London close: Stocks mixed as world watches Ukraine talks
By Josh White
Date: Monday 18 Aug 2025
(Sharecast News) - London equities ended Monday in mixed territory amid subdued trading, as investors monitored geopolitical developments and looked ahead to a key gathering of central bankers later in the week.
The FTSE 100 index rose 0.21% to close at 9,157.74 points, while the FTSE 250 slipped 0.04% to 21,749.57 points.
"The FTSE 100 ticked higher on Monday morning but was still firmly below the intraday record highs achieved on Friday morning," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
He noted that "any optimism that the summit between President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin would yield immediate progress towards a peace deal proved misplaced, but the market will now be looking towards talks between Zelensky and Trump at the White House later."
Currency markets reflected a cautious mood, with sterling down 0.27% against the dollar at $1.3518 but marginally higher on the euro, up 0.06% at €1.1588.
Attention was turning to the Federal Reserve's annual Jackson Hole symposium, where policymakers were expected to signal their stance on interest rates.
Patrick Munnelly of TickMill cautioned that "the upcoming Jackson Hole symposium [on Friday] is expected to be a pivotal moment for markets as Federal Reserve chair Powell outlines the Fed's near-term policy direction," adding that Powell faces "a significant communications challenge as he prepares to address these concerns at Jackson Hole on Friday."
Futures markets currently assign an almost 85% probability to a rate cut at the Fed's September meeting.
However, Munnelly argued that recent US data "weakens the argument that the buoyancy in retail sales could be dismissed as a one-off event tied to Amazon Prime Day," highlighting that import prices are rising rather than falling despite tariffs, creating "the risk that US importing firms will pass tariffs onto consumers."
Geopolitics also weighed on sentiment after talks between US president Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin ended without progress on the Ukraine conflict.
Trump was now meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, though the proposals under discussion - including demands for Kyiv to abandon NATO membership aspirations - were unlikely to be accepted.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine's constitution made conceding land to Russia "impossible."
Housing market activity softens, consumer sentiment improves
In economic news, UK housing market activity softened in August as asking prices fell, although sales momentum remained firm.
Rightmove reported that the average asking price for homes declined by 1.3% on the month, or £4,969, to £368,740.
The drop was in line with the 10-year seasonal average, reflecting sellers adopting more competitive pricing during the quieter summer period.#
Asking prices were now £10,777 lower than at the start of summer, while agreed sales in July recorded their strongest performance for the month since 2020.
Transaction levels were 8% higher than a year ago, supported by a 10% rise in available stock compared with last August.
Rightmove said sellers were increasingly adapting to market conditions, though many still faced challenges.
Around 34% of listings underwent price reductions, close to last year's peak, while the average time to secure a buyer stood at 62 days.
"Savvy summer sellers have read the room and are coming to market with even more competitive pricing than usual to really stand out and attract serious and active buyers," said Colleen Babcock of Rightmove.
She added that while buyers were benefitting from cheaper asking prices, "the high number of price reductions we're seeing is an indicator that some sellers are still coming to market with too high a price and then reducing it to become competitive."
Affordability improved further after the Bank of England's third rate cut of the year.
Rightmove's mortgage tracker showed the average two-year fixed rate had fallen to 4.49% from 5.17% a year earlier, equating to a monthly saving of £117 on the average home, assuming a 20% deposit and a 30-year term.
Consumer sentiment also strengthened in August, with households responding positively to the rate cut.
The S&P Global consumer sentiment index rose to 47.0 from 45.1 in July, its highest level since last October.
All sub-indices posted gains, with the labour market index climbing to 54.7, the second strongest reading in the survey's history.
Household finance sentiment rose to 46.0, while spending and debt sentiment also improved.
Maryam Baluch, economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the data showed "a slight revival in household confidence" following the Bank's latest policy move.
She noted that households reported "less of a squeeze on their finances, and the year ahead outlook was the least pessimistic in nine months," though she cautioned that the shift came "against a backdrop of subdued UK economic performance."
Munnelly said it would be a data-heavy week for the UK, with "the highlight being the inflation report [on Wednesday], where any deviation from the Bank of England staff's anticipated 3.8% year-on-year CPI headline rate ... could further question the likelihood of another rate cut this year."
Babcock rises, LandSec and GPE in the red
On London's equity markets, Babcock International gained 5.23% after RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage with an 'outperform' rating and a price target of 1,200p, providing a strong boost in a quiet session for corporate news.
Dr Martens rallied 8.5% after Peel Hunt raised its rating on the footwear group, while Persimmon edged 0.23% higher as Stifel reaffirmed the housebuilder as its "top pick" in the sector.
On the downside, Land Securities slipped 1.05% after announcing it had exchanged contracts to sell its Queen Anne's Mansions office block in London to Arora Group for £245m.
"Getting the best part of a quarter of a billion pounds for an asset you don't really want has to be chalked up as a win for Land Securities," Mould said.
He noted that Queen Anne's Mansions "would have needed significant refurbishment at the end of its current lease to the Ministry of Justice but now that is a problem for the new owner, billionaire hotel tycoon Surinder Arora."
Great Portland Estates dropped 2.78% despite securing three new fully managed leasing deals covering 11,720 square feet of refurbished office space.
Close Brothers Group fell 3.37% after RBC cut its rating to 'sector perform' from 'outperform'.
Cranswick eased 0.76% following fresh allegations of animal cruelty, while miners were broadly weaker, with Glencore down 3.84%, Anglo American off 1.8% and Rio Tinto 1.45% lower.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,157.74 0.21%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,749.57 -0.04%
techMARK (TASX) 5,328.75 0.68%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,047.00p 5.23%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,340.00p 2.64%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,790.50p 1.73%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,260.00p 1.48%
Beazley (BEZ) 789.00p 1.35%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 11,738.00p 1.26%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,164.00p 1.25%
Haleon (HLN) 360.50p 1.15%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 230.60p 1.14%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 299.60p 1.08%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Glencore (GLEN) 288.25p -3.84%
Centrica (CNA) 162.85p -2.37%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,712.00p -2.11%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,131.00p -1.80%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,053.00p -1.68%
Aviva (AV.) 659.60p -1.55%
SEGRO (SGRO) 630.40p -1.53%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,448.50p -1.45%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 258.70p -1.45%
Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 369.90p -1.41%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 81.05p 8.50%
Ashoka India Equity Investment Trust (AIE) 270.50p 2.85%
JPMorgan Indian Investment Trust (JII) 1,068.00p 2.30%
Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) 485.00p 2.21%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 208.50p 2.21%
Serco Group (SRP) 229.40p 1.96%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 328.20p 1.80%
Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) 327.00p 1.71%
Gamma Communications (GAMA) 1,094.00p 1.68%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 489.40p 1.62%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 498.60p -3.37%
Breedon Group (BREE) 364.60p -3.08%
Great Portland Estates (GPE) 314.50p -2.78%
Patria Private Equity Trust (PPET) 536.00p -2.72%
Hays (HAS) 61.30p -2.70%
Hill and Smith (HILS) 2,095.00p -2.31%
Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 122.20p -2.08%
Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 376.00p -2.08%
Pantheon International (PIN) 323.50p -1.97%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 224.20p -1.84%
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