAB) | 921.00p | fell 5.15% |
| Fresnillo (LON:FRES) | 2,781.00p | down 3.03% |
| Endeavour Mining (LON:EDV) | 3,739.00p | dropped 2.93% |
| Persimmon (LON:PSN) | 1,082.00p | off 2.48% |
| Anglo American (LON:AAL) | 3,627.00p | down 2.45% |
| Barratt Redrow (LON:BTRW) | 283.80p | slipped 2.24% |
| Metlen Energy & Metals (LON:MTLN) | 42.20p | rose 2.83% |
| Entain (LON:ENT) | 591.40p | up 2.35% |
Reuters reported miners lost ground after gold prices dropped, with renewed Middle East fighting stoking inflation fears. Anglo American, Fresnillo and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) all traded lower, falling between 1.2% and 3%. Melrose Industries (LON:MRO) and Babcock dropped too, after the Ministry of Defence announced the UK would scrap plans to replace old destroyers and instead shift to drone warships.
Bridgepoint stood out in the FTSE 250. HL prices showed shares up 16.08% after the private-equity firm said it would buy Kayne Anderson Real Estate. Reuters said the deal is worth about $1.39 billion with debt, including $759 million in cash and 189 million new shares. The deal brings $22 billion in property assets and takes total assets under management to $117 billion.
Bridgepoint Chair Tim Score said the deal “strengthens the quality and diversification” of the group’s earnings. Cavendish analyst Jens Ehrenberg called it an “encouraging strategic step,” MarketWatch reported. MarketWatch
Equities barely moved on policy risk. Stocks didn’t see much lift from Andy Burnham’s policy speech, according to Reuters. The Guardian said 30-year gilt yields fell 2 basis points and sterling traded at $1.3240 late in the day. Alex Everett at Aberdeen Investments called the speech “assured and optimistic” but lacking detail. The Guardian
Caution showed up in business surveys too. The CBI’s expected output gauge for the coming three months slipped to -28 from -24, marking the lowest since December 2025. Its measure for growth over the past three months dropped to -34. This survey polled 848 companies from May 26 to June 12.
