United Kingdom: FTSE 100 Falls to 3-Week Low.

The FTSE 100 dropped more than 1% to a 3-week low on Thursday, after a 0.8% rebound on Wednesday, as the ongoing Middle East conflict continued to dampen investor sentiment. Mining stocks led the decline, partly because gold and silver prices weakened on expectations that US interest rates may stay higher for longer. Precious-metal producers Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining fell sharply by around 6–7%. Other major miners also came under heavy pressure, including Rio Tinto (-5.7%), Antofagasta (-4.2%) and Anglo American (-4.2%). Reckitt Benckiser also declined more than 6% despite reporting a solid 5.4% rise in fourth-quarter like-for-like sales. Airline stocks were hit as well, with EasyJet down 4.7% and International Airlines Group falling 3.7%, after airspace closures across the Middle East forced more than 23,000 flight cancellations globally EasyJet is also set to exit the index. In contrast, Rentokil Initial surged more than 10% after reporting stronger annual profits.