British Markets Dive as Iran War Sparks Fear
FTSE Plunges, Pound Takes a Beating
UK markets opened the week with a crash as war erupts in Iran. The FTSE 100 nosedived 0.9% to 10,810.50, dropping hard from Friday’s record high of 10,910.55. Sterling slumped nearly 1%, hitting 1.3354 against the US dollar by 8.14am as panic selling gripped investors.
Operation Epic Fury Sparks Deadly Retaliation
The cause? Saturday’s Israeli and US airstrikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Tehran responded with swift strikes across the region, targeting the UAE among others. The escalating violence has traders fearing a long, brutal conflict ahead.
Biggest Losers: Airlines and Banks Slammed
- British Airways owner IAG crashed 9.78%
- Informa slid 6.7%, hotel giant IHG dropped 5.3%
- Banking stalwarts Barclays, HSBC, Standard Chartered, plus easyJet and Burberry, fell more than 4%
Big Winners: Oil and Defence Stocks Soar
- Defence heavyweight BAE Systems leapt 6.9%
- Oil giants Shell and BP surged over 5%
- Brent crude shot up nearly 10%, just shy of $80 a barrel
- UK natural gas prices rocketed 25% to 98.5p per therm
Gold Shines as Other Commodities Falter
Gold prices climbed 2.4% to $1,940 an ounce, silver rose 1.7%, while industrial metals like copper, coal, and steel slumped. Iron ore prices barely moved.
Global Markets Recoil Amid Heightened Tensions
Across the globe, chaos spread. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.35%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 2.32%, and India’s Nifty 50 lost 1.93%, all ahead of London’s turbulent open.
“Global equities are caught in broad-based selling — the FTSE would be 50 points lower without BP and Shell,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG. “Markets could be on the edge of a prolonged selloff as investors watch this conflict unfold for weeks.”
