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Shares began Tuesday higher in London, amid improved UK unemployment data, and in spite of heightened tension between the US and Iran. The FTSE 100 index opened up 4.01 points at 10,613.09. The FTSE 250 was up 56.66 points, 0.3%, at 22,996.87, and the AIM all-share was up 3.06 points, 0.4%, at 811.40. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 1,057.93, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 20,126.02, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.1% at 18,236.28. In geopolitical news, the US and Iran both warned they were ready for war as the clock ticked down on their ceasefire, with uncertainty over whether talks that President Donald Trump had announced would resume in Pakistan. The White House said Vice President JD Vance was ready to fly back to Islamabad, which was preparing for a second round of talks on ending the war that has engulfed the Middle East and shaken global markets. However, Tehran’s government declined to confirm that it would participate and accused the US of violating the truce through its blockade of Iranian ports and seizure of a ship. ‘By imposing a blockade and violating the ceasefire, Trump wants to turn this negotiating table into a surrender table or justify renewed hostilities, as he sees fit,’ said Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who headed the delegations to talks in the Pakistani capital two weeks ago. ‘We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the last two weeks we have been preparing to show new cards on the battlefield,’ he wrote on X. Trump, meanwhile, said that obtaining uranium from Iran would be ‘long’ and ‘difficult’ in the aftermath of last year’s US strikes on Tehran’s nuclear sites. ‘Operation Midnight Hammer was a complete and total obliteration of the Nuclear Dust sites in Iran,’ Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding: ‘Therefore, digging it out will be a long and difficult process.’ Brent oil was quoted at $94.88 a barrel early in London on Tuesday, slightly up from $94.45 late Monday. On the FTSE 100, Experian was up 1.3% after naming Adam Crozier as its chair designate, with effect from May 12. Crozier is currently chair of BT, up 0.5%. British Land was the third-highest FTSE 100 stock, up 1.9%. The property developer and investor released a fourth-quarter trading update, saying that it expects to report full-year underlying earnings per share of 28.9 pence and like-for-like net rental growth of 6%, ahead of guidance. It expects a total accounting return of 8.1%, within its 8% to 10% guidance range. The company has also raised its financial 2027 EPS guidance to a minimum of 30.5p from 30.2p, in light of its acquisition of Life Science REIT, completed on Monday. Associated British Foods was the FTSE 100’s worst performer, down 4.9%, after it announced plans to proceed with a demerger of its Retail business, Primark, from its Food business, which will retain the Associated British Foods name. It also declared a 20.7p per share interim dividend. On the FTSE 250, Ibstock rose 0.5% after the building products supplier named Will Wilkins as its next chief financial officer, effective from August 1. Wilkins is currently CFO of Mpac, down 13% on AIM after the high-speed packaging and automation solutions company reported a 2025 pretax loss of £7.7 million, swinging from the prior year’s profit of £3.4 million. Revenue increased on-year to £174.1 million from £122.4 million, above its forecast of around £170 million. Mpac also said trading remains in line with full-year market expectations. In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.4%. The pound was quoted lower at $1.3519 early Tuesday, compared to $1.3535 on Monday. Against the euro, sterling softened to €1.1482 from €1.1486 a day prior. The euro stood at $1.1772, down against $1.1786. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JP¥158.93 compared to JP¥158.58. In economic news, the UK average ILO unemployment rate for the three months ended February was 4.9%, down from 5.2% for the prior few months and below the FXStreet-cited consensus for another 5.2% reading. Employment for the three-month period increased by 25,000 people, down from 84,000 in the three months ended January. In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.9%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.4%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed marginally lower. In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 4.87 points, the S&P 500 down 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.3%. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was unchanged at 4.26%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.88%, narrowing from 4.89%. Gold was quoted lower at $4,788.49 an ounce against $4,806.14. Still to come on Tuesday’s economic calendar, the ZEW economic sentiment survey is due, followed by US retail sales in the afternoon. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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