FTSE indexes log the worst week in a year amid Middle East conflict

Fri, 06th Mar 2026 17:31

* FTSE 100 down 1.2%, FTSE 250 down 0.8%

* British house ⁠prices rise 1.3% in February

* U.S. unexpectedly sheds jobs in February (Updates to market close)

March 6 (Reuters) - The UK's main indexes on Friday logged their sharpest weekly decline ‌in almost a year, as the escalating war in the Middle East fuelled concerns about a resurgence ⁠in inflation, while a weak U.S. jobs report ⁠added to investor worries.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 dipped 1.2%, while the FTSE 250 was down 0.8% on the day. Both indexes recorded their worst weekly showing since the April 2025 rout triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs.

Shares of ‌oil majors Shell and BP rose nearly 1.2% and 0.6% respectively, as Brent crude topped $90 a barrel for the first time in two years as the conflict kept shipping and energy exports through the vital Strait of Hormuz blocked.

Qatar's energy minister expects all Gulf energy producers to shut down exports within weeks. In an interview with the Financial Times, ‌he said the move could drive oil to $150 a barrel.

Soaring energy prices have prompted traders to sharply pull back bets of interest ‌rate cuts this year, with money market futures pricing in just 15% odds of a 25-basis-point rate cut from the Bank of England this month, compared with 80% before the conflict began.

Concerns that the energy price spike could hurt Britain more than other countries pushed up yields on ‌the benchmark UK government bonds this week by the most in three years.

Also weighing on the sentiment was data showing an unexpected decline in U.S. jobsin February, which stoked worries about ⁠the health ⁠of the world's largest economy.

Separately, Halifax data showed British ‌house prices rose in February at the fastest annual pace since October, up 1.3% year-on-year and beating economists' forecasts. But the lender warned that geopolitical uncertainty and renewed inflation pressures could slow the pace ‌of any interest rate cuts, tempering the outlook for the sector.

Among other movers, Flutter Entertainment rose 2.4% after activist investor Parvus Asset Management doubled its stake in the FanDuel-owner. (Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Andrew Heavens)