U.K. stocks closed lower on Monday as sector-specific declines outweighed gains elsewhere, leaving the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 down 0.67% at the London market close.
Selling was most pronounced in the Mining, Aerospace & Defense and Household Goods & Home Construction sectors, which together helped drive the benchmark lower.
Top performers
- EasyJet PLC (LON:EZJ) advanced 10.03% - adding 39.90 points to finish at 437.90.
- Sage Group PLC (LON:SGE) rose 7.74% - up 65.20 points to close at 907.60.
- Entain PLC (LON:ENT) gained 5.43% - climbing 29.00 points to end the session at 562.80.
Largest declines
- Vistry Group PLC (LON:VTYV) slipped 6.02% - down 16.80 points to 262.20 at the close.
- Persimmon PLC (LON:PSN) fell 5.39% - losing 60.00 points to finish at 1,053.50.
- BAE Systems PLC (LON:BAES) retreated 5.04% - down 102.00 points to 1,921.00.
On the London Stock Exchange overall, decliners outnumbered advancers by 1,101 to 688, while 492 shares finished unchanged.
Commodities and currencies
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for August delivery moved lower by 2.00% - a drop of 91.80 to trade at $4,501.20 a troy ounce. Energy markets saw significant gains: Crude oil for July delivery rose 7.64% - up 6.67 to $94.03 a barrel, and the August Brent contract increased 6.62% - up 6.03 to $97.15 a barrel.
Major currency pairs were relatively stable. GBP/USD was essentially unchanged, moving 0.12% to 1.34, while EUR/GBP was also stable, changing 0.24% to 0.86. The US Dollar Index Futures registered a gain of 0.38%, trading at 99.23.
The market session combined sector-specific weakness with big moves in commodity prices, contributing to an overall negative finish for the U.K. index.
Market details
- Index movement: Investing.com United Kingdom 100 declined 0.67%.
- Market breadth: 1,101 decliners, 688 advancers, 492 unchanged.
- Notable commodity moves: Gold down 2.00%, UK crude and Brent up 7.64% and 6.62% respectively.