London, March 30, 2026, 18:27 BST
The FTSE 100 finished Monday up 1.6% at 10,127.96, with oil and mining stocks doing the heavy lifting as commodity prices jumped amid Middle East supply worries. The FTSE 250 edged lower, down 0.05%, highlighting that gains stayed mostly in the big-cap space.
The distinction is key: London’s FTSE 100 leans heavily on giants like Shell, BP, and Rio Tinto—names that typically gain ground during upswings in oil and metals. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 reflects more of the domestic UK pulse. Monday’s rally did little to reverse course; both benchmarks remain in the red for the month.
Rio Tinto jumped 3.4% as the miner reported that three out of its four Pilbara iron ore ports are back online following Cyclone Narelle. Energy shares surged, the sub-index up 2.3% to hit a new high, while utilities—labeled defensive for their steadier demand in rough patches—added 3.1%.
Brent crude shot past $115 a barrel at one point, logging a March gain of about 58%—the steepest monthly jump since LSEG started tracking in 1988. That surge is tied to turmoil near the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for roughly a fifth of global oil and gas flows. On Monday, Europe’s STOXX 600 added 0.8%, but Japan’s Nikkei dropped 2.8%.
Bank of England numbers out this day showed mortgage approvals ticking up to roughly 62,600 in February—up from January’s 60,200. Net consumer credit borrowing landed at £1.9 billion. EY ITEM Club’s Matt Swannell flagged that the jump in lenders’ funding costs could push mortgage rates higher. Capital Economics’ Paul Dales countered, saying inflation from pricier energy is “more likely to be short-lived than long-lasting.” Bank of England
Things looked tougher in bonds and currencies. Sterling slipped past a three-week low versus the euro, while the yield on Britain’s two-year note has jumped 98 basis points since the start of the month — that’s one-hundredth of a percentage point per basis point. Traders have flipped: they no longer bet on Bank of England rate cuts, now they’re pricing in two or three hikes before year-end.
Michael Hewson, senior market analyst at iForex, thinks markets aren’t fully reflecting the risk that the conflict could drag on. Over at Mizuho, Robert Yawger, director of energy futures, pointed out that a Houthi strike closing off the southern Red Sea could tack on an extra $5 to $10 per barrel to crude prices.
There’s still a big cloud over the rally. Travel and leisure stocks dropped another 0.1%, heading for double-digit losses this month, as investors contended with pricier fuel and rerouted flights. London’s oil and mining heavyweights are carrying the FTSE 100, but that hasn’t done much to ease the strain elsewhere in the market.
