17:11 — FTSE 100 closes flat at 10,495 as energy offsets Wall St weakness
The FTSE 100 closed at 10,495.51, down a marginal 0.02% on the day, holding steady through a session that opened lower on fears over the Strait of Hormuz and never found direction either way.
Energy majors provided the ballast, with the index's exposure to oil producers offsetting broader risk-off pressure that hit European and US equities after renewed US-Iran military exchanges over the weekend drove Brent crude up 4.7% to $79.59 a barrel.
Looking at the breadth of movers across the session tells a clear story of an indecisive session, with around half of the FTSE 100 constituents closing lower.
PageGroup (LSE:PAGE) was the session's standout, closing up 17.59% at 151.1p after its second-quarter trading update showed group gross profit essentially flat versus last year at -0.2%, a sharp improvement on the first quarter's -4.9% decline and well ahead of broker expectations for a 5% fall. The recruiter said roughly half its markets are now back in growth, with the Americas and Asia Pacific delivering continued gains even as France, Northern Europe and the UK stayed challenging but stable.
Plus500 (LSE:PLUS) closed the session as the FTSE's heaviest faller, down 14.34% at 4,230p, even after reporting record first-half customer income up 24% year-on-year to $460.8m and revenue up 12% to $462.9m, with full-year guidance reconfirmed. Chief executive David Zruia called it the strongest customer income in five years and the highest revenue in three years.
Vodafone (LSE:VOD) ended up 5.04%, finishing at 115.65p.
Elsewhere, Zegona was up 4.16% at 1,502p, and Ithaca Energy (LSE:ITH) closed at a session high of 229.4p, up 3.99%.
Gold settled at $4,022.2, down 2.22% on the day after touching a deeper midday low, while Wall Street stayed in the red into the London close, with the Nasdaq Composite off 1.04%, and the S&P 500 was down 0.46%.
16:31 — FTSE flat into the close as energy holds gains, Plus500 stays down 15%
The FTSE 100 heads into the close essentially unchanged at 10,497.63, holding the flat line it has traded around for much of the session as energy names offset broader weakness.
Vodafone (LSE:VOD) leads the risers, up 4.54% at 115.1p, with Zegona Communications (LSE:ZEG) up 4.44% at 1,506p and Ithaca Energy (LSE:ITH) at a session high of 229.4p, up 3.99%.
Plus500 (LSE:PLUS) remains the session's sharpest faller, down 15.07% at 4,194p, still unresolved despite reporting record H1 customer income up 24% and revenue up 12% year-on-year in this morning's trading update.
Endeavour Mining (LSE:EDV) and Greatland Gold (AIM:GGP) sit among the laggards, both off around 3%, with Greatland at a session low of 550p.
PageGroup (LSE:PAGE)'s 15% surge on its Q2 beat is holding into the close, the session's clearest single-stock winner.
Gold has steadied off its lows at 4,025.6, down 2.14%, while Wall Street's three main indices remain in negative territory, with the VIX still elevated near 16.24.
15:51 — Gold's slide deepens to -2.49% as Dow joins broad Wall Street decline
Gold has extended its slide through the afternoon to a fresh session low of $4,011.2, down 2.49%, the steepest move of the day and a clear deepening from the milder losses posted earlier this morning. The retreat has tracked alongside a firming dollar, with the DXY index ticking up to 101.135.
Wall Street's weakness was broad, with the Dow turning negative for the first time today, down 0.12% at 52,573.39, joining the S&P 500 (-0.35% at 7,549.15) and the Nasdaq Composite, which is off 0.84% at 26,060.36. The VIX has jumped 8.38% to 16.29, all measured against Friday's settled close.
London, meanwhile, held close to flat through the session, with the FTSE 100 at 10,491.0, down 0.06%.
Energy names continue to provide the main support: Ithaca Energy (LSE:ITH) and Harbour Energy (LSE:HBR) are both among the session's top gainers, up 3.99% and 2.84% respectively, while Vodafone (LSE:VOD) has extended its advance to 114.6p, up 4.09% on the day.
Plus500 (LSE:PLUS) remains the session's heaviest faller, down 15.07% at 4,194p despite reporting record H1 customer income and revenue growth of 24% and 12% year-on-year respectively, a contradiction between the results and the share reaction that has persisted through the afternoon without a fresh catalyst emerging.
PageGroup (LSE:PAGE)'s shares are still up sharply, last at 147.8p, a gain of 15.02% following its Q2 trading update showing gross profit down just 0.2% year-on-year, well ahead of the roughly 5% decline the company and analysts had been expecting.
15:02 — Wall Street opens lower as PageGroup's Q2 beat drives 15% surge
Wall Street turned negative coming out of Monday's open, with the S&P 500 down 0.16% to 7563.35 and the Nasdaq off 0.79% at 26073.562.
It comes amid crude's spike and as the Strait of Hormuz standoff continues to feed through into risk pricing across asset classes.
At the same time, the price of gold has extended its slide to a fresh session low of 4057.6, down 1.36%, continuing its retreat.
By mid-afternoon, the FTSE 100 was basically flat at at 10,504, as the big-oil stocks put a veneer on otherwise downbeat markets.
Around half of London's FTSE 100 constituents were falling on Monday.
