BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The UK stock market's benchmark index FTSE 100 moved in a tight band Monday morning as investors largely refrained from making significant moves amid uncertainty surrounding U.S.-Iran peace moves following the two nations exchanging fire over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Israeli troops captured the strategic site of Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon in the deepest incursion into the country in more than a quarter-century.
The FTSE 100, moving between 10,364.70 and 10,400.62, was down 10.34 points or 0.1% at 10,398.94 nearly half an hour before noon.
Among the gainers, Entain moved up 3.5%. The Sage Group gained 2.85%. Glencore, JD Sports Fashion, Halma, Sainsbury (J), Antofagasta, Tesco, Anglo American Plc, IG Group, Shell, Melrose Industries, Metlen Energy & Metals, Segro and Standard Chartered Bank gained 1%-2.3%.
EasyJet soared more than 10% on takeover interest. The budget airline called a potential £3bn bid by a U.S. investment group 'highly opportunistic', adding any deal would face substantial hurdles.
BAE Systems and Babock International both shed about 2.7%. Endeavour Mining, Compass Group, Convatec Group, ICG, BT Group, Haleon, Legal & General, AstraZeneca, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Rentokil Initial and Admiral Group lost 1%-2%.
In economic news, data from Nationwide Building Society showed UK house prices declined for the first time this year amid high uncertainty over the developments in the Middle East and its impact on inflation and market interest rates.
House prices dropped 0.6% month-on-month in May, in contrast to the 0.4% rise in the prior month, the data showed. This was the first monthly drop so far this year and also came in weaker than forecast of 0.1% fall.
On a yearly basis, house price growth eased notably to 1.7% from 3% in the previous month.
Data from S&P Global showed the S&P Global UK Manufacturing PMI rose to 53.9 in May, compared with initial estimates and April's 53.7, marking the strongest expansion since May 2022.
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