BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The UK stock market opened on a weak note Thursday morning and continued to struggle for support with investors staying cautious amid uncertainty about the status of U.S.-Iran peace talks.
Shares from banking and mining sectors declined sharply.
Iran, which has dismissed a 15-point proposal by the U.S. to pause the war, is insisting that an end to the conflict will only occur on Tehran's own terms and timeline.
Additionally, oil's climb amid concerns about supply disruptions has raised inflation fears and possibility of rate hikes by central banks.
UK's equity benchmark FTSE 100 was down 134.57 points or 1.33% at 9,972.27 nearly half an hour before noon.
3i Group shares shed more than 8% after Citigroup lowered the stock's target price.
Miners declined sharply. Anglo American Plc slid 5.2%, Antofagasta and Fresnillo lost 4.4% and 4.2%, respectively. Endeavour Mining declined by about 3.6%, Rio Tinto lost 2.7% and Glencore dropped by about 2.3%.
Aviva, Segro, Lion Finance, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Pershing Square Holdings, St. James's Place, Entain, Standard Chartered, Barclays and Prudential lost 2%-5%.
Babcock International, ICG, Smith & Nephew, Lloyds Banking Group, Melrose Industries, National Grid, Hiscox and Natwest Group also declined sharply.
Among the gainers, retail giant Next surged 5.3% after lifting its profit guidance for 2026. Next announced that its bottom line totaled GBP888.5 million, or GBP7.454 per share in 2025. This compares with GBP736.1 million, or GBP6.055 per share, in financial year 2024.
The company's revenue for the period rose 12.8% to GBP6.901 billion from GBP6.118 billion last year.
Oil stocks BP and Shell gained 1.3% and 1%, respectively, thanks to higher oil prices.
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