FTSE 100 Falls on Monday

The FTSE 100 fell more than 0.8% on Monday, retreating after a rally of over 3% last week and tracking declines across European markets amid escalating protests in France, Belgium, Italy and Portugal. Banking stocks led the losses, with Barclays down 2.2%, HSBC falling 1.28%, and Lloyds Banking Group losing 0.9%. NatWest and Standard Chartered each declined 1.5%. Defence and aerospace shares also weakened, as Rolls-Royce dropped 1.6% and BAE Systems fell 2.6%. Mining stocks were lower, with Rio Tinto down more than 1% and Glencore shedding 0.8%. Antofagasta lost over 1.5% despite workers at its Chilean mine agreeing to a revised wage offer that would end a strike. In contrast, Shell and BP rose between 0.5% and 0.8%. Oil prices eased from a five-month high ahead of the European session, as traders weighed renewed Middle East fighting against signs that regional supply flows remain relatively resilient.