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Stock prices in London were softly higher on Tuesday morning as the White House said that plans for talks with Iran remain ‘fluid’, while Tehran denied Donald Trump’s account. The FTSE 100 index opened up 15.03 points, 0.2%, at 9,907.41. The FTSE 250 was down 64.23 points, 0.3%, at 21,181.57, and the AIM all-share was down 1.85 points, 0.3%, at 711.57. The Cboe UK 100 was marginally higher at 985.27, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.7% at 18,375.36, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.2% at 16,809.56. US President Donald Trump said he had ‘very good’ talks with an unidentified Iranian official after abruptly shelving plans for fresh attacks, even as Israel vowed to continue strikes on the Islamic republic. The White House told the BBC that plans for talks with Iran remain ‘fluid’, cautioning that any speculation ‘should not be deemed as final’. Tehran denied Trump’s account and accused him of manipulating energy markets. The comments came ahead of a Monday night deadline set by Trump for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face US threats to ‘obliterate’ its power plants. Axios, citing an Israeli official, identified the contact as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker. Reports from Axios and Reuters also suggested US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could meet an Iranian delegation in Pakistan as soon as this week, with Vice President JD Vance potentially joining. Brent oil traded at $101.22 a barrel early Tuesday, slightly lower than $102.07 late Monday. In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.3%. The pound was quoted at $1.3403 early Tuesday, up from $1.3390 Monday. Against the euro, sterling slipped to €1.1562 from €1.1566 on Monday. The euro stood at $1.1593, up from $1.1579. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥158.54, down from JP¥158.79. Kingfisher was down 0.2%. Pretax profit rose to £378 million in financial 2026, while adjusted pretax profit increased to £560 million. Total sales edged up to £12.95 billion from £12.78 billion, and basic earnings per share climbed to 14.0 pence from 10.1 pence. The London-based home improvement retailer proposed a total dividend of 12.40p per share, including a final payout of 8.60p, both unchanged year-on-year. It completed a £300 million share buyback earlier in March and announced a further programme of the same size. For financial 2027, Kingfisher guided for adjusted pretax profit of £565 million to £625 million and said it remains well positioned to benefit from long-term structural growth, including strong demand in Valencia following last year’s flood damage. The UK Competition & Markets Authority concluded its investigation into the veterinary sector, unveiling legally binding reforms to improve transparency and consumer protection. The measures include mandatory price lists, caps on prescription fees, clearer disclosure of ownership, and a price-comparison system. Practices will also have to provide written estimates for treatments over £500 and follow formal complaints procedures. CVS Group, up 1.4%, welcomed the outcome, saying the final measures largely mirror earlier proposals and provide regulatory certainty after more than two years of scrutiny. It added it is already compliant with many requirements. Pets at Home Group rose 0.6%. Goodwin jumped 11% to the top of the FTSE 250, recovering some of Monday’s sharp losses after disclosing it had lost two contract tenders and was reviewing its dividend payout policy amid uncertainty caused by the war on Iran. Bytes fell 11%, the biggest loser on the FTSE 250. The enterprise software firm reported operating profit of £62 million for the year ended February 28, down from £66.4 million, though gross profit rose 2.3% to £167 million. It said performance strengthened in the second half, with gross profit growing around 6% year-on-year in January and February, despite the impact of changes to Microsoft enterprise incentives. ‘Encouragingly, performance strengthened in the second half, with gross profit growing c.6.% year-on-year in January and February 2026 against a strong comparator,’ Bytes said. Among smaller caps, Distil plunged 59%. The company said it expects to resolve the delayed US launch of Blavod black vodka in the first quarter and that Ardgowan production is behind schedule due to power supply issues. It is considering options to address an ‘immediate short-term funding need’ and expects full-year revenue to be materially below market expectations. YouGov fell 18% after saying revenue momentum remains positive, but adjusted operating profit declined 20% on a reported basis to £24 million, reflecting investment in its Shopper division. S4 Capital rose 15% after saying clients are likely to remain cautious in the near term, with first-quarter revenue set to decline due to the Middle East conflict. However, it expects 2026 like-for-like net revenue to be in line with current analyst consensus. In Asia on Tuesday, markets ended in positive territory. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo rose 1.4%. The Shanghai Composite gained 1.8%, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong advanced 2.8%, and the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney added 0.2%. In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.4%, the S&P 500 up 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.4%. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.35%, narrowing from 4.38%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.93%, narrowing from 4.94%. Gold was quoted at $4,399.54 an ounce, higher against $4,376.19. Still to come on Tuesday’s economic calendar are UK and US flash composite PMIs, alongside Canada manufacturing sales and US nonfarm productivity. 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