---
title: "As the war premium fades, Citigroup downgrades the UK stock market by two notches to underweight"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/292455051.md"
description: "Citigroup strategists stated that the UK stock market is defensive and heavily weighted towards commodities, thus its attractiveness is declining as geopolitical tensions ease. The team led by Beata Manthey has downgraded the UK's rating in global asset allocation from \"overweight\" to \"underweight\" in two consecutive steps, favoring investments in the US and Japanese markets. The rating for European markets outside the UK remains \"neutral.\" The team noted, \"The UK market is defensive and has a high weight in commodities, and its attractiveness has declined in an environment of profit growth and market leadership diffusion.\" Benefiting from its approximately 10% weight in energy stocks, the UK benchmark index FTSE 100 had performed well until mid-April, with energy stocks like BP and Shell boosted by rising oil prices due to the Iran war. Meanwhile, the index's allocation to defensive sectors such as healthcare and consumer staples is close to 35%, making it a relatively safe haven during geopolitical tensions or economic downturns. However, since the US and Iran announced a ceasefire on April 8, the FTSE 100 index has significantly lagged"
datetime: "2026-07-13T08:09:09.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/292455051.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/292455051.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/292455051.md)
generator: "portal-rs"
---

# As the war premium fades, Citigroup downgrades the UK stock market by two notches to underweight

On July 13th, Jin Shi Data reported that Citigroup strategists stated that the UK stock market is defensive and heavily weighted towards commodities, thus its attractiveness is declining as geopolitical tensions ease. The team led by Beata Manthey has downgraded the UK's rating in global asset allocation from "overweight" to "underweight" in two consecutive steps, favoring investments in the US and Japanese markets. The European markets outside of the UK maintain a "neutral" rating. The team stated, "The UK market is defensive and has a high weight in commodities, and its attractiveness has declined in an environment of profit growth and the diffusion of market leadership." Benefiting from its approximately 10% weight in energy stocks, the UK benchmark index FTSE 100 had performed well until mid-April, with energy stocks like BP and Shell boosted by rising oil prices due to the Iran war. Meanwhile, the index's allocation to defensive sectors such as healthcare and essential consumer goods is close to 35%, making it a relatively safe haven market during periods of geopolitical tension or economic recession. However, since the US and Iran announced a ceasefire on April 8th, the FTSE 100 index has significantly lagged

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---
> **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**