11:30 — Buccaneer soars 12% on Pine Mills output surge
Amongst London's small-caps, Buccaneer Energy (AIM:BUCE) shares jumped 12.63% after the AIM-listed oil and gas producer reported that average net production at its Pine Mills field in East Texas now stands at approximately 135 barrels of oil per day, up from 54 bopd when the current management team took over in mid-2024.
The company said the field generated around $250,000 in positive net cash flow in May alone, its clearest operational update of the session.
ME Group International (LSE:MEGP) was also counted amongst Monday's market movers, up 11.61% at 115.4p, after publishing interim results for the six months to April citing continued strategic progress through the expansion of its laundry operations.
Genedrive (AIM:GDR), meanwhile, moved the other way, falling 12.43% to 8.1p, having issued a trading update flagging expected FY26 revenue of £1.4 million, against £1.0 million a year earlier. Share price move notwithstanding, Genedrive described it as a performance in line with board expectations.
The FTSE 100 remains marginally negative at 10490.17, off 0.07%, holding the shallow decline first recorded last update, with 42 risers against 46 fallers.
Plus500 (LSE:PLUS) remained pegged to the bottom of the main market losers' board, down 14.45%, following this morning's trading update.
10:01 — FTSE outperforms on oil exposure while Plus500 slumps despite record H1
The FTSE 100 is holding its ground where global peers are not, and the reason is sitting in the energy sector.
Whilst global stocks are falling on US-Iran tensions, the prospect of higher oil prices puts support beneath the likes of BP and Shell (LSE:SHEL), which these days carry particular weight in the index.
Shell was up 1.81% to 3093.5p, at its session high, whilst Harbour Energy (LSE:HBR) was another notable name amongst Monday's winners, adding 2.36%.
Saxo Markets' Neil Wilson sees the crude backdrop as a "higher for longer" risk premium, with Brent still anchored near $79.80 on the Strait of Hormuz standoff.
Elsewhere in the market, Plus500 (LSE:PLUS) was one of the session's sharpest fallers.
The trading platform this morning reported record H1 2026 customer income up 24% year-on-year to $460.8m and revenue up 12% to $462.9m, reconfirming full-year guidance, yet shares are down 13.27% to 4282.585p, at a session low against a 52-week range stretching to 5535p. Panmure Liberum has actually raised its target to 5400p on the numbers; nevertheless, the day's traders were unconvinced.
PageGroup (LSE:PAGE) extended its move, rising 10.12% to 141.5p, after this morning's update. Amongst the reactions, stockbroker Panmure Liberum's Sanjay Vidyarthi flagged Q2 constant-FX gross profit down just 0.2%, as being well ahead of the broker's own -5% estimate.
07:31 — Pagegroup, Grafton, Concurrent lead fresh wave of H1 trading updates
An early look at the London's company news sees Pagegroup (LSE:PAGE) posting resilient second-quarter performance despite a "high degree of uncertainty" across its markets, with group gross profit of £197.6m down just 0.2% against Q2 2025, an improvement on the first quarter's 4.9% decline.
The recruiter says close to half its markets are now showing signs of normalisation, with the Americas and Asia Pacific delivering continued growth and Page Executive up 15%, while France, Northern Europe and the UK remain "challenging but stable". Fee earner headcount fell 80 to 4,914 in the quarter, and full-year expectations have been maintained.
Grafton Group (LSE:GFTU) reports modest growth in average daily like-for-like sales in the first half, with gains in Iberia, the Island of Ireland and Northern Europe offsetting weak trading in Great Britain.
The distributor's recently acquired Mercaluz and Cygnum businesses are trading in line with expectations, and half-year results are due 3 September.
Concurrent Technologies (AIM:CNC) has flagged a record first-half performance with strong order momentum, in an announcement classified as inside information under UK market abuse rules.
Plus500 (LSE:PLUS)'s reported a record H1, with customer income up 24% to $460.8m and revenue up 12% to $462.9m, guidance reaffirmed after multiple upgrades to market expectations this year.
GSK (LSE:GSK) has reported that its Jemperli drug hit its primary goal in a trial for dMMR/MSI-H rectal cancer.
Avation (LSE:AVAP) marked its twentieth anniversary, having signed 92 aircraft leases with 38 airlines across 28 countries since 2006.
06:01 — FTSE 100 seen lower ahead of Monday's open, Iran tension reflares crude rally
The FTSE 100 is seen lower ahead of Monday's open, with the early quote from spreadbetting and trading platform IG Markets marking the index down 0.3% at 10,465.
Oil prices jumped on renewed Middle East tensions, and drone attacks, with fears of a Strait of Hormuz closure driving the rally. Brent crude was up 4.3% to $79.24, whilst the WTI contract was similarly up 4.4% to $74.55.
At the same time, US inflation is more centrally in focus, with new data due. Capital.com's Kyle Rodda is expecting updated US inflation figures will test expectations around Federal Reserve rate policy, given traders are currently pricing an 85% chance of a rate cut by year-end.
Gold slid more than 1% as the crude surge triggered a broader risk-off move across markets, to around $4060 an ounce.
It comes as the dollar index has eased slightly to 101.096, up just 0.14%
