London stocks recover from session lows after Trump suspends Iran power strikes
March 23 (Reuters) - The UK's FTSE 100 eased on Monday, recovering from sharp losses earlier after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a pause on military strikes against Iranian power plants, prompting traders to rein in their rate-hike expectations.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE fell as much as 2.4% during the session before recovering to close down 0.2%, near a three‑month low.
Heavyweight oil majors BP BP.L and Shell SHEL.L fell 2.2% and 4.2% respectively, following a sharp slide in crude prices, as Trump's comments came ahead of a deadline that had raised fears of further escalation in the four-week-old Middle East war. O/R
The mid-cap FTSE 250 .FTMC dipped 0.2%.
British 10‑year gilt yields GB10YT=RR hit 5.118%, their highest since July 2008, before steadying around 5.00%, while investors scaled back Bank of England rate-hike bets to around three quarter-point moves this year, down from four earlier in the session.
Goodwin shares GDWN.L nearly halved in value after the mechanical engineering firm said it was considering cutting dividend payouts as the Iran conflict led to order delays in the Middle East.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer summoned a national emergency meeting to deal with the economic fallout from the war in Iran, with finance minister Rachel Reeves and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey in attendance.
Starmer said that Britain must plan for the possibility that the Iran war could continue for some time, but added that he had no "meaningful concerns" about energy supply.
Energy stocks .FTNMX601010 posted the biggest losses among sector indexes, falling from last week's record highs as oil prices dropped sharply.
Most sectors traded in the green, with precious metal miners .FTNMX551030 providing the biggest boost after gold rebounded from a four‑month low. GOL/
Among other stocks, betting company Entain ENT.L rose 8.2%, topping the benchmark index after a WSJ report said that U.S. lawmakers are to introduce bipartisan bill banning sports bets on prediction markets.
