Stock prices in London opened lower on Monday as a sharp drop in metal prices dragged mining stocks lower, while a weaker oil price weighed on BP and Shell.
The FTSE 100 opened down 0.3%, while the FTSE 250 fell 0.7% and the AIM all-share dropped 1.7%. Losses eased as the morning progressed, with the FTSE 100 recovering to trade slightly higher by 10:00 GMT.
Mining stocks bore the brunt of the selling after steep declines across precious and industrial metals.
Fresnillo was the worst performer on the FTSE 100, sliding 7.4%. Endeavour Mining fell 6.9%, Antofagasta dropped 5.1%, Anglo American lost 3.6% and Glencore declined 2.9%.
The drivers behind the sharp sell-off in gold, silver and other metals are still unclear, though traders pointed to crowded positioning and a firmer US dollar as key factors behind the move.
Energy stocks also struggled as oil prices moved lower. BP and Shell were both down 2.4% in early trade, adding to the pressure on the blue-chip index.
On the FTSE 250, AEP Plantations gained 2.4% after reporting higher fresh fruit bunch production in 2025, driven by stronger output from plantations in Indonesia.
3i Infrastructure fell 5.9% despite reporting a strong quarter, after flagging a deterioration in financing conditions for German fibre roll-out businesses linked to its DNS:NET investment.
On AIM, Blue Star Capital surged 29% after investee company SatoshiPay processed more than $10 million in monthly transactions during January. Image Scan plunged 36% after a key military contract was terminated, cutting its order book sharply.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones down 0.4%, the S&P 500 off 0.4% and the Nasdaq sliding 0.9%.
Away from equities, fresh data showed UK house price growth picked up more than expected in January. The Nationwide house price index showed prices rising 1.0% year on year, up from 0.6% in December and above forecasts for a 0.7% increase. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.3% after a 0.4% fall in December, leaving the average UK home valued at £270,873.
Nationwide said activity softened toward the end of last year, likely linked to uncertainty over potential property tax changes, though mortgage approvals remained close to pre-pandemic levels.