FTSE 100 loses all its 2026 positive factors on fears over Middle East battle
The FTSE 100 closed below the 10,000-mark last night for the first time since the start of the year, as a sell-off stoked by the war in the Middle East showed no signs of abating.
London’s leading stock index ended 1.4 per cent, or 145.17 points lower, at 9918.33, wiping out all the gains seen so far this year.
Stocks fell across the globe as oil climbed again yesterday, with a barrel of Brent crude trading as high as $113 (£85).
Rate-hike fears have also jolted global bond markets, with UK ten-year bonds, known as gilts, climbing above 5 per cent for the first time since the financial crisis in 2008.
Decline: The FTSE 100 closed below the 10,000-mark last night for the first time since the start of the year
The FTSE had enjoyed a bumper start to 2026, closing above the 10,000-mark for the first time ever, on its second day of trading in January.
On the eve of the US-Israel attack on Iran at the end of February it had closed within 100 points of the 11,000 milestone – but has sold off since the conflict erupted.
It is nearly 1,000 points, or 9 per cent, lower since then and on course for its worst month since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. The fall has wiped nearly £240billion off the combined value of its constituent firms.
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