UK Shares Tumble; Barclays Faces BoE Inquiry

11:47 AM EDT, 10/19/2026 (MT Newswires) -- British stocks traded lower on Monday, with the FTSE 100 closing 1.07% down, as protests across several European countries weighed on regional markets. On the economic calendar, UK labor market data is due Tuesday, followed by inflation figures on Wednesday. The Confederation of British Industry's business optimism index and industrial trends orders are scheduled for Thursday, while consumer confidence, retail sales and S&P Global PMI data are due Friday. During today's session, data from property portal Rightmove showed that average newly listed asking prices in the UK increased 1% month over month in October, after a 0.7% uptick in September. On a yearly basis, average asking prices fell 0.1%, after a 0.8% fall in the previous month. "Higher mortgage rates are putting pressure on affordability across Great Britain, but sellers appear to be responding in different ways. Some have room to lower their expectations, while others need to hold firm on price to make their next move add up, even if that means waiting longer for a buyer," said Colleen Babcock, Rightmove's property expert. "The forthcoming Budget adds some uncertainty too, with financial markets hoping that will improve the outlook for interest rates, while potential home-movers will be waiting to see how they are directly or indirectly affected." In corporate news, Barclays (BARC.L) fell 3.26% after the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that the bank was facing a Bank of England inquiry into allegations that its traders understated the risks associated with illiquid private credit loans. The inquiry follows a complaint filed with the central bank's Prudential Regulation Authority alleging that Barclays breached regulatory rules in its classification of total return swaps linked to such loans. South32 (S32.L) dropped 2.49% after the Australian mining and metals company logged a yearly decline in the fiscal first-quarter production of Brazilian alumina, payable silver and lead from Cannington, Sierra Gorda gold, and other commodities. "Cannington delivered zinc equivalent production of 59kt, 18% below consensus and RBCe at 73kt," RBC Capital Markets said. "Production declined 27% QoQ as a temporary reduction in paste backfill availability delayed access to planned stopes resulting in lower mined volumes and grades. S32 also processed lowergrade stockpiles to supplement mined ore feed. FY27 guidance remains unchanged while the mine life extension studies are expected with the 1H FY27 results in February 2027." British drugmaker GSK's (GSK.L) antibody-drug conjugate risvutatug rezetecan demonstrated "positive anti-tumor activity" in the Embold PanTumour-101 trial involving patients with relapsed, extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. The stock was down 0.39% at closing.