Early market roundup: FTSE 100 lower amid hit from falling oil prices

Stock prices in London opened mixed on Monday, with the blue chip index lower as energy companies saw their shares fall following a dip in oil prices, while investors remained cautious amid concerns of a potential fresh flare up of the conflict between the US and Iran.

The FTSE 100 index opened down 42.82 points, 0.4%, at 10,686.96. The FTSE 250 was up 8.36 points at 24,461.72, and the AIM all-share was up 0.27 points at 753.35.

The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.4% at 1,061.51, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 21,587.02, and the Cboe small companies was down 0.1% at 18,982.32.

On the FTSE 100, Ithaca Energy lost 2.3%, the top faller in the index, amid a dip in oil prices.

Endeavour Mining shed 2.1%, the second worst faller in the index.

The company says that last week Wednesday, the access ramp leading to the depleted Wona open pit partially subsided. This restricted access to the Dangouna and Aviera underground portals at the Mana mine in Burkina Faso.

"Underground mining activities at all three active underground portals at Mana have been suspended to allow for detailed geotechnical analysis and ramp remediation work to be assessed," the gold mining firm says.

Oil majors BP and Shell lost 1.6% and 0.5%, respectively.

BP announced the completion of the sale of a 65% stake in Castrol to Stonepeak, while Shell and Metlen Energy, which traded flat, have signed a binding five-year liquefied natural gas supply agreement.

Shell Global LNG will supply Metlen with six LNG cargoes per year starting in 2027, amounting to approximately 600 million cubic meters per annum.

International Consolidated Airlines was the third-highest stock, up 2.2%, after peer Ryanair reported half-year results. On the FTSE 250, Wizz Air rose 2.5%.

On the FTSE 250, Harbour Energy lost 2.3%, while Energean lost 2.5%.

FirstGroup was up 4.0%, the second-largest riser in the FTSE 250.

The company announced an agreement worth £109 million to sell assets to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. The deal includes five freehold depots and fixed assets within the depots, as well as a bus fleet, including 251 diesel vehicles and 79 electric vehicles.

FirstGroup, an Aberdeen, Scotland-based private sector provider of public transport, expects a post-tax disposal gain of around £30 million in relation to the completed depot sales.

Retailer THG was up 5.2%, the top riser in the FTSE 250.

Ryanair was up 0.7% in Dublin.

The budget carrier's first-half post-tax profit fell 15% to EUR2.15 billion, but operating revenue rose 2.6% to EUR10.08 billion. It carried 125.8 million passengers in the six months ended September 30, up 5.7% from 119.0 million a year earlier.

However, revenue per passenger fell 3.0%, as the average fare declined 4.0% due to "consumer hesitancy and later bookings" resulting from the conflict in the Middle East.

In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 10.05 points.

The pound was quoted higher at USD1.3423 early Monday, compared to USD1.3396 on Friday. Against the euro, sterling fell to EUR1.1973 from EUR1.1996 a day prior. The euro stood at USD1.1206, up from USD1.1163. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JPY157.65 compared to JPY157.50.

In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.4%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 1.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.4%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.6%.

In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.1%, the S&P 500 down 1.8% and the Nasdaq Composite down 2.9%.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.92%, narrowing from 4.94%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 5.29%, narrowing from 5.31%.

Brent oil was quoted at USD109.47 a barrel early in London on Monday from USD117.61 late on Friday.

Iran's foreign ministry on Monday said it was considering a two-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the US agrees to its conditions, having previously proposed a one-week timeline.

Gold was quoted lower at USD3,894.26 an ounce against USD3,898.22.

Still to come on Monday's economic calendar, the UK manufacturing PMI at 0930 GMT is followed by the Canadian and US ISM releases in the afternoon.

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