Investing.com -- British stocks fell further on Monday as a slide in crude prices on hopes of progress in indirect U.S.-Iran talks weighed on the index.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.16% as of 08:18 ET (13:18 GMT). Germany's DAX lost 0.07%, while France's CAC 40 turned 0.11% higher. Sterling rose 0.22% to $1.3418.
BP fell 1.2% and Shell 0.76%, tracking Brent's drop, while Endeavour Mining and Vodafone Group also weighed.
Brent January futures fell 4.4% to $108.38 a barrel, extending earlier losses and WTI December lost 4.5% to $99.39.
Gold December futures rose 0.22% to $3,907.45, while spot gold gained 0.61% to $3,899.12.
The Bank of England is expected to raise rates 25bp to 4% on Thursday; ING sees a 7-2 vote and a February follow-up "more likely than not."
S&P Global's UK manufacturing PMI rose to a five-month high of 52.8 in October; S&P's Rob Dobson said resilience and surging input prices "will further shorten the odds of interest rate hikes to come from the Bank of England."
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said 11 tankers "violating" navigational rules had caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz since Oct. 25, with several sinking.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he won't strike before Tuesday's midterms, but said on Friday another operation was possible.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said "the ball is now in the US's court" and "no agreement will be reached, nor will the Strait of Hormuz be reopened or secured, unless the US naval blockade is lifted and Iran's legitimate demands are fully met."
He said the chance of implementing Tehran's seven-step proposal in the coming days "exists."
At separate campaign rallies in Iowa and Kansas on Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump said the war would end "very soon", warning in Iowa that "at some point, we're going to have to give them the hammer" and telling supporters in Kansas that "we can close them down anytime we want."
U.S. Central Command said Iran had killed more than 20 mariners in and near Hormuz in recent months.
UKMTO said two projectiles struck a tanker 72 nautical miles east of Khafji at 2347 GMT Sunday; all crew were accounted for.
UK round up
Glencoreis proposing changes to CEO Gary Nagle's pay package that would accelerate the vesting of long-term share awards in the event of a takeover and raise his potential share-based compensation.
Ryanairwarned it may need to freeze staff pay as soaring fuel costs threaten to outstrip fare increases, after reporting a 6% fall in quarterly net profit to €1.61 billion.
TotalEnergieshas agreed to acquire a 30% operated stake in Malaysia's Lang Lebah and B14 offshore gas fields, a project expected to unlock more than 6.5 trillion cubic feet of gas.
BPhas completed the sale of a 65% stake in Castrol to Stonepeak, with former Shell CEO Ben van Beurden appointed chair of the lubricants maker's new board.
Original Article
FTSE 100 today: Stocks extends slide as oil sinks on hopes of U.S.-Iran talks
