And just as Jefferies note came in, press reports today revealed that Meta has paid £149mn to break its lease on a London development owned by British Land. The FTSE 100 fell 0.5%.

This morning, red dominated again, with investors still coming to terms with higher-for-longer rates.

Among stocks, life insurer Phoenix Group shares fell 0.9% after posting disappointing results, while 888 Holdings tumbled 14.1% after issuing downbeat guidance.

On the plus side, energy stocks outperformed as they tracked higher oil prices, caused by a drop in crude stocks in the US that raised supply fears.

In other news, HSBC is set to acquire Citigroup's China consumer wealth management business, Reuters reported.

Things to read today:

Arçelik and Whirlpool deal faces in-depth probe by UK regulator (Financial Times)

Is it good when Wall Street compares today to 2007? (Financial Times)

How Microsoft could supplant Apple as the world’s most valuable firm (The Economist)