{"id":48730,"date":"2026-04-13T11:35:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T11:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/london-stocks-fall-as-us-moves-to-blockade-iran-oil-tops-100\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T11:35:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T11:35:51","slug":"london-stocks-fall-as-us-moves-to-blockade-iran-oil-tops-100","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/london-stocks-fall-as-us-moves-to-blockade-iran-oil-tops-100\/","title":{"rendered":"London stocks fall as US moves to blockade Iran, oil tops $100"},"content":{"rendered":"
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London\u2019s equity markets opened lower on Monday, tracking a broader global risk-off sentiment after the United States moved to blockade Iranian shipping.<\/p>\n

The move followed the collapse of weekend peace talks between Washington and Tehran, which dampened expectations of a swift resolution to the ongoing Middle East conflict.<\/p>\n

The benchmark FTSE 100 index fell 0.4% <\/a>to 10,558.38 points as of 0944 GMT.<\/p>\n

The mid-cap FTSE 250 declined more sharply, shedding 0.8%.<\/p>\n

The downturn reflected growing investor caution as geopolitical risks escalated and energy prices surged.<\/p>\n

Oil surge drives global risk<\/h2>\n

Market sentiment weakened after the failed diplomatic efforts triggered a fresh spike in oil prices, which climbed above $100 per barrel once again.<\/p>\n

The increase in crude prices added to inflationary concerns and weighed on global equities, including those in London.<\/p>\n

The latest developments come after both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 recorded gains in the previous week, supported by a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran.<\/p>\n

However, that fragile truce had already shown signs of strain as hostilities continued, setting the stage for renewed volatility.<\/p>\n

Banks under pressure, energy stocks gain<\/h2>\n

Heavyweight banking stocks were among the biggest drags on the FTSE 100. <\/p>\n

HSBC and Barclays led the declines, falling 1.1% and 1.3%, respectively, as investors rotated away from risk-sensitive sectors.<\/p>\n

In contrast, energy companies benefited from the surge in oil prices.<\/p>\n

Shares of Shell and BP both rose approximately 1.8%, providing some support to the broader index amid otherwise widespread losses.<\/p>\n

Travel and leisure stocks hit by rising fuel costs<\/h2>\n

Travel and leisure stocks were particularly hard hit as higher oil prices raised concerns over increased operating costs.<\/p>\n

Cruise operator Carnival dropped 3.9%, while airline stocks also faced significant pressure.<\/p>\n

EasyJet declined 4.3%, and Wizz Air fell sharply by 7.3%.<\/p>\n

The losses in Wizz Air were further exacerbated after Bernstein downgraded the stock to \u201cmarket-perform\u201d from \u201coutperform,\u201d adding to negative sentiment in the aviation sector.<\/p>\n

Policy response in focus as energy costs rise<\/h2>\n

Amid the rising energy prices, attention has turned to potential government intervention.<\/p>\n

A report indicated that Finance Minister Rachel Reeves is expected to outline measures later this week aimed at supporting businesses struggling with elevated energy costs linked to the Middle East conflict.<\/p>\n

The anticipated policy response could play a crucial role in stabilising sectors most affected by the energy price surge, particularly those with high fuel dependency.<\/p>\n

Corporate updates fail to lift sentiment<\/h2>\n

On the corporate front, homebuilder Vistry announced the appointment of insider Adam Daniels as its new chief executive officer.<\/p>\n

Despite the leadership change, the company\u2019s shares fell 4.9%, reflecting the broader market weakness.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, fintech firm Wise provided a rare bright spot, with its shares climbing 5.3%.<\/p>\n

The gains came after the company reported a 26% increase in fourth-quarter cross-border transaction volume, signalling strong underlying business momentum despite the challenging macro environment.<\/p>\n

Overall, London markets remain highly sensitive to geopolitical developments, particularly those impacting energy supply and prices.<\/p>\n

With tensions in the Middle East showing little sign of easing, investors are likely to remain cautious in the near term, keeping pressure on equities while supporting energy-linked sectors.<\/p>\n

The post London stocks fall as US moves to blockade Iran, oil tops $100<\/a> appeared first on Invezz<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

London\u2019s equity markets opened lower on Monday, tracking a broader global risk-off sentiment after the United States moved to blockade Iranian shipping. The move followed the collapse of weekend peace talks between Washington and Tehran, which dampened expectations of a swift resolution to the ongoing Middle East conflict. The benchmark FTSE 100 index fell 0.4% <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48731,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-48730","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-investing"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}