14th Sep 2026 09:10
(Alliance News) - An oil price surge weighed on most European markets on Monday, though the FTSE 100 saw more resilient trade, boosted by oil majors and software stocks that had been battered by artificial intelligence worries earlier this year.
The FTSE 100 index traded up 52.76 points, 0.5%, at 10,703.20. The FTSE 250, however, was down 81.73 points, 0.3%, at 23,894.00, and the AIM all-share was down 1.74 points, 0.2%, at 789.13.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.6% at 1,064.45, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.2% at 20,701.89, and the Cboe small companies was up 1.0% at 18,735.93.
The CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.5%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.3%.
In Tokyo on Monday, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.8%. OpenAI backer SoftBank Group plunged 11%. In China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.1%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong added 0.4%. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.1%.
"At the start of a new week, there are some key tests for a market that is facing mounting challenges. Can calls to slow down the pace of AI actually dent the tech trade? Rising energy prices have knocked global sentiment, however, tech stocks have been one of the more resilient sectors as inflation and interest rate concerns started to bite and hit the bond market. Strong tech earnings have protected this sector, but can they fight the challenge from within now that Dario Amodei, Sam Altman and Elon Musk are urging the pace of AI development to slow," XTB analyst Kathleen Brooks commented.
US President Donald Trump and key allies voiced opposition Sunday to drastically curbing the development of artificial intelligence, despite calls in recent days from leading industry figures to tap the brakes.
The rapid development of AI and the risks that the technology poses to humanity have exploded into the national conversation just weeks before midterm elections, in which technology has become a major flashpoint in campaigning.
During a visit to Ireland, Trump said he believed there were "a lot of negative forces...bringing up things that won't happen."
Rising amid the calls to slow down the pace of AI development, Sage and Relx added 3.6% and 3.4%, while Experian rose 2.7%. The trio have been among the software stocks roiled by worries that generative AI could replicate some of their offerings.
Enterprise software provider Sage is down some 8% so far in 2026, while business, scientific and legal information provider Relx and credit checking company Experian have shed 15%.
Against the dollar, the pound traded at USD1.3495 early Monday, down from USD1.3523 at the London equities close on Friday, while against the euro, it rose to EUR1.1674 from EUR1.1648.
The euro declined to USD1.1553 early Monday from USD1.1605 on Friday. Against the yen, the buck rose to JPY154.35 from JPY153.58.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury widened to 4.97% on Monday from 4.93% at the time of the closing bell on the London Stock Exchange on Friday. The 30-year widened to 5.36% from 5.32%.
A barrel of Brent fetched USD107.38 on Monday morning, surging from USD104.73 late Friday afternoon. Gold declined to USD4,318.31 an ounce early Monday, from USD4,375.02 late Friday afternoon.
ING analysts commented: "After the ECB's hawkish tone helped the euro last week, we think the same can happen with the Fed and the dollar, as rates are likely to be raised by 25bp on Wednesday and the tone may stay hawkish. Gulf developments remain concerning, and some AI-related headlines are further weighing on equities – an environment where the dollar should remain supported."
Saudi authorities said Friday drones launched from Iraq led to the temporary closure of a crucial oil export route used to bypass the lockdown of the Strait of Hormuz.
Riyadh has increased its use of the East-West pipeline, which links Abqaiq, near the Gulf, to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, since the start of the Middle East war to bypass the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran.
The Saudi foreign ministry condemned "the targeting of the East–West pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions by several drones coming from Iraq, which caused human injuries and damage".
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.0%, the S&P 500 up 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.0%.
Focus on Wednesday is on the Federal Reserve decision, before the Bank of England on Thursday and the Bank of Japan on Friday. Hike, hold, hike are the expected outcomes, though for the BoJ, ING believes there is a "small outside chance of a larger 50bp increase".
"Although we suspect that would be met with some discontent from the growth-oriented government," ING analyst Francesco Pesole commented.
In London, supported by a robust oil price, Shell and BP rose 1.1% and 1.3%.
GlobalData shed 25% as the data, analytics, and intelligence firm says the first half of the year was one of "organisational progress" but "below our ambitions".
Looking ahead, it expects annual underlying revenue to be "more muted than expected", though still in line with market expectations. It puts market revenue expectations between GBP325.3 million and GBP335.7 million. Profit will be below forecasts, however.
"The reduction in revenue outturn, together with targeted investments through the second half will mean margins are more subdued than market expectations, and in line with the first half adjusted Ebitda margin. Therefore, we expect adjusted Ebitda for FY26 to be below market expectations," it warns.
Adjusted Ebitda forecasts range from GBP121.0 million to GBP126.7 million.
MP Evans has lifted its interim dividend, after a "particularly encouraging" first half for the palm oil producer. Pretax profit in the first half of 2026 jumped 25% to USD78.6 million from USD63.0 million, while revenue improved 9.4% to USD196.3 million from USD179.4 million.
Shares in the company shot up 4.1%. By market capitalisation, it is among the largest AIM listings.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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