London pre-open: Stocks to slump, oil rises as Israel and Iran exchange fire

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to slump at the open on Monday, with oil prices up sharply after Israel and Iran exchanged strikes, threatening the ceasefire between the two. The FTSE 100 was called to open down around 75 points. At 0720 BST, Brent crude was up 4.7% at $97.45 a barrel.

Summing up the latest Middle East events, Danske Bank said: "Israel carried out overnight air strikes inside Iran after Tehran fired ballistic missiles at northern Israel on Sunday, the first such exchange since the April ceasefire. Iran's attack followed Israeli strikes on Beirut earlier in the day.

"The escalation hit oil markets this morning, with Brent crude up about 3% to around USD 96/bbl, as hopes fade for a broader regional deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump said he had told Israel not to respond militarily and insisted the flare-up would not derail a potential US-Iran agreement."

In corporate news, Tate & Lyle said it has agreed to be taken over by US peer Ingredion in a £2.7bn deal.

The British ingredients firm, which was founded in 1859, is being acquired for 595p per share in cash and dividends of up to 20p share. The deal values the business at £2.7bn, with an implied enterprise value of £3.7bn.

Tate & Lyle said it would create a business with "even greater potential, greater scale and increased investment in innovation".

Balfour Beatty said independent compliance monitorship of its US subsidiary Balfour Beatty Communities ended on 6 June after a fraud scandal involving military housing that resulted in a £49m fine in 2021.

The infrastructure firm pleaded guilty after it was found to have falsified data to hit resident satisfaction targets and claim taxpayer-funded performance bonuses. Multi-year monitoring of the unit was ordered by the Department of Justice.

Balfour said it had implemented a "broad improvement programme", including strengthening leadership and oversight structures, enhancing reporting and accountability mechanisms.