FTSE indexes kick off June on downbeat note, EasyJet jumps on takeover bid

June 1 (Reuters) - The main UK indexes kicked off June on a sombre note on Monday, as investors digested new signs of economic damage from the Middle East conflict, although a couple of M&A updates helped lift some stocks.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 fell 0.68%, while the midcap FTSE 250 was down 0.77%. Both the indexes marked a second month of gains in a row on Friday.

• EasyJet shares jumped 10% after U.S. investment firm Castlelake said it was considering a potential takeover bid for the British budget airline.

• Bluefield Solar Income Fund surged 16% after power group Drax agreed to buy the renewable energy-focused investment company in a deal valued at about £561 million ($755.3 million). Drax's shares rose 1.8%.

• Bluefield Solar and EasyJet were the top gainers in the FTSE 250 index.

• Energy stocks, including BP and Shell, rose more than 2% each, tracking higher oil prices, after Iran's Tasnim news agency reported Tehran's negotiating team has halted message exchanges with the U.S. and its allied "Resistance Front" is considering measures to completely block the Strait of Hormuz. [O/R]

• British manufacturers raised their prices last month at the fastest rate since June 2022 in response to a big increase in costs as the Iran war disrupts supply chains, according to a survey likely to concern the Bank of England.

• The BoE is closely watching the degree to which higher energy prices caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz spread through the economy, but it has kept interest rates unchanged for now.

• ME Group International plunged 27% to a more-than-three-year low after the instant-service equipment group cut its profit before tax forecast for the full year 2026, as a shift in consumer spending patterns due to the Middle East conflict hurt its revenue in April.

• Wise's London-listed shares tumbled 8% after a report by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism said the money transfer company is being investigated by prosecutors in Belgium over €500 million ($582.5 million) worth of suspicious transactions.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Chris Reese)