- FTSE 100 up 0.08%, FTSE 250 down 0.6%
- Standard Life falls despite better-than-expected annual profit rise
- CAB Payments surges after StoneX Group's acquisition proposal
March 16 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 was little changed on Monday, as gains in energy shares offset weakness in other sectors amid Middle East tensions, while investors awaited a rate decision from the Bank of England later this week.
As of 1011 GMT, the blue-chip FTSE 100 was 0.08% up after logging a second consecutIve week of losses.
Now in its third week, the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran continues to create turmoil across the Middle East and rattle global energy markets.
On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump insisted that nations heavily reliant on Gulf oil have a responsibility to help protect the Strait of Hormuz through which 20% of the world's energy transits.
Energy sector rose 1.2%, with oil major BP and Shell up more than 1%.
On the flip side, the travel and leisure sector fell nearly 2%.
Metal miners were also among the top losers as gold prices were steady, and copper prices fell.
Britain's mid-cap index was on track for deeper losses on Monday, down 0.6%, weighed down by weakness in industrials and financial stocks.
Investors' focus this week will be on interest rate decisions in the UK, the U.S., and Europe, with central banks holding their first full meetings since the start of the war and widely expected to pause further rate cuts for now.
Economists polled by Reuters mostly expect a 7-2 vote by the BoE's MPC to keep bank rate at 3.75%. Before the start of the war on February 28, a cut to 3.5% was seen as a near certainty.
Data on Monday showed that the asking price for British homes held steady in the four weeks to March 7.
Among other movers, insurer Standard Life fell 2.4% despite reporting a better-than-expected rise in annual profit.
CAB Payments jumped 13.4% after the financial services firm StoneX Group proposed an all‑cash acquisition of the cross‑border payments provider at 241.4 million pounds ($319.7 million).
($1 = 0.7554 pounds)
Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli
Source: Reuters