FTSE 100 Dips as Bank and Mining Stocks Slide

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The UK stock market’s benchmark index experienced a decline on Friday, primarily driven by losses in the financial and mining sectors. Concerns regarding the ramifications of the persistent conflict in the Middle East also influenced sentiment. The FTSE 100 experienced a decline, falling to 10,293.03, reflecting a decrease of 59.89 points or 0.59% from its earlier position of 10,318.93.

  • Miners Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo experienced declines of 5.5% and 3.3%, respectively.
  • Antofagasta experienced a decline of nearly 2%, Glencore saw a decrease of 1.25%, and Anglo American Plc fell by nearly 1%.
  • Natwest Group experienced a decline of 4.2%. The lender reported a net income of GBP1.507 billion, translating to GBP0.178 per share. This stands in contrast to GBP1.478 billion, or GBP0.172 per share, from the previous year. Revenue for the period increased by 0.8%, reaching GBP4.358 billion compared to GBP4.324 billion in the previous year.
  • Lloyds Banking Group experienced a decline of nearly 2%, Standard Chartered saw a reduction of 1.4%, and Barclays recorded a decrease of 0.7%.
  • Weir Group, Lion Finance, United Utilities, Severn Trent, AstraZeneca, Spirax Group, Rightmove, Next, and IMI experienced declines ranging from 1.4% to 3.7%.
  • Pearson experienced an increase of 2.7%. DCC experienced an increase of 2.15%, whereas Metlen Energy & Metals, Unilever, and Whitbread saw gains ranging from 1% to 1.8%.

On the economic front, data indicated that house prices in the UK experienced a greater-than-anticipated growth of 3% on a yearly basis in April, despite the prevailing uncertainty in the Middle East, following an increase of 2.2% in March. Prices were anticipated to increase once more by 2.2%. In a monthly comparison, house prices experienced an unanticipated rise of 0.4%, although this growth was more subdued than the preceding month’s increase of 0.9%. It was anticipated that prices would decline by 0.3%.

Data indicated that the S&P Global UK Manufacturing PMI increased to 53.7 in April, up from 51 in the previous month, marginally surpassing the preliminary estimate of 53.6. This represents the peak level observed since May 2022. In March 2026, net mortgage approvals for house purchases in the UK increased to 63,531, a rise from a revised figure of 62,708 in February, exceeding market expectations of 60,000, according to data from the Bank of England. This represented the peak level since November 2025, surpassing the six-month average of approximately 63,200.