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April 15 Reuters The UK39;s FTSE 100 moved lower on Monday as escalating tensions in the Middle East caused market participants to tread cautiously, while a string of corporate updates also influenced market action.

As of 831 GMT, the resourcerich FTSE 100 had declined by 0.5 from Friday39;s near recordhigh levels. The FTSE 250 index, hovering near the 20,000 mark, was up 0.1.

Precious metal miners led sectoral losses, sliding 2.9, while heavyweight oil and gas shares dipped 2, tracking lower crude prices as market participants dialled back risk premiums amid news of escalating tensions in the Middle East and fears of a wider regional conflict.

Markets are going to find it hard to price in an escalation in the MiddleEast because in reality, markets are not really good at pricing extreme events, Hussain Mehdi, macro and investment strategist at HSBC Asset Management said.

On the data front, figures on U.S. retail sales for March are due Monday, while British consumer prices and retail sales data for the month of March are due later in the week.

Investors will also be looking for further clues this week from Federal Reserve speakers, including Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday, after higherthanexpected U.S. inflation for three successive months has caused a rapid…