European and U.S. shares eased as oil prices rose and investors digested a dispute over the pace of advanced AI development. The FTSE 100 fell 0.60% at 07:23 GMT and was later listed at 10,612.34, down 85.23 points or 0.80%. FTSE 100 futures were down 0.80% at 10,683.30. Germany's DAX fell 0.36% and was later down 0.57% at 25,269.91, while France's CAC 40 dropped 0.64% and was later down 0.86%. The Euro Stoxx 50 declined 0.78% to 6,211.65. In the United States, the S&P 500 fell 0.48% to 7,619.98 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.29% to 52,421.20. Japan's Nikkei 225 was unchanged at 63,492.00. Sterling fell 0.21% to $1.3472 against the U.S. dollar.
UK labour-market data showed a cooling pay market. Unemployment held at 4.9% in the three months to July, below a 5% forecast. Payrolled employees fell 101,000 year on year in July, with the steepest declines in retail and hospitality. Vacancies fell to 702,000, the lowest outside the pandemic in more than a decade. Total pay growth eased to 3.9% from 4.2%. Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, said the labour market remained broadly stable, but payrolled employee numbers continued to edge down, with smaller firms citing rising labour costs.
The AI debate added to a cautious tone. Dario Amodei, chief executive of Anthropic, urged a more cautious approach to developing advanced AI models, called for stronger safeguards such as independent third-party assessments, and warned the technology could escape human control and cause catastrophic harm. Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk backed a more measured approach. U.S. President Donald Trump opposed slowing AI development, arguing it could undermine competition, particularly with Chinese AI companies.
Oil prices rose on a persistent outage of Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline. Brent crude gained 1.67% to $107.42 a barrel, with futures listed at $107.58. WTI crude rose 1.7% to $103.09, with futures at $103.27. ING's Warren Patterson said Brent traded to an intraday high near $110 on Monday and was expected to remain well supported until clarity emerged on pipeline damage, which was estimated to keep the line offline for several weeks. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it downed a U.S. MQ-1 drone near the Strait of Hormuz, where vessel transits fell to four on Monday from ten, according to Kpler data cited by Reuters.
Middle East energy risks also featured. Andrew Barry, chairman of LNG market development at ExxonMobil, said at the Gastech 2026 conference in Bangkok that disruption to Middle East LNG would be short-term. Shell estimated that about 36 million tonnes of Middle East LNG supply had been lost this year. Yemeni Prime Minister Shaya Mohsen Zindani accused Houthi forces of killing and displacing civilians during a west-coast advance. The Houthis said Saudi air strikes hit a complex in Khadir district, Hodeidah governorate. Pakistan and the IAEA discussed the evolving regional situation and reaffirmed a stalled June 17 Iran-U.S. memorandum.
Gold and other commodities were mixed. Gold futures fell 0.52% to $4,328.87, with futures listed at $4,327.35, while spot gold eased 0.23% to $4,288.93. ING said bullion was vulnerable ahead of Wednesday's Federal Reserve decision. Silver futures fell 1.07% to $63.453, copper futures fell 0.25% to $6.3813, London cocoa rose 1.05% to $4,157.00 and London wheat fell 0.83% to $208.00.
UK corporate results included updates from several listed companies. Wickes Group said first-half adjusted pretax profit rose 1.1% to £27.6 million, as revenue growth offset cost inflation, and said it remained on track for about 10% growth in adjusted pretax profit in 2026, driven by its Design & Installation business. Trustpilot reported first-half revenue up 23% to $151.4 million, with adjusted EBITDA rising 46% to $26.3 million; it maintained full-year guidance for high-teens revenue growth. Kier Group said full-year revenue rose 7.5% to £4.39 billion and adjusted operating profit increased 6.7% to £169.8 million, entering fiscal 2027 with a record £11.9 billion order book.
