(RTTNews) - U.K.'s equity benchmark FTSE 100 is down sharply on Tuesday, falling for a second straight session, as escalating tensions in the Middle East continue to rattle investors. Shares from mining and banking sectors are among the big losers.
Rising concerns about inflation, and U.S. President Donald Trump's comments that the conflict could last about four to five weeks, and that the U.S. has the "capability to go far longer than that", significantly weigh on sentiment.
A prolonged conflict in the Middle East and a persistent fall in oil and gas supplies from the region could cause a "substantial spike" in inflation and a "sharp drop in output" in the euro zone, ECB chief economist Philip Lane has warned in an interview with the Financial Times.
The FTSE 100, which dropped to 10,445.24 earlier in the session, was down 286.34 points or 2.66% at 10,493.77 nearly half an hour before noon.
Selling is so widespread that just only four stocks among the FTSE 100 components are up in positive territory. Smith & Nephew is gaining about 3%, while Hikma Pharmaceuticals, BP and Relx are up marginally.
Intertek Group is plunging nearly 14%. IAG, Antofagasta, Airtel Africa, Metlen Energy & Metals, Fresnillo, Anglo American Plc, Rolls-Royce Holdings, EasyJet, HSBC Holdings, Croda International, Barclays, Centrica and Burberry Group are down 4%-6.5%.
Standard Chartered, Prudential, Mondi, Segro, National Grid, Endeavour Mining, Barratt Redrow, M&G, Aviva, Lloyds Banking Group, Reckitt Benckiser and Weir Group are among the several other sharp losers.
Industrial engineering company Smiths Group is down 2% after it has agreed to acquire DRC Heat Transfer (DRC) for a purchase price of £164m.
International Workplace shares are down nearly 7%. The global leader in hybrid working reported broadly stable earnings for 2025 with marginal increase in revenue.
Construction giant Kier Group is down 3% despite reporting strong half-year results.
In economic news, UK shop price inflation eased in February largely due to the fall in non-food prices, the British Retail Consortium said Tuesday.
Shop price inflation softened to 1.1% in February from 1.5% in the previous month. Prices were expected to climb 1.4%.
Non-Food prices fell 0.1% in February, in contrast to the 0.3% increase in January. Food inflation climbed 3.5% compared to the 3.9% increase in January.
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