The FTSE 100 opened lower. The index is slipping 23.24 points to 10,661.50 as banking stocks and select defensives dragged on sentiment. Weakness in global equities added to the cautious tone in London.
Barclays fell 2% to £454.15 while Lloyds Banking Group dropped around 1.7% to £102 and NatWest eased 1.6% to £600.8.
Standard Chartered today lifted its annual dividend by 65% and said it plans to buy back another $1.5 billion of its shares.
The dividend total of $1.38 billion or 61 US cents per share includes the distribution of $1.1 billion or 49 cents per share on 14 May.
Underlying profit before tax of $7.9 billion for 2025 rose by 18% on a year earlier with the fourth quarter up 19% to $1.2 billion.
The bank expects operating income growth in 2026 to be in the 5-7% year-on-year growth range at constant currency. But this came in ahead of the City consensus.
Medical devices group Convatec rose 9.60% to £248.80 after annual results impressed investors. Specialty chemicals firm Croda International climbed 5.29% to £3,143 following its full-year update.
Packaging giant Mondi advanced 1.56% to £900.80, while BT Group gained 1.40% to £209.40 and Diageo edged up 1.24% to £1,881.
Among other players in the market, Pershing Square Holdings also added 1.14% to £4,278.
On the downside London Stock Exchange Group fell 1.19% to £7,614 while Imperial Brands slipped 1.18% to £3,261.
Precious metals producer Fresnillo declined 1.16% to £3,930 and Endeavour Mining dropped 1% to £4,960.
Mining heavyweight Rio Tinto eased 0.70% to £7,112 and reflected mixed commodity signals.
Copper prices rallied 2%, and Brent crude rose 0.6% to $71.90 per barrel, a seven-month high. But gold slipped 0.9% to $5,180 per ounce reversing earlier safe-haven gains.
The Smarter Web Company has agreed on a $30 million credit facility with Coinbase Credit to help it buy Bitcoin more quickly after raising new equity.
The facility is secured against Bitcoin held with Coinbase, carries no fees beyond interest on cash drawn and has no fixed repayment date.
The deal comes just days after the group’s full-year results showed it raised over £225 million last year and held 2,689 Bitcoin in February.
Also Read: Stock Market Today: Sensex Slumps 962 Points to 82,332 as IBM Drops 13%; TCS, Infosys Slide Over 3%
In the US, Dow Jones fell 1.7%, the S&P 500 index reversed 1% and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite lost 1.1%.
JP Morgan warned UK unemployment could rise to 5.5% citing the lingering effects of tax hikes and slowing hiring activity.
Bitcoin continued to retreat and fell nearly 4% to $63,177. This is roughly 50% below its October peak.
The pound traded slightly weaker at $1.30, down 0.13%, while the yen slipped 0.45%.
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