FTSE 100 Down Marginally; Miners Shed Ground

(RTTNews) - The UK stock market's benchmark index FTSE 100 dropped into negative territory on Monday after an initial marginal upmove, as the mood remained cautious with investors looking ahead to a fresh round of negotiations between Iran and the U.S. scheduled to take place on Tuesday in Doha, Qatar.

Investors also focused on the Sintra Forum, an annual ECB event that focuses on central banking.

After renewed hostilities, the United States and Iran have agreed to halt military strikes against each other and hold talks to resolve their disputes over shipping routes and transit fees.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah's leader on Saturday pilloried the Israel-Lebanon framework agreement as "null and void" and warned its implementation would trigger civil war.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 22.08 points or 0.21% at 10,485.94 a few minutes ago.

Lion Finance climbed 2.75%. Computacenter, ICG, Scottish Mortgage, Convatec Group, Entain, IG Group Holdings and Games Workshop gained 1%-2%.

BT Group moved up 0.7%. The telecom giant has signed an agreement to combine its international business in a new joint venture with U.S. mobile operator Verizon.

Tesco, Standard Chartered, Coca-Cola HBC, Informa, Shell, Experian, Burberry Group, The Sage Group, Pearson and Aberdeen Group posted moderate gains.

Babcock International Group dropped about 4.7%. Endeavour Mining fell 3.7% and Fresnillo lost about 2.3%. British American Tobacco lost 2%.

IAG, Smiths Group, Barratt Redrow, Persimmon, Melrose Industries, BAE Systems, Anglo American Plc, Imperial Brands, Land Securities, Unilever, Antofagasta and Kingfisher shed 1%-1.7%.

Data released by the Bank of England showed net mortgage approvals for UK house purchases fell to 56,205 in May, down from a revised 66,034 in April and below market expectations of 62,900. This marked the lowest level since December 2023.

Net mortgage borrowing by UK individuals fell to £2.9 billion in May 2026, down from £4.4 billion in April and below market expectations of £4.6 billion. This marked the lowest level since May 2025 and was well under the six-month average of £5.1 billion, the data from the central bank showed.